Guide to Choosing A Patio
- Posted by:
- Admin
- Tags:
- Patios in Kent
- Posted date:
- 17-05-2022

Read our guide to choosing a patio. Find out more about the types of patio to choose from and best patio materials. Essential information before laying a patio.
Choosing the Right Paving for your Garden
Creating a patio is a fun and exciting project. Paving makes your garden more functional and a great area in which to enjoy your property. With many paving options available, you might be feeling. You might be feeling overwhelmed by all the choices or confused about where to start.
Read on for key information about the various paving types to find the best one for you and your property.
Choosing your Patio Style
Look at the following patio styles below for slabs that will create your ideal rustic or modern-looking garden.
These are large stones commonly chosen to create garden paths and patios because they can cover a big space quite efficiently.Patio slabs have improved in leaps and bounds in the last few years. If you are looking to customise the look of your garden without breaking the bank, a bespoke patio is easy to achieve.
Paving slabs can come in various shapes, colours, and sizes. You may choose to design a patio that fills the space on your property using many different options. Depending on what style you're after, you can get single size packs, mixed size packs, circle packs, or circle squaring off packs.
Paving blocks are known more commonly as block paving because they are shaped like bricks. Slabs suit the main patio body with their big and thin structure, whereas paving blocks are small, thick, and better for decorative edging around a patio. These can be bought in single-sized or a mix of sized brick packs.
Carpet stones offer ideal flexibility if you have any awkwardly shaped garden paths or ponds. Carpet stones are made up of cobblestone upon a flexible mat that can be trimmed down to a suitable size and shape for your patio. The user can achieve a rustic cobbled look without much hassle.
Paving slab sizes
The larger your paved area is, the larger the slabs should be to keep your garden to scale. For example, paving a small area with huge slabs would make the space look smaller than it already is.
Paving slab sizes range from 100 x 100mm to 2,000 x 2,000mm. The stronger the material of your choice is, the larger you can make the patio slabs match their thickness.
Choose your Patio Material
Choosing the right materials for your patio isn't always a simple decision because different materials create many different looks. Depending on the look you are after, you can create many patio spaces using any of the following materials. Here is our rundown of some materials we think look the best.

Brick patios can provide a great look to your garden as the straight brickwork lines can break up the curves of nature. Alternatively, you may have flower beds lined in curving lines, in which case bricks be cut and shaved to fit along such lines.
If you want a patio where you and your family can relax and have a BBQ, then bricks are the way to create a space that feels separate from and part of the garden.
Concrete is the cheapest paving slab you can buy that doesn't necessarily look cheap. If you want more than a uniform finished patio made from concrete slabs, you could mix patio styles to have textured and contemporary styles. A patio made from concrete features neutral tones and styles. However, adding dye to the cement brings out colours that can bring your patio to life.
If you choose to dye the concrete slabs, you will need to reapply a dye coat every two to three years to keep the colour vibrant. You will need to more frequently dye the areas of your property that experience the most wear-and-tear and weathering. Similarly, you may also choose to stain the concrete to bring it to life.
Concrete doesn't last as long as porcelain or natural stone and requires sealant to protect it from staining and algae. On the other hand, concrete is certainly the best material to get when first designing patios due to how low it costs and how easy it is to obtain.
Natural stone is a very popular look to give an overall natural look to your garden. If you are in love with nature and the countryside, then natural stone or flagstone is a great way to enhance the feel of the great outdoors.
Natural stone comes in many varieties, making it easy to find one that matches the styles and colours of your property. Every individual stone has a variance in texture, giving individuality and depth to your patio.
Liven your spaces with smooth surfaces and straight, neat edges
Natural slate can complement rustic and contemporary settings alike. Rust-toned slate would suit a traditional country garden with similar colours, whereas smooth blue and grey tones would fit in well with a modern setting.
No two natural sandstone slabs are alike, with different tones and colours in different lighting and weather conditions.
Natural limestone can create a transformative dimension in a garden because of all the deep colours they come in. Unless you spread limestone sealant over natural limestone to preserve these rich colours, they will mellow over time. They make for a multi-textured patio because they come with riven surfaces.
Despite their look, porcelain slabs are not made from stone and are more expensive than natural stone slabs. The price reflects your patio's surplus benefits from having it made of porcelain. Porcelain slabs come in a wide range of styles and colours. You can utilise these styles to create seamless transitions between the inside and outside of your property.
They are perfect for those looking for a remarkably low maintenance patio because they are hard-wearing, long-lasting, durable, resistant to frost and algae, repel dirt, and don't fade over time. No more spending hours jet washing your patio every year.
How much does Patio Paving Cost?
Patio paving costs do not just reflect the price of the slabs themselves but the installation costs too. The price of concrete paving slabs usually falls within the range of £25.00 - £45.00 m². Concrete tends to have a higher breakage potential, which means installation can take longer and cost more.
When compared with the other two materials, concrete installation usually costs between the costs of installing natural stone and porcelain. Natural stone can often cost more than concrete, within £25.00 - £60.00 m². Natural stone is an easy material to cut and lay down with the fewest breakages.
As a result of this, installation is quick and costs low. Porcelain is the most expensive of the trio, costing between £35.00 - £70.00 m². Since porcelain is the most difficult to cut, the installation will take longer and cost more.
After installation, it is unlikely that you will have to worry about there being any breakages. In conclusion, natural stone slabs are the cheapest option for paving when considering how cheap the supply of the material is and the installation costs.
Concrete is the second cheapest option as the material itself is cheap but expensive to have installed. Porcelain is the most expensive paving option regarding both the material and installation costs.
Plants and your Patio
Ensure that you organise where your plants are going to go.
You may want to place some climbers and potted plants between the hard landscaping of your patio and the soft landscaping of your plants for an easy visual transition.
Installing climbers such as honeysuckle, jasmine, mock orange, and roses can bring wondrous smells to your garden.
Additionally, herbs such as lavender, lemon balm, and mint could make for a beautiful smelling and potted herb garden, usage in glasses of Pimm's, and DIY soap projects.
Plants can also be a temporary feature on your patio.
For example, a low seating wall is useful for your guests to sit on and lay BBQ food and drinks out on, but they can also feature your potted plants when not in use.

Are you looking for landscapers in Maidstone and Kent? We recommend visiting the following pages on our landscaping services website: