Patios in Wool, the estate concrete question

Testing what is already down. The first thing is a proper look at the existing slab. We check it for movement, tap it for hollow areas, read the cracks for shrinkage or settlement, and take levels to see how much build up would have to be added. That is half an hour on site and it decides the price.

Overlaying a sound concrete base. Where the concrete is solid, well drained and low enough, porcelain goes straight over it on a full mortar bed with a slurry primer, and the falls are corrected in the bed. No dig, no spoil, no muck away. It only works where the level leaves two courses clear of the DPC at the end.

Taking it out. Where the slab rocks, has settled or sits too high, it gets broken up and excavated, along with any old hardcore and made ground under it, and taken away by the load. Tree roots and buried footings turn up more often than people expect.

Rebuilding the base. MOT Type 1 back in and whacked in thin lifts to full compaction, carried past the edge of the paving, with a geotextile separator underneath on soft ground. Then a full wet mortar bed under every slab. Dabs are what the original was laid on and dabs are why it rocks.

What goes on top. Porcelain is calibrated and consistent and needs no sealing, and a textured grade holds grip through a wet winter. Indian sandstone is riven and warmer and is bedded slab by slab. Limestone marks more easily, granite is the toughest, and travertine is for a sheltered corner.

Falls, the damp course and the door. Everything falls away from the house and finishes at least two courses below the DPC. On a 1970s house in Wool that is usually straightforward, and where a later extension has left a low threshold, a channel across the door with an outfall sorts it. Approved Document C covers why the level matters.

Where the water goes, and the edges. A channel to a gully with an outfall, a soakaway where the ground will take the runoff, or a permeable build up over open graded stone. Round the outside, a haunched edging or kerb into the lawn, a retaining edge and coping where the garden steps down, and steps with equal risers.

Jointing and repairs. Joints get a brush in compound worked wet and tooled off, or hand pointing on older stonework. Typical repairs cover lifted slabs, a sunk bay, rocking paving, cracked stone, algae, efflorescence on new sandstone and staining. A patch is honest work when the base is sound and a waste of money when it is not.

The slabs you choose are usually the smallest part of the bill. Getting in. A seventies semi with a side gate lets us barrow straight through. A terrace with only a shared path at the back means carrying every slab and bag. An older cottage in the centre of Wool may have steps and tight corners. The work at height rules still cover the dig and any machinery.

What comes out first. Many gardens in Wool have an old concrete apron or a slab path from when the house was built. Breaking that out, plus any raised beds or rubble, is priced by the load.

The clay. The ground shrinks and swells with the seasons. A thin base will crack and rock, so we dig deeper, compact the sub base in layers and lay slabs on a full wet bed rather than on dabs.

Levels. The patio must fall away from the house and sit at least two courses below the damp proof course. An old apron tilting back towards a Wool house is a common reason for damp inside, and putting the level right can mean steps, a retaining edge or a drainage channel.

The surface. Porcelain, sandstone and concrete slabs differ in price and in the jointing they need.

Ask any rival quote how deep the dig is, whether the slabs sit on a full bed, what the falls are and what jointing is used.

We build patios in Wool, East Burton, Bovington and the villages along the Frome, broadly BH20. The drive from our base at 80a Wolverton Road, Boscombe, is 17.1 miles, and Dorset Council handles planning and building control.

Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, company number 15471719, is registered in England and Wales. It is run by Thomas Hannen, who walks your garden and prices the patio in person. We hold a 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade from one verified customer. There is no fee for the visit, and the written quote with each item priced is free. The concrete out the back often has a twin at the front, and a driveway in Wool raises the same question of whether it comes out. Before you book a visit in Wool, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Wool 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.