Garden Patio Designing

If you decide to build a garden patio you will need to develop an expertise in a number of areas, specifically concerning architecture, design, brickwork, woodwork and knowledge of gravel and natural stone. The patio is a long term investment in your garden and it is worthwhile considering all options, including future garden maintenance, before you start.

Matching and mixing

If you have a timber frame house you will be seeking to match the home to the garden decor so you will consider timber decking, wood benches and wooden patio and so forth to compliment and merge your house and garden. Similarly a stone house will fit better with a stone patio.

Helpful patio ideas

For heating the patio:

Bring a different patio theme to your yard with heating effects to create a different feel. This enhancement opposite could bring a desirable ambiance and warmth to your patio in the cooler evenings.

Patio Pathways

It is likely that an access path or paths will be required to and from the patio and for continuity. The patio material and the paths should be the same as it is more aesthetically pleasing.

Concrete Patio making

A concrete patio will need to be supported to prevent it developing large cracks and trip hazards. The best way is to use steel rods all radiating out from the center as this provides the strength. It is best if the rods are at or just below the mid point of the concrete (at 2 and a ½ inches) if the 4-inch thick concrete is used.

Mix your concrete using coarse sand to make a strong mortar. The sand to cement mix should be 3:1. Wet the area before pouring. It is best to pour concrete on cloudy days because damp weather will prevent it drying too quickly. The addition of lime (usual is 10% of the total mix) will make the mix more ‘soapy’ and easier to spread but in addition it prevents shrinkage by acting as a binding agent.

Flagstones (flags)

Prepare the concrete as above. The flagstones should be fitted to the concrete slab within one day before the concrete sets fully. The flags can be set directly onto the wet mortar mix but this presents problems with trying to level the flags so waiting until the mix is partially firm is the best way, in my opinion. Flags that you may wish to move again can be laid on a deep compacted sand base using a light cement mix (sand and 1:1 can be used between the flags) as piping or grouting between the flags. Flags allow you to have gaps where you can position a centerpiece such as a sundial or garden clock.

Brick

Brick patios compliment brick built or brick exterior houses. Bricks must be laid on a level sub floor and can have a light mix to bind them together. It will take longer and require more skill to build a brick patio than a cement, flagstone or gravel one. Take care choosing colored bricks as the textured nature of brick allow them to become weathered and bleached resulting in an ugly looking patio. Test the brick before purchase and ensure that they are properly hardened and suitable for patios. You can lay the brick side by side firmly butted against each other without any binding agent. You must first have a permanent rigid frame in place to allow this compacting to work effectively. Otherwise they can be fixed more permanently by using mortar. Two of the most common layout patterns used are ‘basketweave’ and ‘herringbone’.

Gravel and patio edging

Gravel is ideal and offers versatility of patio shape as the parts are so small and can be poured into any gaps, shapes or unusual areas. This patio will require edging (which can be decorated with garden pots) to keep it in place. Wood and bark chipping have been used to make pathways leading to a gravelled area and seem to be complementary to the gravel patio.