mentalguy2004 wrote:
:: Hi,
::
:: Price aside, what are the pros and cons of using any of these for
:: patios? I have an existing concrete/hardcore patio which I want to
:: make bigger, to a size of roughly 15 square metres. Which would be
:: the easiest to use and/or give the best results, and is there
:: anything (beyond normal DIY knowledge) that I should be careful
:: of? I have taken care of buried cables, etc. Thanks.

Being a bit of a specialist in this area I would have to ask you what effect
are you hoping to acheive?
1 - do you want it to look the 'bees knees' or do you just want somewhere
flat to have the odd barbie and store junk?
2 - do you want it to blend in with anything else which maybe in your garden
already, such as a weeping willow close by, or have it littered with fancy
ornaments and expensive plants?
3 - do you want it just as a parking space for the kids' bikes or to erect
a 'playground' (plastic slides, swing etc)?

secondly, is there anything to work around such as rainwater gullies,
manholes or other drains?

Wooden decking can be *very* slippy especially if it's not getting a lot of
sun, it also has downsides with relation to height - if your back step from
the house is only eight inches or less, forget it as you need at least this
just to have it level with the inside floor, it's better if your patio is a
foot or more below dampcourse (house floor level)...ideally with any outside
surface, there should be a clear six inches clearance (IE a step up into the
house) from patio to house, this is minimum - the more the better, but this
applies to all materials of patio construction, it's just that decking is an
inch and half thick and sits atop six or seven inch beams....meaning you may
have to dig out quite a lot....the plus sides are obvous, it's cheap(ish),
natural and virtually maintenance free....probably your best bet for option
1, the odd barbie and to have a few pots and a patio set but will probably
end up home to bins, buckets, bags and various other crud like mine.

Flagging is probably your best bet if you don't want to spend a lot and you
are interested in option 3 above...you can still use it for barbies and
everything else you would with any other patio but flags always look a bit
'council estate' to me (I live on a council estate before anyone brings it
up!)..unless you buy riven stone looking ones or slate effect which are
obviously a *lot* more expensive than bog standard grey squares,
block-paving has the same effect (IMHO) as a good quality 'fancy' paving
flag...you can even get them to look like cobbles and some of the more
expensive flags are odd shapes and sizes to give a haphazzard effect like
Yorkshire stone.

Concrete is the worst form of kak, it's ugly, it dusts up in summer and is
like an icerink in winter, it cracks, doesn't allow water penetration
(unlike the other 3) and it looks exactly like what it is - cheap.
You can of course get the 'imprinted concrete' which mimics block-paving or
flagging but this is usually coloured and glazed, both of which wear off
after a short while...the other downside to imprinted concrete is that it's
strengthened with steel mesh to stop it cracking, but if you ever come to
dig up a drain or have any other kind of underground work done it cannot be
patched up...with flags or block you can take up what you need , do the job
and replace the same materials to blend back in as they are all weathered
the same and are the same colours.

As far of 'ease of laying' is concerned, preparation is the key...main
points to note:
1) will the finished surface give you at least a six inch step up into the
house?
2) is the prepared surface running *away* from the house wall? (it only
needs to run maybe 3 or 4 inches downwards to keep the house side dry at all
times)
3) make sure the ground is compacted and at least 2 inches of hardcore is
compacted on top of that *before* you put down any sand/or timber.
4) don't forget if you are laying flags or blocks, your starting surface
(beofre you put anything at all down)needs to be at least a foot down from
the dampcourse...you want 2" hardcore, 1" sand and 2" blocks....you'd be
surprised how many people start and then realise that the blocks/flags are
going to be higher than the dampcourse....this causes all manner of nasty
things to happen indoors and will have to be rectified prior to any house
being sold later on.


HTH