Hi
Currently have paving slabs on patio, small section have 450x450 and the rest is 600 x600. Paving slabs have become tired and damaged after many years. Do jet wash every year to clean and make not slippy which I know isn’t ideal as it accelerates the wear and a few are just breaking apart now so I’m looking into options on what I can do to replace and some opinions and advice would be appreciated. For info a lot of the patio is in shade majority of the time which is why algae is rapid, and there are many trees so we do get a lot of leafs and debris fall down in the fall. The area is quite large, I personally don’t mind what I option I go for however want something that will last and not be a haven for weeds. Option one is just replace slabs with news one-probably the easiest in terms of thought, when I calculated costs for just cheap slabs it was coming up to £8k+ not including mortar etc. the second option is replace with porcelain, always got told porcelain is more expensive but finish and quality is better however it appears to be same cost per mtr although imagine the prep and labour is more costly and time consuming. Option 3 is replace with a lawn, option 4 is concrete entire area and option 5 is replace slabs with stone chippings. The stone chippings would be cheaper the. Slabs and easier to install however concerned about discoloration due to algae or rain etc due to damp area and also how to remove leafs as air blower isn’t the best for leafs on chippings. I have a couple of slated areas that get a fair amount of leafs on that I blow off and pick out in the fall, still get weeds from seeds being dropped on top from trees etc but I just pick these out. Don’t mind doing that once/twice a year on small area but on a bigger area I’m not sure plus would I have to clean the stones periodically? If I went for slabs they will still need to be jet washed when dirty so I think what ever option I go for there is always going to be time consuming maintenance that needs doing. Current paving isn’t mortar jointed (butt jointed!) so majority of rain water runs off, if replaced with stone chippings is the rain water going to cause a problem as it is effectively just going to absorb where it is and not run off. You will see in pic some soil squares which is where I lifter slabs up that got too damaged and put some soil down for some plants. For info When lifting the slabs they had a dollop of mortar in each corner and middle and appeared to be played upon compacted mot base-assume base is to correct depth etc think from what I’ve gathered mortar in corners of slabs is ok but for porcelain in would have to be a bed of mortar. House damp proof membrane is about 100mm above current paving slabs
Currently have paving slabs on patio, small section have 450x450 and the rest is 600 x600. Paving slabs have become tired and damaged after many years. Do jet wash every year to clean and make not slippy which I know isn’t ideal as it accelerates the wear and a few are just breaking apart now so I’m looking into options on what I can do to replace and some opinions and advice would be appreciated. For info a lot of the patio is in shade majority of the time which is why algae is rapid, and there are many trees so we do get a lot of leafs and debris fall down in the fall. The area is quite large, I personally don’t mind what I option I go for however want something that will last and not be a haven for weeds. Option one is just replace slabs with news one-probably the easiest in terms of thought, when I calculated costs for just cheap slabs it was coming up to £8k+ not including mortar etc. the second option is replace with porcelain, always got told porcelain is more expensive but finish and quality is better however it appears to be same cost per mtr although imagine the prep and labour is more costly and time consuming. Option 3 is replace with a lawn, option 4 is concrete entire area and option 5 is replace slabs with stone chippings. The stone chippings would be cheaper the. Slabs and easier to install however concerned about discoloration due to algae or rain etc due to damp area and also how to remove leafs as air blower isn’t the best for leafs on chippings. I have a couple of slated areas that get a fair amount of leafs on that I blow off and pick out in the fall, still get weeds from seeds being dropped on top from trees etc but I just pick these out. Don’t mind doing that once/twice a year on small area but on a bigger area I’m not sure plus would I have to clean the stones periodically? If I went for slabs they will still need to be jet washed when dirty so I think what ever option I go for there is always going to be time consuming maintenance that needs doing. Current paving isn’t mortar jointed (butt jointed!) so majority of rain water runs off, if replaced with stone chippings is the rain water going to cause a problem as it is effectively just going to absorb where it is and not run off. You will see in pic some soil squares which is where I lifter slabs up that got too damaged and put some soil down for some plants. For info When lifting the slabs they had a dollop of mortar in each corner and middle and appeared to be played upon compacted mot base-assume base is to correct depth etc think from what I’ve gathered mortar in corners of slabs is ok but for porcelain in would have to be a bed of mortar. House damp proof membrane is about 100mm above current paving slabs
