New patio - experiences

[Pancakeorcrepe]

Hi All,
I'm going to get a patio done with an approximate size of 3m x 8m.
I'm in the process of getting quotations done for a new patio, and wanted to ask if someone has had this type of work done recently and if there are any tips or tricks regarding the materials, type of installation, location of the patio, size, etc?
So far one builder has come round and he mentioned it would take around 10 working days to install the patio. Even with a bit of earth digging, this does strike me as quite a long time for something relatively straightforward?

[Normalmumandwife]

Yes we had a new one. Didn't take as long as that but wasn't a one man band doing it. Our old one had sunk and the pointing kept crumbling. Lessons we learnt and did for the new one

First don't use a builder, get a landscaper
We had a base dug down to I think 20 cm. The bottom was "wackered" I think it's called and hardcore laid over it and wackered again.
The flags were laid on wet cement or concrete. A lot just lay on dots of cement which allows water to gather if the pointing fails.
It was pointed up with a wet resin that was poured in and filled all the gaps and was rock hard (expensive though)

The patio several years on looks good as new. Can jet wash it and the pointing has never failed at all. Still looks like new

You will get cheap quotes but expect it to start failing after two years. For eg my friend had one done and the pointing failed...turned out it was filled with sand and a bit of cement laid over it. Flags on dots of cement so filled with water and sank!!!!

[Pancakeorcrepe]

Thank you so much, that’s great information!
May I ask how much it cost? I know that’s not quite so relevant as it depends on where you are in the country etc. I’m in East Anglia.

[Normalmumandwife]

I can't remember precisely. I think it was circa £3k but I know the materials were expensive and was about 3-4 years ago

[Pancakeorcrepe]

Thank you so much

[bigbradford]

We have had several done. Latest was to our holiday house and we used Millboard. It really does look like wood but is very expensive! We had fencing done too. We were ripped off by the landscaping contractor. Still cross about it.

At home we have limestone and that was put in around 10 years ago. It came as solid blocks from the quarry and varied in depth so laying was difficult! It’s edged in Bucks Brick multis and still looks perfect. If you are staying put, it’s a good choice if it suits the house. We have sandstone hard landscaping around my gravel garden and that gets black spots on it. I think it’s spores that get into the stone as it’s porous. It’s cheap but I don’t recommend it.

If the patio isn’t near grass, gravel is actually quite nice with planting to soften the edges. It gets stuck in shoes and gets into the house but if you aren’t bothered about that, it’s cheap!

To prepare a patio, it needs a level base sloping away from the house. It needs a sub base flattened with a wacker plate or compactor. If the soil is clay you need careful prep to stop the patio subsiding or moving when the clay expands. The last thing you want is to have to lay it again.