Suggestions for paving a small patio

[Glassesareneeded]

I'm hoping someone can help suggest to me what type of low cost paving I could look at to create two patio areas in my long thin garden, as I'm going dizzy trying to plan changes in the house and keep the budget as low as possible!

I obviously would like it to look nice, but I'm not keen on the look of utility style concrete paving, however my budget is more in line with these!! 😀 I just need to get the choice right as it will be there a long time!

There will be two areas, one 3 square metres, and the second 7x2 metres.

I quite like the look of the Indian stone slabs, but not sure if these are a budget friendly option. I just can't get out to look at slabs in real life at the moment, so when I can later in the week I need to go to look at a couple of options and decide there and then.

Has anyone got any helpful ideas as I need to make a decision this week and I seem to be going round in circles?!

TIA

We’ve spent months researching patios and come to the conclusion that anything pretty costs. We’ve ordered sandstone Kandla patio in grey for ours. They had 19m2 packs for £530. It’s not cheap (especially as we needed 3 of these sob) but the only cheaper alternative I could find was the utility style 400x400 slabs that are just so…..not pretty. Decking was just as much for composite, and gravel wasn’t an option.

Unfortunately patio paving material is one thing you will need to spend a bit more. We installed Indian sandstone about 5 years ago and it aged horribly. In the end I’ve replaced with red brick, but the expense there is the labour cost.

We just did ours! It cost £1100 all in, and was very hard work but we had a tiny budget and boys who wanted to play basketball outside, so increased our 2m x 4m uneven terrace to 7mx 6m ourselves. Block paving was the cheapest option for us and we reused the old blocks. We're enjoying it hugely this summer. I'll see if I can post pics...

@SalsaLove

Unfortunately patio paving material is one thing you will need to spend a bit more. We installed Indian sandstone about 5 years ago and it aged horribly. In the end I’ve replaced with red brick, but the expense there is the labour cost.

That’s odd. Have you power washed it? Stone shouldn’t age like that.

Here:

Bluntness100, we never power washed it. I’m sure you’re right, and it shouldn’t have aged that way but I didn’t want to have to power wash it after only a year or two.

@DamsonIcecream

Here:

That’s so beautiful! Here’s ours. We’ve loved it.

Thank you all for your helpful comments, at least I know it's not tiredness making my search difficult, as you have all found the same issues!

I love the two photos, both patios are lovely Damsonicecream and Salsalove. Unfortunately I don't have the capability to do it myself, so will need to factor in labour.

My search goes on! I shall have a look at blockwork paving now after seeing those lovely photos

@SalsaLove

Bluntness100, we never power washed it. I’m sure you’re right, and it shouldn’t have aged that way but I didn’t want to have to power wash it after only a year or two.

Generally they need done annually. I suspect it was just dirty.

Bluntness100, I suspect you are right. There was also green mildew . I guess the bottom line was that I had never really liked it.

@SalsaLove

Bluntness100, I suspect you are right. There was also green mildew . I guess the bottom line was that I had never really liked it.

Bloody hell, that was an expensive mistake. Mines been down 3 years and is looking a bit shabby, it's fine after a blast with the jet spray and once sealed looks fab. I really didn't know patios needed maintenance.

I went for historic flags which worked out at about 2/3 of the cost of Indian Sri e and look lovely. Here’s the brochure page I picked - they were from Tobermore.

I’m really pleased with the result.

What's your budget OP?

Ozbury, thank you for photo of the historic flags, the Heather flags look lovely. I will definitely research those too. I've seen some nicely coloured paving setts online this afternoon too, so I have started a list!

Ranunculaceae, my budget is disappearing at the moment the rear garden needs paving as soon as possible, someone could squeeze me in a fortnight, if I get things organised, having a chat next week. The complication being that quotes for an extension we have badly needed for a few years aren't back in yet, hopefully next week, and I need to keep the budget for that ring fenced, as that's the priority... However the garden definitely needs to be completed first. (All a bit mad!) Hopefully when the quotes are in this week all will become clearer!! I just didn't have a clue about what patio materials were reasonably priced, and I can't get out and about at the moment.

Thanks for all the advice, I feel that I can now enter a builders yard with a better understanding of what would be best to look at, rather than being sucked into swooning over expensive patio flags I can't afford 😂

Ozbury, Im just googling the heritage flags, but can only see stockists in Ireland, not England where we are. Just wondering if you know if they have suppliers here, as the local Travis Perkins does not list them on their website?

I will ring round tomorrow to check though, as they do look like what would fit in with house.

I'd certainly look at places like Facebook market place/ebay for 3sqm. People sell off spares cheaply we got half and Indian sandstone circle (we only wanted half) and granite sets this way. Saved us a fortune.

Good idea mareep, thanks. It's good to know it can be done cheaply.

I shall be googling tomorrow now I have a few types of paving types to look out for, as well as remeasuring the area carefully!

Thanks for all the help.

If you want to keep the costs right down then second hand concrete block pavers are the way to go, you can find them pretty cheap.

Not sure how wicked are nowdays , but I used some from there years ago and they were cheap and decent quality for the money.

I had enough brindle and grey pavers that you need , some bloke gave me 15 quid for a load and the rest went under the new paving as hardcore ☹️

That’s wickes 😀

Are you absolutely sure you want to do a patio before you have an extension built? If so, do whatever is the absolute cheapest and don’t worry too much because it will likely get trashed…

Not to everyone's taste but I'm doing mine in hoggin. It's the stuff you see on paths at the National Trust & places like that. Or on boules pitches. It's a nice buff colour & a cheaper option. It needs to be well compacted but not an especially skillful task to lay
No power washing needed!

Nosquirrels, a good point, however the small area at bottom of garden will need to be done before extending as we won't be able to have easy access once building starts. The area outside the back door will be done by the builder who does the house, so shouldn't get trashed.

Asitgoes, unfortunately we need a smoother surface like flagstones, but I did look at that material a few weeks ago.

Thanks for all comments. Very helpful.

That’s strange about the Heritage suppliers. I’m in Lancashire and the lads that did my paving just ordered them in from the yard - I don’t know where though.

Hi Glassesareneeded!
Indian slatestone tiles could be exactly what you're looking for - they offer beautiful natural stone appearance you like without breaking the budget! Here's why they're perfect for your project:
Budget-friendly benefits:
Excellent value for money compared to other natural stone alternatives
Long-term investment that won't need replacing anytime soon
Perfect for concrete bedding: Indian slatestone tiles work brilliantly on a concrete base, which is the most cost-effective foundation method. The concrete bedding provides excellent stability and drainage, ensuring your tiles stay level and secure for years to come.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by both the quality and the price point!