Patio costs

[Hedge]

I'm looking into getting a patio laid and I may have been naive in the cost of things.

Could anyone tell me what to expect for a 20sqm patio area on ground that is already quite level.

What did you pay for yours?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Honestly just do it yourself. These people give themselves a day rate of like £200 minimum per person. It's majority of it labour costs. The materials will cost pennies in comparison.

Watch 2-3 youtube videos then write down a concise step by step plan.

Your quotes will vary from not much to too much.

 

[Hedge]

It looks straight forward but I bust some ribs last week on my mountain bike and I'm considering getting prices from people.

They do charge a lot of money for a straight forward job though.

 

[booyaka]

As above - material costs of slabs, cement, hardcore etc will be about 10% of the overall costs.

You main costs will be labour (circa 50-60%) then builders profit on top.

Good luck getting a quote - most builders round here aren't interested in a small job like that as the profit is just not worth the hassle.

Hard to price up as it also depends on the type of slabs your using etc.

 

[PiKe]

What about asking a handyman rather than a builder?

 

[Hedge]

It looks like a pack of sandstone pavers comes in around 350-400 to do nearly 20sqm inc edging / joints..

Sub base must be a few hundred for 100mm or so depth.

Im thinking 900 ish materials then labour for a couple of days

 

[divuk83]

About a 20m square patio laid last year cost me about £650 to do myself using fairly inexpensive Marshalls Saxon paving slabs. If the DIY route is not for you then I would try and find someone you know who can recommenced a contractor they have used themselves. I see far too many poorly fitted patios fitted by "professionals" and I would be wary of someone I didn't know doing it.

Dave

 

[j.col]

I lay patio's and driveways for a living
Expect to pay professionals from £60m2 to £90m2 depending on what type of slab/block you want.(or even more for vitrified porcelain)

It is possible to do it yourself, but will it be as good as a professional?
and by the time you hire a whacker plate amd a cutting saw, a skip to remove the stuff you dig out, ordering MOT type 1 (base), sharp sand for blocks or a 6:1 building sand/cement base for slabs etc... imo its a false economy.
Also have you got a shovel, wheel barrow, spirit levels, trowerls, string lines, lump hammer etc.?

And the falls (where rain water is going) is important.

Ask family, friends or neighbours for recommendations, DON'T pick someone off Facebook, local ads, yellow pages etc....

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

Mine was about £65sqm fitted based on standard sandstone paving and a resin jointing.

 

[Hedge]

I lay patio's and driveways for a living
Expect to pay professionals from £60m2 to £90m2 depending on what type of slab/block you want.(or even more for vitrified porcelain)

It is possible to do it yourself, but will it be as good as a professional?
and by the time you hire a whacker plate amd a cutting saw, a skip to remove the stuff you dig out, ordering MOT type 1 (base), sharp sand for blocks or a 6:1 building sand/cement base for slabs etc... imo its a false economy.
Also have you got a shovel, wheel barrow, spirit levels, trowerls, string lines, lump hammer etc.?

And the falls (where rain water is going) is important.

Ask family, friends or neighbours for recommendations, DON'T pick someone off Facebook, local ads, yellow pages etc....

Good Post thanks.

I have lots of tools but everything you say makes sense. I had one person look at it today and his quote was probably too high. Have someone else coming on Monday to take a look too. I'll see how he compares then maybe just DIY it in summer if prices are insane..

 

[rhysduck]

35m2 of patio cost £2200

Slabs were £1000 on their own. £500 or so on other materials. around £750 labour (3days work for 2man at £250 a day for both)



Slabs are "Calibrated Indian Sandstone" from Travis Perkins. 900x600 size.

https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Natural-Paving-Classicstone-Lakeland-Paving-Slab/p/9000197493

 

[Hedge]

That's a decent price compared to what I got. Was that built on a proper base and full bed of mortar etc?

 

[rhysduck]

Yeah.

I 'excavated' the old decking and half of the area of old slabs... It was built on a "proper" base and mortar'd in place. Its SOLID.

Here's my thread if you're interested: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/my-garden-project.18853384/

 

[joelk2]

Had 2 quotes for my 50sqm patio recently at the sum of £5000 & £5200. Suffice to say I'm going to do it myself

 

[HungryHippos]

Had mine done last year, was £80 per sqm of patio for Porcelain. I had to buy the tiles myself (got them from Tile Mountain https://www.tilemountain.co.uk/p/surface-outdoor-mid-grey-porcelain-slab.html).

The result is awesome though, however at £35 per sqm for the slabs, it's not cheap.

 

[theone8181]

Had mine done last year, was £80 per sqm of patio for Porcelain. I had to buy the tiles myself (got them from Tile Mountain https://www.tilemountain.co.uk/p/surface-outdoor-mid-grey-porcelain-slab.html).

The result is awesome though, however at £35 per sqm for the slabs, it's not cheap.

Ooh shiney, does the sun not reflect of it into your room? I've priced up just some pavers from mkm and it's coming in at about £800 for about 12 square metres. Can pavers be laid into of existing pavers, as in treat the existing ones as a hardcore base?

 

[Hedge]

Had mine done last year, was £80 per sqm of patio for Porcelain. I had to buy the tiles myself (got them from Tile Mountain https://www.tilemountain.co.uk/p/surface-outdoor-mid-grey-porcelain-slab.html).

... .

That looks exactly like what I'm after.

Does it extend out 6 slabs? So about 3.6 meters?

So 80 a sqm was their price for everything else other than the slab?

 

[HungryHippos]

Ooh shiney, does the sun not reflect of it into your room? I've priced up just some pavers from mkm and it's coming in at about £800 for about 12 square metres. Can pavers be laid into of existing pavers, as in treat the existing ones as a hardcore base?

That is a bit of an after picture as I cleaned things up and hosed the patio down, but normally they have a more matte appearance.

This shows what i mean, but it's a bit messy

My builders used the existing patio flagstones and base to help with this one, but they had to chop it up, level it all out, then they did a mortar base on to which the porcelain was laid using an adhesive.

That looks exactly like what I'm after.

Does it extend out 6 slabs? So about 3.6 meters?

So 80 a sqm was their price for everything else other than the slab?

5 slabs out for me, so approx 3 metres. I was considering going one more slab but I was working to the dimensions of the fake grass square and wanted to keep approx a 1m gap for the bark mulch area.

Yes the £80 per sqm cost was inclusive of everything except the slabs themselves, they took care of everything else for that price including removing more or less everything when done.

 

[glenimp617]

Honestly just do it yourself. These people give themselves a day rate of like £200 minimum per person.

Where do you live?

I got three local quotes from builders to lay 8 patio slabs as I wanted to extend the path from the gate to the patio

£900 lol

Managed to find an old retired builder who did it for a few quid in the end

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Where do you live?

I got three local quotes from builders to lay 8 patio slabs as I wanted to extend the path from the gate to the patio

£900 lol

Managed to find an old retired builder who did it for a few quid in the end

Glasgow. You got lucky. I have found a cheap old mechanic who does my car for buttons. Where places would charge 5-10 times for a poorer job than what he does.

I just haven't found a decent cheap builder because supply and demand. Decent builders are in short supply and highly sought after.