Types of patio furniture surfaces
There are many different ways to make a patio.
Patio surfaces vary from one to another, but each has a fundamental objective, somewhere to position your patio furniture. A grass lawn is by far the easiest as it is for most of the time already established, unless of course you’ve recently acquired a new home, and the builder has omitted any landscaping.
If you dont have a lawn, you can make provisions for one, as this is the most natural of surfaces, however, should that not be an option, you have other alternatives.
Wooden decks are a great choice for a base, and compliment most types of patio furniture. Decks also give a feeling of warmth, and offer a very natural way to enjoy outdoor patio life. A deck structure will be suspended off the ground, and each project will determine the height required, as the landscaping varies from house to house. As with most surfaces that are built, the requirement of drainage is needed. A deck will avoid the need for this.
An existing soiled area can be covered with wood bark, or stone chippings, after of course the soil has been leveled and compacted. This is also a very natural way to create your patio furniture home, and can be accomplished with minimal outlay. Drainage is naturally taken care of, as any rainwater will easily drain between the edges of bark and chippings, allowing the water through the soil.
The use of a slab cast in concrete is probably the most popular method for a patio base as it is maintenance free, although drainage has to be accounted for.
Once you have a desired location to create a base for your nice patio furniture, the area needs to be leveled. This can either be done with the aid of machinery or by way of hand. Drainage is needed so you will have to dig a trench. At this point you will need an exit for the storm water, so at some point you will need to connect to your household storm drain. Depending on the size of your slab will determine how many drains you will need, and at what location. There is no set rule, and each drainage problem varies from site to site.
The whole area is now covered with 2 sub base, usually of rubble. This can be any broken stone you have lying around. This is then compacted. And flattened, but you have to incorporate a slight gradient in the leveling process towards your drain in order for the rain to run into. There wouldnt be much point in a perfectly, horizontal area to allow the rain to form puddles.
Depending on the size of your patio base will determine whether or not you need to incorporate reinforcing rod, before the concrete is poured. Usually, anything less than 6 isn’t necessary. A 4 thickness of concrete is now poured.
This process is the same for any type of stone material. For pouring concrete, and for containing the perimeter, you would make a former around the perimeter to contain the concrete as it sets. You will also have to allow for expansion joints every 6 feet to avoid the slab from cracking
When making a base that will have paving stones as the finished surface, you will still need to provide a sub base of rubble, but this will then be covered with 2 of building sand, compacted and flattened, and incorporating a fall for drainage, you simply place the paving stones in the pattern required, until covered. Once complete, with a soft brush, brush a dry mix of sand & cement into the joints. The weather will eventually cure the mix.