Patio layer required - Wicklow town area

skye

Hi all,

Am looking for any recommendations for someone to lay my patio. I have purchased the slabs and sand myself and also have weed barrier for it. Have had a quote from someone but it's alot more than I had expected for the job. Maybe the price in my head was too low? Can anyone tell me an approx. price for this job? Size of the area is roughly 15ft X 16ft.

Thanks for any help.

Sonnenblumen

Hello Skye,
you didn't specify which stone you intend using, for example if you plan to use natural stone then it is essential that some basic preliminary work is completed. Firstly soil should be removed to at least depth of 100mm (4") and a hardcore base will be securely compacted as foundation. Stone paving should then be laid on a wet mix ie concrete (5:1 sand:cement ratio) base. We prefer to also point joints with the wet mix. There are also other pointing options including sand, and some proprietary compounds the latter being popular with some but require dry conditions. There are other issues but not necessary to go into them here now.

Sand is a poor medium for laying slabs, a very basic base would involve a dry mix of sand and cement but not satisfactory over the longer term.

Costs will vary according to complexity, elevations, site conditions and of course area. Expect to pay at least € 65.00 - € 90.00 /sq yd excld cost of material etc. The lower rate would be for a small but basic patio. See attached before and after pics. As said more elaborate patios would be certainly hitting the higher rate and beyond.

Good luck

skye

Thanks for the reply Sonnenblumen. I have attached pictures of the area in question. The guy who quoted me said that I had everything I needed to do the job. He was only quoting me for the labour. He reckoned that the ground had enough of a hardcore mix in it so I wouldn't require any more.

As you can see from the pictures, this area is on a lower level than the top part of the garden. I am happy to leave it so, and just put steps down onto the patio. So do you reckon this needs to be laid on a wet concrete mix? He didn't even mention this to me. I am more than happy to pay the rate for a proper job but his quote seemed excessive for what he was planning to do.

Any further advice appreciated.

Oh and there is a piccie of the slabs. I think they are sandstone.

oleras

skye wrote:

Thanks for the reply Sonnenblumen. I have attached pictures of the area in question. The guy who quoted me said that I had everything I needed to do the job. He was only quoting me for the labour. He reckoned that the ground had enough of a hardcore mix in it so I wouldn't require any more.

As you can see from the pictures, this area is on a lower level than the top part of the garden. I am happy to leave it so, and just put steps down onto the patio. So do you reckon this needs to be laid on a wet concrete mix? He didn't even mention this to me. I am more than happy to pay the rate for a proper job but his quote seemed excessive for what he was planning to do.

Any further advice appreciated.

Oh and there is a piccie of the slabs. I think they are sandstone.

Not so sure about the sandstone, sandstone finish maybe but they look like cast concrete slabs. As for the base, i would think you need a lot more of a sub base that what is down, looks very muddy ?

skye

To be honest oleras I haven't got a clue here ( as you can probably tell!! ). The area does tend to get quite wet when it rains and water does pool in areas here and there. The ground is totally covered in builders rubble. This goes right down a good bit below the surface.
I just want to pay a fair price for the job completed correctly, and would like to know what that should be from start to finish.

Sonnenblumen

Skye,

first of all I would recommend you find someone else to do your patio. The picture confirms as olearas has rightly pointed out is merely a mud base. A bit of ground preparation required. You need to backfill/build up (minimum 100mm/4") of compacted hardcore. Also there is a significant level change and looks like you will require at least 2 steps down to finish patio ie slab level.

Aside from steps you will also need to retain the soil from caving in on patio. Stone wal/block or indeed pine sleepers can provide the required retention.

Finally the slabs are concrete sprayed sandstone colour. It isn't unusual for conc slabs to be laid on a sand base a problematic DIY finish. A far superior finish would be to lay slabs on a concrete wet mix bed / or for a cheaper solution 5 pods (1 in each corner+centre). The latter I would not recommend.

skye

Ok great. Thanks for the advice. Good to have impartial views. So can anyone out there reccommend someone to me? Having a hard time finding someone here. Please Pm with details if you can. Thanks again.