Patio Installation
Outdoor entertaining space laid on a full-mortar bed with proper falls, sealed joints and a 1-year workmanship guarantee in writing. Designed once, enjoyed for twenty years.
The Service
No filler, no jargon. What you're getting, why you'd want it, and what makes the difference between a good install and a bad one.
What it is
Patios are paved outdoor terraces for entertaining, dining and relaxing, laid on a compacted sub-base, full mortar bedding, with sealed joints and falls designed to shed water away from the house. Material options include porcelain, Indian sandstone, limestone and concrete flag.
Who it's for
Homeowners extending the usable footprint of their property into the garden. Particularly suited to new garden room extensions, hot-tub bases, outdoor kitchens, and traditional dining terraces.
When you need it
When the existing patio is cracked, uneven, weed-ridden, or simply too small. Also when planning a garden room, hot tub or outdoor kitchen, these need a load-rated, properly drained base laid as part of the install.
Why it matters
Because patios fail when they're spot-bedded instead of full-bedded, laid with no falls, or pointed with the wrong mortar. Spot-bedded slabs rock and crack within years; flat patios pond and ice; cement-pointed joints crack and let water under the slab. Done properly, a patio looks brand new fifteen years on.
What Goes Wrong
We get called in to fix all four of these every month. None of them are accidents, they're predictable consequences of cutting the wrong corner.
The cheap way to lay a patio is five mortar dots under each slab, fast, easy, fails within five years. Full-bed mortar takes longer and uses more material; it's the only method that lasts.
Flat patios pond, water freezes, joints crack and slabs lift. Every patio needs a minimum 1:80 fall away from the house, measured with a level, not eyeballed.
Cheap sandstone leaches mineral salts to the surface as it dries, leaving white efflorescence stains. Premium-grade and porcelain materials don't, and they're a small cost premium up front.
Standard mortar shrinks as it cures and cracks at the slab edges within a year, letting water under the patio. We point with flexible polymeric mortar designed for paving, it stays sealed for decades.
Our Process
On-site measure, material samples on the table, falls and drainage agreed, written itemised estimate.
Excavated to 200mm below finished level, MOT Type 1 compacted in 100mm layers, falls set to 1:80 minimum away from the house.
Full-bed 4:1 sharp sand and cement mortar, slabs laid one at a time on a fresh bed, levels checked with a long spirit level and tweaked before set.
Polymeric jointing compound brushed into open joints, watered in, smoothed and cleaned off the slab face before set. Stays flexible for decades, no cracking.
Sandstone and limestone sealed with a breathable impregnating sealer at month one to protect against staining. Porcelain needs no sealing. Site cleaned, handover walk-through, guarantee paperwork.
The Benefits
Full-bedded slabs with polymeric joints on a compacted sub-base routinely last 15–20 years with minimal maintenance. Workmanship guaranteed in writing for 1 year.
A properly designed patio extends the usable area of your property, outdoor dining, entertaining, sun-trap seating. Estate agents put 5–10% uplift on a quality outdoor space.
20mm porcelain is non-porous, frost-proof, stain-resistant, and never needs sealing. Premium choice for hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, and high-use entertaining areas.
From traditional Indian sandstone to contemporary porcelain in stone, wood, slate and concrete effects. Borders, contrast strips and integrated step details.
Patios designed for hot tubs are built on a reinforced load-rated base, we plan for this at design stage if it's on your wish list.
Annual sweep, occasional jet wash, joint top-up at year 5–7. No re-sanding, no individual block replacement, no re-sealing for porcelain.
The Detail
Materials, methods, variations, and the small decisions that separate a 20-year driveway from a five-year one.
07939 524241Porcelain is the modern premium choice, 20mm vitrified ceramic, non-porous, frost-proof, stain-proof, no sealing required. Indian sandstone is the traditional warm-toned option, available in a wide range of colours from Raj Green to Mint Fossil. Limestone offers a cooler, more uniform finish. Concrete flag is the budget choice, moulded to resemble stone, available in many colours, with a 10–15 year lifespan.
Every patio we lay is full-mortar bedded, the slab sits on a continuous bed of 4:1 sharp sand and cement, with no voids underneath. Spot-bedding (five dots of mortar per slab) is faster, cheaper, and is the single biggest cause of cracked and rocking slabs on domestic patios. We do not spot-bed.
Standard sand-and-cement pointing cracks within a season as the cement shrinks and the patio flexes. Polymeric jointing compound, a sand impregnated with a polymer binder, stays flexible, fully sealed and weed-free for 10+ years. It's the modern standard for premium patios.
Every patio gets a minimum 1:80 fall away from the house wall, with a clear 150mm gap between finished patio level and the damp-proof course of the building. Where the patio meets the house, we either install a linear drain or step the patio down to keep water away from the brickwork. This is plumbing, not landscaping, get it wrong and you bridge the DPC.
A loaded hot tub weighs 1.5–2 tonnes; an outdoor kitchen base, a pizza oven or a brick BBQ adds significant point loads. Where these are planned, we design a reinforced concrete base or upgraded sub-base into the patio at the start, much easier than retro-fitting later.
FAQs
Still have a question? Pick up the phone.
Related Services
Where We Work
Durham-based, on the road across the region every week.
Free site survey. Written estimate. No pressure, ever.
Backed by 20+ years' experience and a 1-year workmanship guarantee in writing.
