Patios in Lilliput

Digging out and the sub base. In a Lilliput garden we excavate the old slabs, any old concrete, roots and topsoil down to firm ground, then lay MOT Type 1 hardcore in layers and compact each one with a plate. Spoil leaves in a skip or bags. Where there is no side gate, it all goes through by barrow, and we plan the dig around that.

Laying the slabs. Every slab goes down on a full mortar bed, never on five dabs, which leave voids that crack and rock. Porcelain gets a slurry primer on the back so the bed grips. Calibrated sandstone and limestone go down evenly; hand-cut stone takes more time to bed level.

Falls and the house. The finished surface sits at least two courses of brick, about 150mm, below the damp proof course, and falls away from the house so rain runs off. Where a door threshold makes that impossible, a channel drain such as ACO runs along the house and takes the water to a gully or soakaway.

Jointing. A brush-in jointing compound suits most stone and porcelain and is quick to lay. A wet mortar pointing is harder wearing. Either way the joints are full, so weed has nowhere to root.

Edges. Edging, a kerb or a brick border is haunched in concrete, so the outer slabs cannot creep. Where a patio meets a lawn at a different level, a retaining edge or coping holds the soil back.

Repairs and when to relay. A few lifted or cracked slabs can be relaid on new bedding. When the whole patio is rocking, the base has failed and patching will not last. We say which is which on the quote.

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

Getting to it. A level back garden behind a house with a side gate, a garden that drops towards the harbour behind a house on the slope, and a small courtyard behind a ground floor flat with access through the building each set up differently before a slab is cut. 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. On a garden that falls towards the harbour, the work at height rules shape how each retaining edge is dug and guarded.

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 for a Lilliput patio? 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.

We lay patios across Lilliput and the rest of BH14, along Sandbanks Road and Lilliput Road to Evening Hill and Salterns, and on to Whitecliff, Canford Cliffs and Penn Hill, from our base in Boscombe, about five miles away.

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. Before you book a visit in Lilliput, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Lilliput 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.