Guide to Laying a Patio
Are you thinking of building a patio? If you are not sure what a patio is, it is a paved outdoor area adjoining a house used for dining, lounging or recreation. Building a patio would definitely improve your house in terms of extra living space, improving your garden or backyard and adding value to your property. There are a lot of homes now that have added patios to their living spaces and features such as fireplaces, barbecue pits, Jacuzzi and bars are known to have been integrated into the design.You should take into consideration your intent in building a patio. Will the patio be your sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the house? Will it serve as your own private nook for reading? Will the patio serve as an extension of your living spaces as you want to entertain? Is the patio meant to be used by the children as their outdoor play area? Will it be the focal point of your thriving garden? Is the patio an all-around outdoor space for a variety of activities?
Whatever your reasons are, make sure that you prioritize the patio's main usage when planning it. A beautiful patio would definitely make your home more appealing. A nice and simple landscaping done to your yard would not only add value to your property but would also bring you pleasure. Wouldn't it be nice to come home to a very peaceful and restive sanctuary?
Whether you choose to hire a contractor or plunge into this project as a DIY, here are some pointers that are worth knowing before you proceed with your patio project. If you are a DIY, make sure you commit yourself in finishing this project as you wouldn't want an unfinished patio in your yard.
Location and size of patio. Survey your lot and decide where you want to build your patio. If you want it an extension of your living room or your dining room, measure the free space adjoining the rooms. If you plan to build the patio way out in the garden, then consider the extra paving work you have to do to connect the main patio to the main house. There's no real need to be square or rectangular in your patio plan. You can go freestyle - any shape goes! Take into consideration the climate in your locality. If you live where there's a lot of sun, then consider building a trellis over some part of the patio to ward off intense heat. You may also opt to just put in really big patio umbrellas. If you live where there's a lot of rain, try to plan on providing a small shed tucked in a corner. What's the size? 3 meters by 3 meters patio is an acceptable size. Of course you need to adjust the size to fit your yard.
Patio Materials. Having picked out your patio spot and having had decided on the usage and size of your patio, what materials are you going to use? You can choose to use wood, bricks, stamped concrete, tiles, cobblestones, flagstones, or just loose gravel. Pick a paving slab that will go with the rest of the house. If you are building the patio yourself, take actual measurements to suit your patio material so as to avoid cutting. Make sure you have the following tools for your project: saw, cordless drill and screwdriver, a level, a sledge hammer, a socket set, a shovel, spade, a pick axe, wheelbarrow, rubber mallet, and measuring tape. If you're planning on doing a lot of concrete paving, better rent a cement mixer and a compactor.
Step by Step Instructions to laying a patio.
Here is an easy step by step instruction on how to lay out a brick patio.
- 1. Mark the area of the patio by measuring out your desired space and staking each corner. If you are building a square or a rectangular patio, make sure that all sides are correctly measured. Make sure you have the picked out the pattern you want for your brick.
- 2. Dig down about 0.15 meter (6 inches). If the patio is adjacent to a living area, make sure that the top of the finished patio is at least a step down (about 0.15 meter) below the adjacent living area. Make sure that the patio slopes away from the house at a ratio of 2.5 cm for every 2 meters.
- 3. Lay out the base or hard core of about 0.10 meter (4 inches). Run a compactor over the hard core to level it. The compacted hard core should finish at about 0.075 or 3 inches of solid base.
- 4. Mix your cement mortar for the bricks. A good proportion is 1 bag of cement to 5 cubic feet of sand. An easy assessment of measurement is for every 2 shovels of cement, put in 10 shovels of sand.
- 5. Dump the mixture in the centre of the patio laying out whole bricks first. Keep in mind to slope the patio floor from the house. Keep a 2 x 4 timber handy for levelling out the cement.
- 6. Place your first brick on the mixture tapping it lightly with a rubber mallet. Make sure you position the first tile correctly as the rest of the tile layout would depend on it.
- 7. Work as quickly as possible for the mortar mix not to harden. If you think you cannot do a batch quickly, then half the mortar batch.
- 8. Check the level of the laid out bricks by a spirit level. Again, make sure that the brick flooring slopes away from the house. You would not want a puddle of water near the entrance to your house from the patio.
- 9. After laying out the bricks, spread mortar in between spaces and into joint. You may opt to use coloured grouting cement if you wish to. Give the brick tiles a few days to settle before stepping on them.
Remember to estimate the number of bricks that you will need and buy the lot with about 10% overhead to accommodate breakages.
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