How To Do A Patio

How To Build A Patio Deck

Hey, are you ready to build that new patio deck but, your new to this building thing?Don’t worry I was new to building wood projects too… many years ago.But worry not, I will walk you thru every step of the building process.I have built many Patio decks, and I will help you get your awesome patio deck built right.First thing when taking on a project like this, you’ll need some tools. Here are some tools I recommend and that I use daily Here.

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How Easy Is It To Lay A Patio

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Question: There’s a small area in our garden that gets the sun all afternoon and I’d love to make the most it by laying a patio. Can I do it myself, and if so how?

DIY guru, Jo Behari, says: A patio is relatively simple to lay and the materials are available at hardware stores. First, dig out any turf or plants down to about 10-15cm to form the foundations. Then put down a layer of ‘hardcore’, which is broken bits of rubble and brick. Spread it out with a rake and use a long piece of 2×4 timber to flatten it down.

Now you’ll need to pour a layer of bedding mortar, which you can buy ready mixed, or make up yourself using six parts sharp sand with one part cement and mixing it with just enough water so it’s damp and workable, not wet and runny. Lay each slab with a slight slope of about 25mm so water can drain off. The most accurate way to do this is to put a block that measures 25mm thick under the back end of the slab.

Once in position, place a block of wood on top of the slab to protect it and knock it down with a club hammer to secure it within the bedding mortar. Repeat with each slab and then leave to dry for 24 hours.

The next step is putting mortar between the slabs, otherwise known as pointing. Using a trowel, press the mortar between the gaps and brush off any excess with a stiff brush.

Create A Pebble Mosaic

With myriad options for stone colors and sizesnot to mention endless variations in layoutthe design of a pebble mosaic for your yard or garden is limited only by your imagination. If this outdoor project is on your to-do list this summer but you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few fun examples of pebble patterns to get you started. We hope the hardest part of the project is picking your favorite.

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Do I Need A Patio Railing

Building codes allow residences to have up to a 30-inch change of elevation without the need for a guardrail. I try to keep it less than that, says Pedersen. If you have 24 inches, it can function as informal seating. Sometimes, after considering how the area will be used, theyll add a guardrail even when theres not much change in elevationYou dont want a kid on a Big Wheel doing an Evel Knievel into the shrubs, he says.

Prepare The Ground For Pavers

If the area is currently lawn or long grass, its worth cutting the turf into strips using a spade and then rolling it up. This way, you can save it to fill any gaps between the new patio and the lawn when youre done.

Dig out an area 150mm deep that’s 10cm for your sub base, and 5cm for your mortar and paving slabs. If your slabs are very thick, allow a little extra depth. If you are laying directly next to the house, the finished patio should be at least 150mm below the damp proof course.

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How To Build A Patio Foundation

Now that you know how to build a patio, you can start thinking of creative ways to use them around your home. One option is to use your patio as a foundation for a gazebo or pergola.

The process is basically the same. For this project, youll want to use 12 x 24 patio stones and make sure theyre approximately 1.5 inches thick. A patio foundation is ideal for structures that are less than 14-feet in width or length, like a smaller hard-top gazebo or a grill gazebo.

To create a larger covered space, you may consider attaching a carport to your patio. This is an inexpensive way to create plenty of shade without worrying about adding too much weight to your patio foundation.

Put The Finishing Touches On Your Patio Masterpiece

The privacy for this pool-and-patio area is furnished partly by a masonry wall. As a finishing touch, a simple mural has been painted on the wall, suggesting cactus plants. If you are not much of an artist, check online for sources for plant stencils.

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Spread Landscape Fabric And Gravel

Double-check your calculations for gravel and sand and arrange for deliveries. Then call the rental store and reserve a gas-powered plate compactor or tamper. This is a heavy beast youll need a trailer or pickup truck and a couple of strong bodies to move it around.

After compacting the soil with the tamper and before you start filling the hole, roll out the landscape fabric, allowing it to extend at least 6 in. beyond the patio all around. Use spikes to temporarily hold it in place. Then we spread a 2-in. layer of gravel over the top.

