By laying flagstone, tile, brick or other sturdy, flat pavers on a well-prepared base, your patio will be less expensive and more water-permeable. Here, Express.co.uk explains how to lay … Here’s how to lay a patio for beginners in 6 easy steps. If you want to give your outdoor space an improved look, consider laying a patio. Laying a patio is not a complex job and will only take a couple of days. Prepare your mortar by mixing five parts of cement to one part of cement. Their long life span, ease of maintenance, versatility and visual appeal are the driving forces behind their increased popularity. Adding a brick patio to your house is a good way to dress up a yard, and it can also add value to your house. Lay 5cm – 8cms of hardcore, using a rake to distribute it and even out any bumps. Is it going to be a small, cosy area for just two people to enjoy? How To Lay Pavers, Brick, Patio Stone and Stone Pavers Begin by assessing what is currently in the project area where you intend to lay your new pavers. If you have a lot of sugar sand, you are going to want to remove as much as possible. Large gaps between stones invite weed seeds to germinate and add to the uneven nature of the patio surface. However, it doesn’t have to be the case and there may be a reason to situate your patio elsewhere. Calculate the total area of your patio in square metres. Lay the hardcore. However, there are maintenance issues that mean many people are put off to using it. Lay a solid base for your patio by pouring in hardcore to a depth of about 50-80mm. How to Lay Out a Deck Dreaming about a new deck and designing a new deck are not one in the same. If you need to cut some, then you can do this yourself if you are confident with using a disc grinder. If the walkway will be used for frequent traffic, such as a path between a driveway and a front door, make sure it is wide enough for two people to pass by each other comfortably. Continue the process until you have a 6” base with a solid pack, and a uniform slope. Often, the area next to the house may not have the best aspect. The beauty of it is that you do not require technical skills; gather the right tools and apply some simple DIY skills and you will have your patio well laid in no time. Leave to set for at least 24 hours. • Hammer Before getting down to building your patio, you first need to gather all the tools, equipment and materials required. Building a patio is one of the easiest and durable ways to give your outdoor space a new look. This guide teaches you how to do it right. Lay Out the Walkway Mark the path of your walkway, using stakes and string (for a straight path) or two garden hoses (for a curving path). Follow this guide and be sure to lay your patio like a pro. What Should You Do With Your Old Paddling Pool, Inflatable or Bouncy Castle? Add a layer of bedding mortar on top of the hardcore base. In depth, step by step and suitable for beginners. Because brick is porous and retains moisture, in freezing weather, it can crack, which means it has to be replaced. Visit http://.www.lovehome.co.uk for more DIY, decorating and design ideas. Once you are happy with this, laying some hardcore is the next step. This can be bought from all good builders merchants and you should ensure that you level the hardcore with a good quality plate compactor. Cover the area with 40mm of concrete mix. • If you want to cover or seal your patio to prevent water seepage or fading, it is advisable to check the manufacturer’s recommendation for the right material to use. Photo: quikrete.com Using either rope or a garden hose, delineate a rough outline for the planned patio. For beginners, it makes sense to use a simple pattern that requires little or no cutting of bricks. After marking out your patio, it’s now time to prepare the base. Then, mark out this area with your string and pegs, using a mallet to fix the pegs into place. James Allan of Puma Landscaping gives us his advice in this complete beginners guide to laying a new patio. Because a patio is a place to enjoy socialising with friends and family, you want to be in the best position to sit back and relax in your surroundings. Repeat this process until you have laid down all the slabs and check to maintain the patio’s slope. We go over all the necessary steps for your concrete slab to come out perfect! • Bucket Patios are nearly always next to the house. • Hardcore Place the stones as close together as possible. Planning is critical if for any do-it-yourself project, but it is particularly critical with a large project like laying a patio, especially if you have never done it before. Lay down a mortar of about 5 cm in depth before you pace the patio stones on top. • Spirit level, • Dust maks When laying your paving slabs, leave 1 cm gaps between them, which you will fill later. Laying a simple sand and brick patio is not as complicated as it sounds. Natural stone is a more expensive option due to the fact that it is quarried and there are transportation costs too. Is it going to be a space for family gatherings or is it going to be an ‘outdoor room’ for dinner parties and entertaining lots of guests? Next, use a spirit level to check that the area is completely flat and that the soil is equally compacted across the entire area. Because they’re the same thickness, they’re easy to put down too, making them perfect for beginners who have never laid a patio before. Always start from one corner and tap the slabs down firmly with a rubber mallet. If you are capable of doing it yourself, here is a step-by-step guide to lay paving stones for multiple constructions to beautify your property with required synergy. Enable registration in settings - general, Laying a Patio for Beginners – How To Guide & Tutorial. Use blocks of wood and a hammer/mallet to align and lay your paving slabs in line. As well as choosing the size and shape of your patio, the decision as to what materials you use will have a major impact on how your patio will finally look. If there are only minor alterations needed to be made to your paving slabs than a traditional hammer and chisel should suffice. The mortar mix should consist of five parts building sand and one part cement. Lay a solid base for your patio by pouring in hardcore to a depth of about 50-80mm. If there are some softer spots, you may need to add some more soil to ensure the area is as complicated as the rest. • Brick jointer This should be to a depth of approximately 5 – 8 cms. If you want a completely natural look, then you have to consider natural stone. Allow a drop of about 25mm in every 1.5m or alternatively install a drainage channel. Bricks