Patios in Poole

Porcelain, Indian sandstone, limestone, granite and block paving all make a good patio in Poole once they are laid on the right base. The choice comes down to how you use the garden, how much sun it gets, how much looking after you want and the budget.

Porcelain. Vitrified all the way through, so it takes in almost no water, shrugs off frost and wipes clean. It is the lowest maintenance paving there is, and the best choice in shade because algae have nothing to root into. Porcelain must go down on a full wet mortar bed with a slurry primer brushed on the back of every slab, or it lets go.

Indian sandstone. Warm colours and a natural look. Riven sandstone has a split, uneven face with plenty of grip. Sawn and calibrated slabs are cut to one thickness, sit flatter and lay faster. Sandstone is porous, so in a shaded corner it greens over and holds staining, and it needs sealing or rinsing more often.

Limestone. Even, quieter colours for a modern garden. Softer than granite, and it can take rust marks from metal furniture.

Granite. The hardest wearing natural stone for a patio. Buy it flamed or bush hammered, which roughens the face so it keeps its grip when wet. In a courtyard that never sees the sun, avoid honed or polished stone.

Block paving and clay pavers. Small units on a screeded sand bed inside edge restraints haunched in concrete, vibrated down and jointed with kiln dried sand. A single block lifts out for a repair.

Block paving or slabs? Concrete block can come in lower on a big, plain area, because the blocks cost less than good stone or porcelain and the whole area is compacted in one go. On a small or awkward patio the cutting and the edge restraint on every side close that gap. We can price both.

Gravel borders and permeable builds. A gravel strip along the house, or permeable block over an open graded base, lets rain soak away where it falls, which suits a front garden.

A well built patio in porcelain or natural stone lasts for decades. When a patio fails early, the cause is nearly always under the slabs, and the mistakes are easy to spot once you know them.

• Too thin a base. A skim of sand or hardcore over soft soil settles, and the slabs sink with it.
• Slabs on dabs. Five blobs of mortar leave hollows under each slab. It rocks, cracks and holds water underneath.
• No fall. A dead flat patio holds puddles, grows algae and stays slippery all winter.
• Laid too high. Paving brought up to the damp course, or over an airbrick, lets rain splash above it and puts damp into the wall.
• Open joints. Joints left half filled wash out, grow weeds and let the slabs move.

The price of a new patio in Poole depends more on the groundwork and the access than on the slabs you pick. Two patios the same size can be priced very differently, and the written quote shows why.

Size, shape and pattern. Area sets the materials and labour, and curves, mixed sizes and cuts around drains add time.

The surface. Porcelain, granite and good sandstone cost more to buy than concrete block, and porcelain is slower to cut.

What comes out. Turf, topsoil, old concrete and roots all have to be dug out and taken away, and the muck away is priced by the load.

Access. A drive to the back gate is quick. A terrace with no side access, or a flat, means every slab and every bag of spoil carried through, which is its own line on the quote.

Levels, steps and walls. A sloping garden needs steps or a retaining wall, and ground made up needs more sub base.

Drainage. A channel drain to a gully, a tested soakaway or a permeable build is extra work, and worth it.

Ask anyone else quoting how deep they dig, what sub base they use and how thick, whether the slabs go on a full bed or on dabs, what fall they set and where the water goes, and whether edgings, steps, jointing and muck away are included. See also how we price a job and our patios page.

From Boscombe it is 6.7 miles to Poole town. We lay patios across the Old Town, the Quay, Longfleet, Parkstone and Hamworthy, all under Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Thomas Hannen, whose business it is, measures and prices every patio himself.

Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd is our registered name, company number 15471719, in England and Wales. A verified Checkatrade customer marked us 10 out of 10. The site visit and the written, itemised quote are both free. Read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page, and see driveways in Poole if the front needs doing too.

Most repairs in Poole 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.