About Our Paving
Paving can be so much more than just a patio outside the back door. Paving can form an outdoor entertaining space, a focal point within the garden, a path to the garden summer house or even a driveway.
There are a huge variety of options to choose from when choosing paving for your project, below are a number of options but the options are almost endless. Visit our Links page for links to some of our suppliers. We install both standard off the shelf paving and bespoke special order made to our specification paving, meaning that no matter what finish you are looking for the chances are we can come up with a solution.
Some options…
Natural Stone
Natural stone paving can come from a variety of sources, including from the British isles and worldwide. Choices range from sandstone, slate and granite just to name a few, not only are there plenty of choice in terms of material and colour there is also a large choice in terms of surface finnish from a rustic riven surface to a modern sawn or sand blasted finnish and a range of other finishes.
But the choices don’t end there, there is then the matter of size and shape, natural stone paving start as small as 50x50mm setts and range up to the size of small dinner tables requiring specialist equipment to lay. Often slabs come in dimensions which go up in steps of 150mm or 300mm.
We work closely with one supplier that will cut to our requirements from a range of stone types, along with being able to get the slabs cut to our required dimensions in term of length, width and depth meaning we can meet even the most demanding clients requirements, as well as being able to specify dimensions we can specify the finnish from a large range of finnishes. This Means not only can we get any size, any shape, any finnish, your finnished patio will be truly unique.
The choices don’t end there the layout of the natural stone paving and edge detail can help to take the patio to the next level in terms of design and appeal. Whether it is the way in which the patio is laid out with the slabs laid to random, to a pattern, to a stagger or in a brickwork pattern. Or the shape of the patio and edging detail to the patio area whether it’s straight lines or curves to compliment the design of the garden. The choice of edging, whether it is the paving running to the edge, a complimentary edgeing or a contrasting edge is a small detail but can make a huge difference to the overall design of a garden.
Riven sandstone is a really popular choice for a large number of reasons, it is a very cost effective solution often costing less than many manufactured slabs, it looks great and comes in a range of colour options.
Manufactured Paving
Manufactured paving has come a long way from the days of mould your own concrete slabs and slabs that look just like a piece of concrete. Modern manufactured paving comes in a huge variety of styles and finnishes from stone effect to ultra modern, the possibilities are vast. Visit our Links page for links to some of our suppliers.
Reclaimed Paving
Reclaimed paving is a great option in certain situations in particular in the grounds of listed buildings or in cottage gardens. Reclaimed options include Blue Lias or pennant stone, reclaimed brick paviours or reclaimed sets.
Installation
Proper preparation is key to ensuring a long life span for your new patio. Below is details of our standard installation process.
– Excavate to levels.
– Install no less than 100mm of sub-base material. Laying paving without a suitable sub base is dooming the life span of the paving from the very beginning. Paving should never be laid with just a mortar bed onto soil.
– Compact sub-base. The sub-base should be completely compacted to avoid the chance of subsidence in the future.
– Lay paving to appropriate falls on a full mortar bed using a 3:1 mix with the addition of waterproofer. (3parts sharp sand :1part cement) This stage is where many contractors and DIY enthusiasts go wrong. Often building sand is used instead of sharp sand. The problem with this is that the mortar is constantly in contact with moisture and when soft builing sand is used it deteriorates rapidly. Coupled with the fact often a weak mix is used to save money, we often see patios failing due to the mortar degrading. The paving should also be laid on a full bed of mortar as when not laid on a full bed of mortar, for example when laid using 5 spots of mortar, over time the paving tends to move, come loose and split.
– Wet or polymer point the paving. Dry mortar pointing is often used because it is quick, easy and cheap. However the old adage you get what you pay for certainly runs true here. Dry pointing doesn’t set properly and results in the jointing blowing prematurely.
– Sit back and enjoy.
