Before you build your own patio or any other home
improvement work, make sure you have the time and commitment
to see it through.
It might have only taken the builder 2 or 3 days to do
your neighbours patio but he's doing it for money. After a
hard days digging 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!
Planning and designing your patio. 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 sore thumb. Plan the
size of your patio to suit the size of your slabs so that
cutting is not required. Remember to allow 10mm for each
joint when measuring out your area.
Tools required. A spade and shovel. A fork if grass
needs to be removed. A rubber mallet. A spirit level. Lines
and pegs. Wheelbarrow. Safety gloves.
From the hire shop. Small cement mixer and compactor
(also known as 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 slopes away from your house. 2.5cm for every 2m
or 1inch for every 6ft.
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.
100mm (4inch) deep. Run the wacca plate over the hardcore,
adding more to any low points. Your hardcore should finish
about 75mm (3inch) in depth and should be solid under foot.
Laying your slabs. Mix sand and cement without water
at a ratio of 5 sand to 1 cement. If you are using a small
mixer, 10 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
straight edge such as a length of 2x4 timber, level out the
mix.
Place your first slab down and tap it in place with your
rubber mallet. If the mix hasn't been packed down to hard
you should be able to position the slab. Use your level to
make sure this first slab is bang on. All the other slabs
work from this one so take your time to make sure its
correct.
Don't forget you should have a slight slope away from your
house.
Always work off the hardcore. Don't stand on your paving
slabs for a few days while the sand and cement sets. Use a
spirit level to check each slab as you lay them. If a slab
goes down to easy, lift it and spread more sand and cement.
Once you have laid several square metres worth of your
paving slabs, spread some mix on top and brush it into the
joints. You may have to do this several times as the mix
settles in the joints.
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. An
alternative to raising in brick is to use railway sleepers.
Related Sites:
How to build a patio
