Patio / Slabs

[Barewolf]

Hi all

I am looking to buy some slabstones to do a patio out back. The cheapest I have found are from B&Q at £1.98 per Slab, and they are 450mm x 450mm. This works out at just under £8 per Square metre 80cm x 80cm (4 Slabs).

I am looking for better deals, and have spent a while looking online but have been unable to find any slabs cheaper than £8 per Square metre.

Does anyone know of any place that would deliver in the Midlands thats relatively cheap?

The total area I need to slab is roughly 90 Square metres

[Chris]

AFAIK the price you have already is pretty cheap ... if a quality finish is unimportant you may be able to get some reclaimed paving slabs from a builder's yard?

[Barewolf]

Quality is important, but like anything, i'm looking for bargains. If B&Q is the cheapest I'll have to go with that option, I just thought I would ask here before i place the order incase anyone knows a place that does them cheaper.

Over 90 square meteres even a saving of 30p per slab makes a substantial difference.

[Taf]

There are loads of very poor quality slabs out there that are moulded and not pressed, or have poor mixes. I have seen expertly laid slabs disintegrate over this past harsh winter.

Wickes prices START at above £18 per sq/m

[pabscars]

Just out of interest, what do you plan to do with the flagged area, is it just for pedestrian traffic, or are you planning on keeping cars parked on them.

If you plan on driving (like I did) on them then I would go for 3 x 2 Marshall slabs, on 6 inches of compacted hardcore, sat on a few inches of sharp sand.

Only reason I say this is because this was recommended to me by a neighbour who is a builder and mine have been down for 10 years and have not budged an inch or cracked.

Just food for thought

[Chris]

Quality is important, but like anything, i'm looking for bargains. If B&Q is the cheapest I'll have to go with that option, I just thought I would ask here before i place the order incase anyone knows a place that does them cheaper.

Over 90 square meteres even a saving of 30p per slab makes a substantial difference.

If quality is important you are going to have to pay for it. I'm pretty sure the flags you have seen are the ones I used a couple of years ago to prepare a foundation for a shed. Had I actually wanted the finished result to be a feature in my garden I would have been very disappointed. As it is, they are all but invisible, so the fact they are very prone to chipping and cracking is neither here nor there.

[Barewolf]

The patio I am going to do will have a hardcore base, it will have weed fabric laid down, and aggregate on top, and the slabs will be laid down to be walked on.

My budget is £800 - £850 to cover an area of 95 Square Meters

at £18 a Square metre like Taf suggested would cost me £1710 which is way to expensive for my budget.

I still have to purchase a 16x10 Workshop, so I cant stretch to anything above £9 a Square metre

[danielf]

It seems to me you have two options.

1. Use cheap slabs for the base of the shed.
2. Pave a smaller area. Do you really need a ~ 10x10 m patio (to be walked on?). That's a huge surface which you are unlikely to utilise.

[Chris]

I think you need to stretch it as much as you can. You're going to have to live with the results for quite a few years - you don't want to be faced with a chipped, cracked wreck in only a couple of years' time.

You could always downsize your telly if you're strapped for cash. ;) :D

[Osem]

Depending on where you are frost resistance may be vital so quality is important as others have already said. Checking out the review sections on various builder's and/or DIY forums might assist you to gauge how good/bad the B&Q and competitor products are.

As Daniel has mentioned, could you not only pave part of the area with better quality slabs and use gravel or something decorative in certain areas to add interest? That'd mean a bit less work with the base preparation too.

HTH

[Taf]

Paving such a large area will give you problems when it rains I reckon... the water will have to go somewhere!

How about the solution I used: concreted walking areas, then pea gravel over the rest?

[budwieser]

The patio I am going to do will have a hardcore base, it will have weed fabric laid down, and aggregate on top, and the slabs will be laid down to be walked on.

My budget is £800 - £850 to cover an area of 95 Square Meters

at £18 a Square metre like Taf suggested would cost me £1710 which is way to expensive for my budget.

I still have to purchase a 16x10 Workshop, so I cant stretch to anything above £9 a Square metre

Just put a concrete base under where the workshop will be. It`ll save a fair few metres of slabs.;)

---------- Post added at 20:20 ---------- Previous post was at 19:10 ----------

[pabscars]

Also in order to save a few quid, I don't see the point in putting weed fabric down under flags, its pointless imo.

Weeds cant grow through concrete slabs but can in the edges where they join, so fabric wont stop this. Although I haven't done this, you could leave a half inch gap between each slab, then mortar in between the joints to stop weeds coming through.

[Barewolf]

Also in order to save a few quid, I don't see the point in putting weed fabric down under flags, its pointless imo.

Weeds cant grow through concrete slabs but can in the edges where they join, so fabric wont stop this. Although I haven't done this, you could leave a half inch gap between each slab, then mortar in between the joints to stop weeds coming through.

Weeds will eventually crack concrete, and some actually push slabs up, so you are incorrect.

Ive seen hundreds of driveways where this has happened, and it looks a mess.

Weed fabric membrane allows the soil to breathe, but stops sunlight and also stops them growing upwards through the mesh, hence this stops them pushing through the concrete gaps.

£100 for 200m of weed fabric is a safe bet you wont end up with a dodgy weedy patio in a few years

[pabscars]

Weeds will eventually crack concrete, and some actually push slabs up, so you are incorrect.

Ive seen hundreds of driveways where this has happened, and it looks a mess.

Weed fabric membrane allows the soil to breathe, but stops sunlight and also stops them growing upwards through the mesh, hence this stops them pushing through the concrete gaps.

£100 for 200m of weed fabric is a safe bet you wont end up with a dodgy weedy patio in a few years

I would have to disagree with you there Barewolf, but I suppose it may depend on the quality of the concrete slabs.

I've never seen weed grow through a solid concrete paving slab, I've seen plenty grow from the crack's in between and through poorly laid concrete but at the end of the day, it's your money dude and I'm sure you will spend as you see fit.

I was just trying to think of ways to save you a few quid :)

[Barewolf]

i didnt mean it will push through actual slabs :) but ive seen it push through concrete mortar.

ive ended up buying some now,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120536715802&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

I'm paying cash, and I had a word with them and got a discount, so hopefully i can get this all finished by june.

[Taf]

Spray the ground with glyphosphate and that'll kill everything off for ages.