Note: If your soil is soft or soggy, you might have to add more gravel fill to create a stable base. Ask your building inspector or a soil engineer to recommend the right base for you.

Cost Estimator By Size

Size is an important factor to consider when building your patio. This and materials are your largest cost considerations .

You dont want to build it too small and not have enough room to enjoy friends and family, but larger square footages can quickly add hundreds or thousands of dollars to the total cost.

Well take our $8 $20 per square foot average range and apply it to small, medium, and large patios to get an idea for an average cost range for each size.

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Materials For Your Concrete Paver Patio

Project specific supplies:

• Landscape fabric for clay soil-*see note

*Some Important Notes About Your Project Materials

A 16 x16 paver is actually 15 ¾ x 15 ¾ and just over 1 ½ thick . This is important to know when it comes to sketching out your design so it fits the space well.

If you are using larger pavers and installing the patio yourself, you may want to take weight into consideration. I used 16×16 pavers, which weighed 36 lbs each! I could carry only one at a time, so this made the project more time consuming.

Instead, you can opt for the 12 x 12 pavers. Or if you have a little four-wheeled wagon and dont have a hill to go up to, that will make things much easier!

When it comes to base layer and top layer materials, a landscape supply company in your area will know the best base material for your patio pavers.

For instance, if you live in an area that has a high amount of clay in the soil, plan on using extra gravel in your base layer. Clay has draining issues and larger gravel will help with this.

In my area, the base layer material is known as crusher run. A crusher run has granite dust and coarse and fine angular aggregate and the gravel is about ½-4 in size.

For my top level, I used paver dust, but in your area, sand may be recommended. Again, trust the guidance of your local supplier.

How To Build A Concrete Patio

Create a prominent outdoor space with a strong and stylish concrete patio. The base of rigid patios can be constructed with mortared brick, mortared flagstone, tile, or concrete pad. Concrete provides a solid base beneath these materials. It also prevents them from cracking as the ground shifts from temperatures changes.

In most areas, a concrete patio begins with 4 inches of compacted stone. The difference is the depth you dig before you pour.

If you install a concrete patio, dig out a space 8 inches deep 4 inches for the some, another 4 inches for the concrete, and another 2 inches to allow for mortar and brick.

Form Release Agent

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Easy Does It With Gravel Patios

Here is another type of patio that has some give to it: a gravel patio. As with the sand of the Zen garden pictured in the prior slide, the gravel cannot “break” when tree roots attack it. As a result, you need to be less wary of growing trees around your patio than you do with hard-surface patios.

Here is another fact about gravel patios that should meet with your satisfaction: They are not high-maintenance, as are Zen gardens. This fact will only hold true, however, if you take the precaution of using landscape fabric as an underlayment to make it more difficult for weeds to invade the space.

Measure Slope To Allow For Patio Drainage

So that your concrete paver patio drains away from your house, youll need to account for the slope of the space.

If your patio is on a hill or against a retaining wall, for instance, you will slope in two directions: away from the house and also away from the wall or the hill.

The angle of slope that allows for proper drainage for your patio is 1 per every 4 feet. For instance, my patio was 9 deep, so I created a slope of 2¼.

The way to mark the slope is to start at stakes that will be your low end. Take the strings youve tied onto those stakes and lower them by the number of inches required to meet the correct slope for your patio base on its depth.

Next, use a marker to mark a line where you pulled the strings to .

The new string locations now mark the height of the 4 base layer with the slope included.

I also found it helpful to mark the top of where the paver will be. Its important to note that depending on what your top base layer is made of, it may not actually add any height to your total.

The paver dust I had compacted down to maybe about ¼. You may want to test yours to see because if yours doesnt compact like that, you may want to add it into your calculations.

If you are using the same pavers I used, these are just over 1½ thick. If your paver dust/sand compacts to almost nothing, you will want to make your last mark 1½ above the base layer mark just made.