can be laid in a variety of different patterns. We continue to follow government advice and thank our amazing team for all their hard work helping our customers. If you’ve done all of your planning and preparation correctly, then laying your patio slabs is relatively straightforward. Once you are happy with how your patio is going to look and how big it’s going to be, it’s time to think about what equipment you will need. You can use a wheelbarrow for this but if the patio you are building is of a decent size, it’s worth investing in hiring a cement mixer. And if you size the patio to fit the bricks, you shouldn't have to cut any. Draw your plan to scale on a graph paper putting in all the dimensions. The sub-base you lay beneath your brick patio depends on the type of bricks you’re going for. It may seem something that is obvious, but it’s something that is often forgotten in the excitement of choosing materials and furniture for your new patio. However, it’s a price worth paying if you want that fantastic, natural patio look but remember it is one of the more difficult DIY options. You should leave about 1 cm gap between each slab and if you’re not confident you’ll get the spacing even, then you can get special spacers for this. It also saves you, your family and your friends having to walk across (possibly) wet and muddy grass. Using a spirit level make sure that your patio is level. The size and shape of your patio will dictate how much preparation your stones will need. Brick patios were once very popular and they do look fantastic. To fill in the gaps, press mortar in the gaps using a mortar trowel. • Rake Each pack of paving slabs contains a clear indication of the area it covers, making calculations easy unless you are using differently sized slabs. • Sand You may wish to locate your patio in a more private area of your garden away from neighbours. Now lay your first slab on the bed of mortar and check with the string guideline for the correct alignment. Additionally, if you are laying your patio next to the house, ensure that it lies in a gradual slope away to drain off all the rainwater. Clear the area you’ve chosen for your patio to a depth of 15cm to allow room for the hardcore, mortar and paving slabs. After deciding where you are going to lay your patio, formulate a plan. Installing a patio in your yard can transform an ordinary outdoor space into a wonderful gathering area. The Difference Between Halogen / Quartz / Tungsten / Short / Medium / Far Infrared Patio Heaters? After the pointing mortar is dry, wash the slabs to remove any traces of cement or sand. Part 1 How to prepare and lay a base for pavers Find out how easy it is to prepare an area and level it ready to lay pavers. Laying hardcore. Your edging should be laid down on a mortar foundation like the stones but this time, there will be no gaps left and they should be placed closer together, using a rubber mallet to ensure this is the case. Although building your patio over a concrete slab helps to ensure it won't settle unevenly later, you can build a patio without cement. • If the patio freezes, use a stiff brush or plastic shovel to remove the snow. Outdoor Heater & Garden Heating – Patio Heaters vs. Fire Pits vs. Chimineas – Which Is Right for You? Beginning on one side of the patio, lay the first flagstones. If you need to break the edging stones to ensure they fit, a hammer and chisel will be fine for this job. For DIY: How to lay paving slabs (patio) - with Philippa Tuttiett. Now it’s just a case of finding that perfect patio furniture and you may want to consider patio heating and lighting options. The weather finally allows us out of the house & turns us out into a growing, breathing empty canvas. We’ll assume that you’ll be using paving stones as these are by far the most popular option for those people wanting to lay their own patio. The patio’s surface should be at least 150mm below your house’s damp proof course to prevent rainwater from bouncing back off and hitting the wall above. That will help you figure out how many stone patio pavers and how much paver base and paver sand you'll need. To give you an idea, for a patio that is big enough for a table enough for four people, 3m x 3m is adequate. What Is the Difference Between Private and an NHS Dentist? The first thing you need to do is to mark out where you intend your patio to be built with pegs and string. As with any other project, our excitement & expectations sometimes lead us to start a project without having all the information we need to make … Make sure you leave a gap of 1cm for joint lines. • Spade • Cement Best Wooden Garden Gazebos: Our Top 10 for 2020, Best Bird Tables For Your Garden: Our Top 10 for 2020, Best Corten Steel Water Features: Our Favourites for 2020, Best UK Pressure Washers: Buying Guide & Our Top Power Washers for 2020, 5 Best Lawn Aerators & Scarifiers for 2020, 20 Best Luxury Items For Your Garden for 2020, The Beginner’s Guide To Lawn Aeration – How, Why, & When, 50 Fun Things To Do With The Kids in the Garden, 10 Best Bouncy Castles for Sale in 2020 – Ultimate Buyers Guide, 10 Best Football Goals for the Garden 2020, 15 Best UK Toddler & Kids Trampolines for 2020, Best Paddling Pools & Garden Swimming Pools – Our Top 10 for 2020, 10 Best Kids Slides for Toddlers, Kids & Babies 2020, 10 Best Sensory Toys for Children on the Autistic Spectrum (UK Edition), Introduction to the Different Types of Patio Heaters, How Much Does It Cost to Run a Patio Heater, The Difference Between Gas & Electric Patio Heaters, Running Costs: Gas vs Electric Patio Heaters. The mortar mix should consist of five parts building sand and one part cement. Wet the foundation, and then use a plate compactor to compress the base. Pointing is the next step. • Brick trowel • Safety goggles. • Builders square To lay patio pavers or concrete pavers for a typical patio installation, you need to build up several layers: 6-inch layer of gravel paver base 1-inch layer of sand Pavers Polymeric/jointing sand in the joints between the pavers How to lay a patio Our useful how to lay patio laying guide will give you all the information you need to install our range of paving products, if you choose to do-it-yourself. Depending upon exactly what sort of patio you ayre laying and its size will dictate the exact tools for the job, but the following list should cover you for most eventualities: The next stage is to prepare the site and the stones/slabs that you will be using. Perhaps plywood would be a good idea to correctly keep this space between your slabs. 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