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How to lay a garden patio

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To do

It's not a difficult job, so put aside a weekend and you'll soon be entertaining friends, or enjoying a well-earned rest on your new patio surrounded by pots and plants.

Need some inspiration? Browse our features on container gardening for ideas.

Follow our simple steps on how to lay a garden patio, below.

Our garden patio shopping list

You might already have what you need to get started on making your garden patio. If you don't, we've done the hard work for you with our handy shopping list.

You Will Need

Hardcore
Building sand
Cement
Cement mixer, optional
Shovel
Rake
Wheelbarrow
Wooden pegs
Hammer
Spirit level
Plank of wood
Wacker plate
Rubber mallet
Bolster chisel
Pointing trowel

Total time: A weekend

Step 1: Lay the hardcore

Clear the area you've chosen for your patio to a depth of 15cm to allow room for the hardcore, mortar and paving slabs. Lay 5cm - 8cms of hardcore, using a rake to distribute it and even out any bumps.

Step 2: Compact the hardcore

Use a wacker plate to compact and level the hardcore. It's not essential, but stops the rubble moving around while you lay the slabs, making the base solid.

Step 3: Level the patio

Hammer wooden pegs into the ground - they need to be at the same height to mark the level surface of the patio. Make sure they're level with any existing paving and manhole covers. Position several over the patio site to work with, using a spirit level to ensure they're even.

Step 4: Arrange the patio slabs

For a random design, place several slabs on the ground to help you decide which shapes interlock well together. Alternatively, cut out pieces of paper to represent scaled-down slabs and work out a design on your scale plan.

Step 5: Lay the patio slabs

Make a mortar mix - five parts building sand to one part cement. If you're laying a small patio, do this in a wheelbarrow, for larger areas it's worth hiring an electric cement mixer. Lay slabs on a bed of mortar 5cm - 8cm deep, tapping down firmly with a rubber mallet or pressing down with your hands.

Step 6: Level the slabs

You need to leave a 1cm gap between each slab, which you'll fill in later with mortar. As you progress, use your spirit level or a plank of wood to ensure the slabs are level with the pegs you banged into the ground earlier.

Step 7: Edge the patio

Edge the patio with paviours laid on a 5cm - 8cm layer of mortar, butting them closely together. For a neat fit, use a hammer and bolster chisel to break paviours where necessary.

Step 8: Wash the patio slabs

Wash down the slabs when you've finished, making sure you remove any splattered mortar before it hardens and stains the paving.

Step 9: Fill in the gaps in the patio

Fill the gaps between the paving slabs using a pointing trowel and the same mortar mix as before. Try not to get mortar on the slab surfaces as this will stain if allowed to set.

Patio on a gradient

If the patio is next to the house, include a slight gradient away from the house when laying the slabs, so that rainwater simply runs off into an area where it can be soaked up.