Patios in Fordingbridge, private and communal

The whole area gets surveyed. On a shared Fordingbridge 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 in Fordingbridge 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 Fordingbridge 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 Fordingbridge. 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.

Slabs are the part you pick from a brochure, and they are the smallest part of the price, so there is no square metre rate.

How materials get in. A bungalow with a wide side gate is barrow work straight to the spot. A Fordingbridge town centre terrace reached through the hall means carrying every slab and bag by hand, with the floors protected. A block of flats with a shared rear garden needs the agent to agree access. The work at height rules still cover raised terraces and steps.

Clearing the ground. An old concrete base, a crazy paving path, tree roots or a raised bed have to be broken up and carted away, and that is charged by the load. The dig is where a patio price is really decided.

Levels against the house. The finished surface has to sit at least two brick courses below the damp proof course, and the falls have to carry water away from the wall. In a garden that slopes towards the house, that can mean a step down, a retaining edge or a channel drain.

Stone and bedding. Edgings hold the whole thing in. Porcelain, sandstone and concrete slabs are laid on a full mortar bed rather than spots of mortar, and porcelain needs a slurry primer and a jointing compound made for it.

Ask any other firm what sub-base they are using and how deep, whether every slab sits on a full bed, and where the water will go.

Close to one in six of the homes in Fordingbridge 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, not 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 so the whole area is never closed, keep access open for residents and the bins, and leave nothing as a trip hazard overnight.

We lay patios in Fordingbridge and in Sandleheath, Godshill and the lanes down the Avon valley, all within SP6, and our Boscombe base is 14.1 miles away. Planning questions go to New Forest District Council. Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd is the company, registered in England and Wales with company number 15471719. Before you book a visit in Fordingbridge, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Thomas Hannen runs it and comes to your garden to look at the levels and price the patio himself. A verified customer's score for us on Checkatrade is 10 out of 10. The site visit is free, and so is the itemised quote you get in writing. Shared parking behind a block is a close cousin of the shared terrace, and driveways in Fordingbridge are covered on their own page.

Most repairs in Fordingbridge need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.