Patios in Fordingbridge, private and communal

Surveying the whole area. On a shared surface the fault you can see is rarely the only one. We check the falls across the whole area, lift flags in several places and look at where the water is meant to go.

The dig and the muck away. Old paving, bedding sand, concrete and soft made ground get excavated out to a firm formation. On a communal site the spoil route and the material storage are planned first, because access has to stay open for residents and the bin store all week.

The sub base. MOT type 1 in compacted layers with a geotextile below where the subgrade is soft. A path walked every day by everyone in a building takes more punishment than a private terrace, so the base is built for the traffic.

Full bed, never dabs. Every slab on a full wet mortar bed, with a slurry primer on the back of porcelain. On a communal surface a hollow slab becomes a rocking slab and a rocking slab becomes a trip, so nothing goes down on dabs.

Porcelain paving. Calibrated to a single thickness, almost no absorption and made in slip rated finishes. On a shared area where somebody else is responsible for what happens on the surface, a rated slip resistance is worth having in writing.

Sandstone, limestone and granite. Riven sandstone and limestone suit the older buildings in the town. Travertine is softer and less suited to heavy use. Granite is the toughest and the sensible choice for step treads and a bin store apron. None is calibrated, so each piece is bedded to its own thickness.

Falls, levels and thresholds. A fall away from the building, a finished level at least two courses below the damp proof course, and level thresholds at doors where they are needed. Where a doorway has to stay flush, a recessed channel across it takes the water instead.

Drainage. An ACO channel across an entrance or the low side into a gully with a positive outfall, or a permeable build up over a stone reservoir where the ground takes it. On a larger shared area the runoff volume is far greater, so it is designed rather than assumed.

Edges, steps and retaining. A haunched kerb or edging where paving meets grass or a border, a retaining edge with a coping where ground is held back, and steps on a full bed with an overhang so water drips clear of the riser.

Jointing and repairs. A resin grout brushed into damp joints stands up to foot traffic and washing far better than sand. On riven stone we point in mortar. We also relay sunk bays and rocking flags, cut out cracked ones and deal with staining, efflorescence and a slippery green surface.

No rate per square metre, because the slabs are the part you choose and the smallest part of the price.

Getting to it. A terraced house reached through the hall, a semi with a side gate and a block of flats with a shared rear garden and a service road are three different jobs before a slab is priced. Everything comes in and goes out through the garden, often through a side gate or the house. A patio you can barrow to directly is a different job from one where every slab is carried. The work at height rules still apply to the dig and the machinery.

What is coming out before anything goes down. An old concrete slab, a raised bed, tree roots or made ground all have to be dug out and taken away, and that is priced by the load rather than by the metre. The dig is where a patio quote is won or lost.

Falls, levels and the damp course. A patio has to fall away from the house and finish at least two courses below the damp proof course, and getting that right often means steps, a retaining edge or a drainage channel. Laying a new patio up against a wall at the wrong level is the single most expensive mistake on this kind of job.

Comparing quotes? Ask how deep the dig goes and what sub base is specified, whether the slabs are laid on a full wet bed or on dabs, what the falls are and where the water goes, whether edgings and steps are included, and what the jointing compound is. Two quotes for the same job are usually two different jobs.

Close to one in six of the homes in the town is a flat, a high proportion for a place this size, and it changes how a paving job happens. The person who rings is often not the person who decides, and the money comes from a service charge rather than a bank account.

Where communal work is recharged to leaseholders and one leaseholder's share goes over the statutory threshold, the freeholder has to consult formally before the work can be recovered in full. Skipping it does not stop the job, it stops the recovery. So we itemise these quotes properly, keep the wording plain enough to send out with a notice, and price options rather than one figure.

The build changes too. A communal terrace is walked on constantly, so the base is specified for traffic and the slip resistance chosen deliberately. We work in sections rather than closing the whole area, keep access open for residents and the bins, and leave nothing as a trip hazard overnight.

We cover the town, Sandleheath, Godshill and the lanes down the Avon valley, broadly SP6, under New Forest District Council. You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.