Decking Kits

[afterideasplease]

We have recently moved house and have no patio in the back garden, just (patchy) grass. We cannot afford to have a patio laid but I am desperate to have some way to sit out / it look tidy for this summer. I have seen decking kits and think that maybe we could manage these this summer. We would have 2 squares (I would refer a square and a curved one, but I'm guessing that would need to be bespoke?)

Has anyone used these? Are they good? Any particular recommendations for suppliers? Any comments / recommendations gratefully received.

Decking gives rats a lovely place to live.

Could you manage to buy some patio slabs, stick some builders sand down and just place them on top? It's not great longer term but would give you a nice paved area for a couple of years and you can reuse the slabs when you get a proper patio.

I'd go for gravel or bark chips if you need a temporary cheap solution. Agree about the rats thing, my parents had some massive ones nesting under their decking!

Agree - decking is hard to do well, tends to harbour rats, and there are easier solutions. I am not very technical but laying paving stones on sand is really easy, and if you muck it up, it is really easy to pop them up and sort it all out. If you luck out, you can sometimes even find them on freecycle.

Thanks all. Oh no, that’s not what I wanted to hear. DH doesn’t want to do a temporary fix, so I guess I need to work out how to lay a patio…

Our house is red brick. I thought we’d get outdoor tiles, but maybe slabs are more sensible. Just need to work out what colour!