Before you construct your own patio or any other home project , make sure you have the time and Patience, to see the project through.
It might have only taken the builder depending on size 2 - 4 days to do your neighbours patio but he's doing it for money. After a hard days Graft digging off, its easy to think sod this, I'll finish it next weekend. The next thing you know your garden spends the whole summer looking like a building site and your wife takes herself and the kids to her mothers. Keep it nice and simple, forget curves and other fancy shapes. Choose a paving slab that matches the colour of your house, you want it to blend in not stand out like a blind cobblers thumb. Plan the size of your patio to suit the size of your slabs, so that there is not much cutting if none at all . Remember to allow for your joints approx 10mm for each joint when measuring out your area.But some certain types of slabs do not need joints. Tools required. A spade and shovel. A fork if grass needs to be removed. A rake for levelling the hardcore. A rubber mallet or rubber hammer. A spirit level. Lines and pegs. Wheelbarrow. Safety gloves. Small cement mixer and aslo a wacca plate. If cuts are required an angle grinder or disc cutter with safety goggles.Marking out your patio area. Use pegs and lines to mark out your area. To check your angles measure from corner to corner. The distance between corners 1 and 3 should measure the same as corners 2 and 4.Digging out. You should dig down about 150mm (6inch). If your patio is going to butt up to your home you must make sure that the top of the paving slabs will finish at least 150mm below your damp course. Also, it is important that your patio falls away from your house. 1 - 2 inches for every 10ft.
If you are only digging out top soil you should be able to get away with dispersing it around your garden. Anything else and you will require a skip.Laying the hard core. Spread the hard core approx. 150mm (6inch) deep. Run the wacca plate over the hardcore, adding more to any low points. Your hardcore should finish about 100mm (4inch) in depth and should be solid under foot.Laying your slabs. Mix sand and cement with water, it should be at a consistency just like thick double cream at a ratio of 4 sand to 1 cement. If you are using a small mixer, 8 shovels of sand and 2 of cement is just enough for the mixer and gives you a good wheelbarrow full.Spread out your sand and cement mix in a corner. If you are butting up to your house, start against the wall. Using a plained wooden straight edge such as a length of 6 feet long 5x1 timber, level out the mix.Place your first slab down and tap it to the desired level with a rubber lump hammer or Mallet . If the mix hasn't been packed down to hard you should be able to move the slab. Use your level to make sure this first slab is correct. All the other slabs work from this one so take your time to make sure its in its correct position.Don't forget you should have a slight fall away from your house.Always work off the hardcore. Don't stand on your paving slabs for a few days while the mortar sets. Use your spirit level with your straight edge to check each slab as you lay them. If a slab goes down to easy, lift it and spread more mortar underneath.Alternatives. Consider using brick pavers instead of slabs or building your patio in decking. If your patio needs to be raised or finishes above ground level you will need to build a base.
It might have only taken the builder depending on size 2 - 4 days to do your neighbours patio but he's doing it for money. After a hard days Graft digging off, its easy to think sod this, I'll finish it next weekend. The next thing you know your garden spends the whole summer looking like a building site and your wife takes herself and the kids to her mothers. Keep it nice and simple, forget curves and other fancy shapes. Choose a paving slab that matches the colour of your house, you want it to blend in not stand out like a blind cobblers thumb. Plan the size of your patio to suit the size of your slabs, so that there is not much cutting if none at all . Remember to allow for your joints approx 10mm for each joint when measuring out your area.But some certain types of slabs do not need joints. Tools required. A spade and shovel. A fork if grass needs to be removed. A rake for levelling the hardcore. A rubber mallet or rubber hammer. A spirit level. Lines and pegs. Wheelbarrow. Safety gloves. Small cement mixer and aslo a wacca plate. If cuts are required an angle grinder or disc cutter with safety goggles.Marking out your patio area. Use pegs and lines to mark out your area. To check your angles measure from corner to corner. The distance between corners 1 and 3 should measure the same as corners 2 and 4.Digging out. You should dig down about 150mm (6inch). If your patio is going to butt up to your home you must make sure that the top of the paving slabs will finish at least 150mm below your damp course. Also, it is important that your patio falls away from your house. 1 - 2 inches for every 10ft.
