New patio - any tips

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We are planning on putting in a new patio to replace some pretty aged decking. Is there anything I need to think about/ tips on style, stones etc?

do not go for light ivory coloured stone unless you want to be crying each time someone walks on it with dirty shoes

Make sure not to lay paving right up to the house walls and possibly breeching damp proof course - leave a gap and fill with shingle for Drainage? Also make sure the patio drains away from the house, not towards it.

If you're planning to have it pointed there is a type of resin material that doesn`t come out every time you pressure wash it.

Check carefully before you start that they didn't go for decking rather than patio due to some problem with the ground/raised manhole covers etc.

If you're planning to have it pointed there is a type of resin material that doesn`t come out every time you pressure wash it.

Do NOT use this with light coloured stone. Nightmare experience

I’ve just had a Cotswold buff patio laid and love it. The only paving I liked was very expensive slate options and I don’t like decking, although composite decking looks ok.

cloud

What was the problem?

Mine`s a Cotswold yellowy colour and haven't had any problems.

cloud what was the problem? We are looking buff people paving and I was thinking of having the resin grout thing. STILL in the planning stages, so I am happy to change my mind now if I should! We are looking at Marshalls Symphony range for paving in buff, with sawn sandstone walls and sandstone setts.

well

Just in case cloud doesn't come back I do know that it needs a much bigger gap than for mortar. IIRC the width of the gap should be the depth of the slab. And it is a pig to get off if you let it get onto the slab face and it goes off.

Thank you veni. I know very little about paving and landscaping and don’t want to make rookie mistakes. I am hoping that using Marshalls products and fitters will help, but it is a leap of faith!

I'm back! We had ivory sandstone laid this summer and used rompox D1 which came highly recommended by the stone supplier (and was bloody expensive). Unfortunately the tiniest bit on the stone has caused bad staining to the extent that you can see the foot prints where the installers inevitably got some on their boots. The excess came off but the stain left behind was the problem.

I would never risk it again and the company never came back to me when I contacted them to ask for advice on whether there was any way to remove it.

My other advice is put in double the amount of drainage you think you might need.

If you're on a budget look for one second hand. We could have bought a cheap one brand new but decided to have a quick look on eBay and ended up with a much more expensive one (still in great condition, removed because of new extension) for less money.

Cloud

I thought it might be that. If you have an unobtrusive area you could try putting on domestic bleach and leave for an hour or so.

Or sodium hypochlorite, (basically 3 times stronger than domestic bleach) could be used.

Don.t let it dry off and use all normal safety precautions. It'll kill any plants it touches. But it cleared every black spot from my patio where a pressure washer hadn't touched it.