Scrapbook image

Your scrapbook

Follow Gardeners' World

Advertisement

Gardeners' World

How to...

lay a patio

Patio

You will need:

  • Hardcore material, building sand, cement, cement mixer (optional)
  • Paving, paviours
  • Shovel, rake, wheelbarrow
  • Wooden pegs, hammer, spirit level, plank of wood, wacker plate
  • Rubber mallet
  • Bolster chisel
  • Pointing trowel

Overview

Make time to lay a patio now and you'll enjoy the benefits each time you're out in the garden. 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.

How to do it

  1. Laying hardcoreClear 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.

  2. Compacting hardcoreUse 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.

  3. Levelling patio pegsHammer 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.

  4. Arranging patio slabsFor 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.

  5. Laying slabs on mortarMake 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.

  6. Levelling patio slabsYou 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.

  7. Edging patioEdge the patio with paviours layed 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.

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

  9. Filling gaps between slabsFill 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.

Adam's Tip

Adam's Tip

"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."

Comments and rating

Overall rating (from 2 ratings):

5 out of 5

5 out of 5

4 out of 5

Very helpful. Another job I'm going to try soon, but just a circle.... best to start small me thinks :)

Report this comment

You are about to report a comment for breaking our Code of Conduct.

Please note, we will not remove a post just because you disagree with what is being said.

This form can only be used for reporting a comment. If you want to contact us please go to our contact us page.

I want to report this comment for:

Leave a comment

Sign in to rate and add your comments to this feature.

Sign in | Register

Advertiser Links

Subscribe to the magazine

September edition of Gardeners' World Magazine

In September...
The September issue is on sale from 27 August. Subscribe today and receive five issues of Gardeners' World magazine for just £5.

The UK's number 1 gardening magazine

Gardeners' World Live

Book now for BBC Gardeners' World Live, 16-20 June 2010, NEC, Birmingham.

TV & Radio

Television icon

What's on this week

Find out what gardening programmes are on TV and radio this week. And read more about the Gardeners' World programme.

Offer

Planter

Buy 35 summer plants and get a free obelisk.

© BBC Magazines Ltd. The Gardeners' World word mark and logo are trademarks of the BBC and are used under licence.