Why do some patios sink and wobble after a year?
Because they were laid on spots of mortar over soft ground. A patio that lasts sits on a dug-out, compacted stone sub-base with each flag on a full bed. It costs more to do and you cannot see the difference on day one, but you can in year five. Ours are built the first way.
What fall does a patio need?
Roughly 1 in 80 away from the house, enough that water clears without the surface feeling sloped. Where the garden falls towards the house instead, a channel drain across the edge picks the water up. Getting this wrong is how patios end up as ponds, so we set it out with levels, not by eye.
Indian stone or porcelain?
Indian stone is natural, riven and forgiving, and it has been the standard around here for years. Porcelain is dead flat, colour-consistent and needs almost no maintenance, but it demands perfect laying and priming. We lay both and will show you samples against your house rather than pushing the dearer one.
Can you take up and relay my existing patio?
If the flags are sound, yes, on a rebuilt base with new joints. It saves the material cost and keeps a weathered look that new stone takes years to reach. If the flags are delaminating or broken we will say so and price both ways.
Do you sort the drainage as well?
Yes. Gullies, channel drains and soakaways are part of the groundwork trade, and tying a new patio into the existing drainage properly is the difference between a dry patio and a puddled one.
