Are you thinking about having a patio laid in your garden? If so, look no further. We have a large range on porcelain and Indian stone just for your needs. Because of the variation within our company, we can help provide any products you may need along the journey of laying a patio.
1. Sub-Base
First you would have to prepare and lay the sub-base for the patio. This consists of digging down to a depth of 150mm plus the depth of the paving slabs you are using. For example, our Indian stone range is calibrated to 22mm so the total depth to dig out would be 172mm. While you are digging out the correct depth if you need to dispose of the material you are digging up, we can offer anything from a 4 yard skip up to a 40-yard skip hire.
The sub-base needs to be 100mm deep which would consist of MOT Type 1 which we can deliver in bulk bags or loose. The MOT would need compacting down once you have it all in place to ensure a hard even ground as the starting point of laying the slabs onto.
Once the sub-base is compacted down you would then need to apply a thin layer of concrete sand or ballast around 10mm thick which is raked level this is known as the blinding coat.
2. Laying the slabs
Once you have the sub-base complete its time to start laying the slabs. A layer of mortar mix between 40-50mm deep would be applied to the surface area for the slabs to be laid onto, we recommend doing the area of the size of the slab, so you still have access to the whole area. You would then brush some stone or porcelain primer onto the back of the slab, ensuring a good bond to the mortar and put your first slab down onto the mortar ensuring the level is correct. This can be repeated for each slab ensuring the pattern you desire is laid in the correct position.
3. Jointing
Finally, once the patio is laid, you will want to fill the gaps between the slab with a resin compound. At our builders merchants we are a stockist of a brand called joint-it which is a very highly rated product. This would be for our Indian stone range as you would need a different compound, if you have laid porcelain, which we can also offer. We would recommend following the manufacturers step by step guide to ensure the best results.
4. Aftercare
In addition to laying a patio to keep it looking at its best, we also offer a patio cleaning solution to ensure it looks its best all year around.