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Order The Base Materials And Stone

It’s what’s underneath that counts. Stone and brick are what you see, but the landscape fabric, gravel and sand are what hold them together and make your patio last.

Landscape fabric stabilizes the soil underneath the gravel base by keeping them apart while allowing water to drain through. We used 12-1/2 ft. wide, heavy, woven stabilization fabric purchased from our stone supplier. If this isn’t available, use the widest landscape fabric you can find.

Class V limestone forms the foundation of our patio, but there may be different materials available in your region. Any granular fill will work as long as the size of the granules ranges from 3/4 in. down to a powder and they’re angular, not smooth and round. These qualities allow the fill to be tightly packed for a firm base that allows water to drain through. A mixture of recycled concrete and asphalt is widely available and is a good substitute for Class V.

Depending on your soil, you’ll need a4- to 10-in. thick layer of gravel. Sandy soils require less gravel than soils with organic matter or clay. Gravel is sold by the ton or cubic yard. One cubic yard covers about 50 sq. ft. at a 6-in. depth by the time it’s compacted and weighs 1-1/2 tons. We used 12 tons of gravel.

Coarse washed sand is spread over the gravel in a 1-in. layer to form a setting bed for the stone and brick, and later to fill the cracks between the bricks and stone. We used 5 tons of sand.

How To Lay A Patio Next To A Building

If you’re laying a patio next to your house, you will need to create what’s known as a fall meaning that your patio will need to be slightly sloping to allow water to drain away from your house and not collect by walls.

This is done by inserting wooden pegs in a grid where you sub base will go, ensuring that the pegs go in between 12 and 16mm deeper for every metre away from the house. Pre-mark the pegs with a marker to make sure your measurements are correct.

Then, at the sub base filling stage, make sure the aggregate just covers the tops of the pegs.

• How to lay decking for another spot in your backyard.

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How The Layers Go Together

When youve found a suitable spot, make a rough sketch showing trees, shrubs and gardens, then take measurements. Transfer these measurements to graph paper, letting each square equal 1 ft. Lay tracing paper over your plan and sketch in the stone border and bricks. Experiment with different designs, and when you come up with a plan you like, use it to calculate the quantities of materials and help you place the patio stones. Remember that this is a casual, free-form patio. Have fun and let the plan evolve as you work.

Note: You can download Figure A and enlarge it from the additional information below.

Outdoor Patio Ideas That Will Excite And Inspire You

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The Spruce / Almar Creative

Do you enjoy dining outside? Some people are more die-hard outdoor dining enthusiasts than others, to be sure. But almost everybody can remember a pleasant experience at some point in their lives that involved sipping on some coffee, tea, beer, wine or other beverage in an appealing outdoor setting, whether it was at a friend’s house or at a cafe. And now you want a patio of your own.

Or perhaps it is reading a book or chatting on your smartphone that you find enhanced if the experience occurs in an open-air setting? Regardless of the activity, improving your outdoor space is the key factor in making it possible for you to enjoy yourself to the fullest. The ideas illustrated here will help you cover all the bases in planning your new patio.

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Fill The Joints And Edge The Patio

While a patio doesn’t need edging to hold the stones in place, cobblestones are an option.

To install them, dig a trench far enough into the pack to accommodate a 4-inch bed of concrete and set each stone 3½ inches below finish grade.

After the patio is firm enough to walk on, spread stone dust over the stones and sweep it into the joints and along the edge.

Step 9

How To Complete The Base For Your Patio

Remove the guides and fill in the remaining space with sand.

Finish the Base

Watch video of this step.

With the gravel base compacted, install galvanized steel edging around the perimeter of the base . This edging marks the outside of the 11-foot square to be filled by the pavers. Edging is also available in plastic or aluminum.

The final base material is a one-inch layer of sand.

Spread the sand over the gravel base to a depth of one inch. Screed the sand with a 2×4 using a pair of 1-inch PVC pipe and a depth guide . You can create similar guides by sawing wood into long, 1-inch thick strips. Then remove the guides and fill in the remaining sand.

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