I have spent a fair amount of time telling you about patio furniture, but that does not help you all that much if you need to build a patio. Laying your own patio is not as difficult as you might think, and you can save a whole lot of money by building a patio yourself. You will have the ability to stamp your own personality on your garden if you take the time to create something yourself. Marking out the area is the first step in the process, which is done with a long piece of string and some pegs. The area does not have to be straight or box shaped, you can have curves and flowing lines for greater effect, although this will take more time to build.
Digging the foundations is the next step, and you should dig down about 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cms). A crucial part of any patio is the gradient, and all patios need to slope away from any buildings, to let water flow off the surface and drain away naturally. This is especially important if your patio is right next to your house, which most are. Filling the area with hardcore comes next, and make sure the hardcore is flattened down and compacted. You can do this with a compactor, which you can rent for the day. You can buy them from stores like argos, but they are quite expensive so the best option is to rent one. Use a spirit level to ensure the hardcore is flat and level, remembering to create the slope.
The next part is to pour the concrete, and this needs to be a 1 in 5 mixture, with one part cement for every 5 parts of sand. You can buy ready made mixtures if you are not sure about this. Level off the mix with a long piece of wood by slowly dragging it across the surface. You will need a depth of at least 7 cms to give a solid base for the patio slabs. When this is done you can begin to place the paving slabs on top. You can arrange them however you want. For curved edge designs you can either cut the slabs, or just buy pre-cut slabs. Use a rubber mallet to knock the slabs into position, still using the spirit level to make sure they are level. You need to leave a small gap between each slab for grouting later on, and to secure each slab to the other.
Leave the slabs to dry for at least 24 hours. Now you can grout in between the slabs with cement. This mixture should be one part cement to 3 parts sand. A building trowel is a great tool for this job, and stores like additions online sell them for little money. When you have grouted all the slabs, leave to dry for another 24 hours, and clean off any excess cement that may have got on the top of the slabs. You should now have created a little patio area in your garden.
Building a concrete patio is not difficult, but there are other methods to build a patio. Concrete blocks, bricks and other materials can be used.
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