If you are only digging out top soil you should be able to get away with dispersing it around your garden. Anything else and you will require a skip.Laying the hard core. Spread the hard core approx. 150mm (6inch) deep. Run the wacca plate over the hardcore, adding more to any low points. Your hardcore should finish about 100mm (4inch) in depth and should be solid under foot.Laying your slabs. Mix sand and cement with water, it should be at a consistency just like thick double cream at a ratio of 4 sand to 1 cement. If you are using a small mixer, 8 shovels of sand and 2 of cement is just enough for the mixer and gives you a good wheelbarrow full.Spread out your sand and cement mix in a corner. If you are butting up to your house, start against the wall. Using a plained wooden straight edge such as a length of 6 feet long 5x1 timber, level out the mix.Place your first slab down and tap it to the desired level with a rubber lump hammer or Mallet . If the mix hasn't been packed down to hard you should be able to move the slab. Use your level to make sure this first slab is correct. All the other slabs work from this one so take your time to make sure its in its correct position.Don't forget you should have a slight fall away from your house.Always work off the hardcore. Don't stand on your paving slabs for a few days while the mortar sets. Use your spirit level with your straight edge to check each slab as you lay them. If a slab goes down to easy, lift it and spread more mortar underneath.Alternatives. Consider using brick pavers instead of slabs or building your patio in decking. If your patio needs to be raised or finishes above ground level you will need to build a base.
My neighbour, whose house is back from ours by a few feet, has recently had a new patio. We have found that it has been built above our damp course with about an inch away from our wall which is filled with slate. Is this ok or will we get problems with damp in years to come. We are pensioners and worried about this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWell, my best advice would be, that firstly your neighbour should have contated you about is or her plans to build a patio so close to your property, and also building it above your damp proof course. With only an inch gap between your propety and the patio, which should have been a least 4 inches away and filled with at least some kind of drainage system possilbly a small land drain filled with gravel, or some other ornimental coloured stone placed below your damp proof course,would have solved all these problems, that can occur,can cause lots of potential damp issues . My best advice to you would be go and have a chat with your neighbours and explain your concerns to them ,and ask if they would possibley rectify a few problems that have come to your attention, concerning your property , but there is one thing that you should never do in building, and kindley explain this to your neighbour that you should never come above your damp proof course and certainly not yours,unless its being specialy done, I hope this as been some help to you anymore problems please ask.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, very helpful.
ReplyDeletei am currently building a patio however it has a drain in the middle and the top of the drain is approx 1 inch below the current level of the pathway. Can you advise which one to make the patio level with.
ReplyDeleteWell my best advice would be, continue with the current level of your pathway,or you can also lower it to the level of your drain as long as you put a slight fall towards your drain , so that the rain water can run towards it and disperse, but never let it run towards your home,if you have garden borders and flower beds slightly fall the patio towards them and then you will have no drainage problems at all and also your flowers and plants also get a good watering too . I hope this as being some help, dont worry just have a go, anymore problems please ask thankyou.
ReplyDeleteI would advise you to speak to your neighbour and express your concerns.
ReplyDeleteYou would have thought that the builder who duid the work would have noticed this and thought there can be a possible problem later on.
I plan on adding an onto our patio, another section to and in time a third section. I noticed that the contractor used retaining wall stone for everything that was not going to be visible, however the wall was vertically perfect. The retaining wall stone he used has a lip on the back for easy installation. I was just wondering, did he chip off the lip to make it vertical. I know that contractors cut costs where ever they can to make a profit and I know that the double side finished stone cost more than the retaining wall stone. Would I be correct to start building and breaking the lip off of each stone laid until I get to the stone that would be visible on both sides?
ReplyDelete