Can I pave my grotty gravel patio?

[allii03]

I'm sure I can – or someone can. But has anyone done this recently and can give me an idea of cost?

It's roughly 3.5 x 6 metres.

I know you can't just whack slabs over gravel. The gravel will need to be removed. Is this a job we can do ourselves? Is it true that people happily take it via Facebook Marketplace etc?

And then for the paving, any cost estimates (materials and labour) and recommendations? I hate the shiny new grey look. I'd like large, natural-looking slabs and I don't care if I have to weed between them. (In fact, I'd sort of prefer that, rather see a few weeds than a sterile expanse.)

Thank you to anyone who can advise.

I know it's very expensive.

You could probably set some flat paving stones into the gravel yourself as a cheap compromise if it's just for decorative effect?

@Mosaic123 I have heard it's expensive but I have no concept of HOW expensive! Like £5k? Honestly, I really don't know.

Ah well we want it to last and to be able to walk/sit out on, and I think it needs to be a pro job.

What is the ground like OP?

We laid our own using a B&Q guide but it was a flat area of the garden away from the house so no worries re drainage or anything

https://www.diy.com/ideas-advice/how-to-lay-a-patio/PROD_npcart_100439.art

Cleaner here. Absolutely no qualifications in anything.. I laid a patio for a customer.. And a canny job I did too!! Preparation and patience op. . And lots of lugging paving slabs from the boot of the car!!

Thanks @jolies1 I should really have a little dig but I think it's gravel laid over ground/soil. It's flat but it is quite near the house. And there's a drain cover right in the middle. Probably not a DIY job (for us, anyway)

@Galeforcewindatmywindow I salute you but I don't think I could manage that!

I've just had a similar area done - plus a smaller second area and total was £5,400.

I did wonder if we could do it ourselves. The answer was no - the back breaking work of clearing the site alone would have broken us. Factor in skip costs, materials, tool hire etc and it would have been an expensive job for us to tackle on our own and if we messed it up we'd have to pay again to fix it! Some things are best left to the professionals - who only took three days!

I booked the job in last year and saved for 6 months to pay for it. Maybe it's a job you could put off until next year?

Oooh thank you. That's v helpful. Sounds like I'm not far off with my estimate. Good to have some sense re DIY, ha.

Loved the idea of having it for summer but yeah, think I might follow your course of action! I am not totally sure if we have the budget it for it yet anyway.

Cheers again :)

We got our patio done recently....£3k...no idea the size but fairly small.

Honestly I really cannot see how you could do it. Like a pp said, it looked like absolutely back breaking work. You also have to do it on a slight gradient for drainage.

Thanks @Comedycook yeah, I knew we wouldn't be able to lay the patio myself. I did wonder about scooping up the gravel (which I think is a thin layer) and offering it for free collection. But frankly, I'm as weedy as my gravel is.

I had gravel paths and had them paved over a few years ago - the workmen rolled most of the gravel into the soil to create the base for the flags so there wasn't much to take away. However the stone was jolly heavy and needed cutting to shape in places. Also the guys laying it had done loads so had a "system" for how they laid the various shapes/sizes so that it looked random/organic rather than very geometrical. They also knew all about the drainage - putting in a slight camber and then a french drain around the edge of the lawn. I've never had any puddles on it so they clearly knew what they were doing. It was quite a big job - £5k for the labour and £10K for the stone so £5k for your patio would sound about right.

Cheers @londonmummy1966 ! Another vote for ~£5k and some really useful info, thank you. I'd definitely need decent drainage for it.