Started yesterday on new patio project - I am a reasonably skilled DIYer but have never done a patio before. Have read the site (great website Tony) and taken on board some of the main points but still have lots of questions which I will get to later!
Here are a few pictures of the starting point - the old patio.
Tony I completed your online thing yesterday for the consultancy / layout plans etc...
So, most of the old patio came up really easy - few bangs with a big hammer along the way.
The steps are set in mass concrete and there appears to be a concrete 'plinth' running along set against the wall. I plan to gun this out today unless anybody knows of a good reason why not? - It wont make my house fall down will it? :p
Concrete needs to come out as the level of the all patio was too high and was causing damp in the walls (source - damp survey done when i brought the house). Here are some pictures:
lemoncurd1702 wrote:Was your damp problem to the right of your back door. Looks like the old patio was above that air vent.
Hi Lemoncurd,
Yes, there and all the way along the back wall - the old patio was above the Dpm all the way along.
Damp survey recommended either injecting the walls or lowering the patio / creating a drainage gap. As i knew i would be replacing it at some point i didnt bother with the injections.
lutonlagerlout wrote:i would be tempted to leave the vertical rendering well alone
the stuff on the deck which I cannot make out should come out
LLL
Hi LLL,
Thanks for the response.
I have gunned the concrete and the steps out. My neighbour said that it was 'the curtain' the house would have been given when built circa 1925 ish.
There was no vertical render behind the concrete (will upload pic later) so that part of the wall is now just brick. Would you recommend that I re-render this before laying patio? Or leave until afterwards?
A bit of advice / reassurance on my thinking at this point would be great.
I gunned out steps / curtain and dug to level in pics. There is another concrete 'curtain' (I suspect part of foundation etc) next to the wall of the house. This current level is 150mm below the DPM. It is not really practical to go any lower (without changing levels of garden etc) and not sure if I really want to gun out any more of the concrete.
So, 150mm - 25mm (flags) and 35mm (bedding) gives 90mm clearance from DPM - is this sufficient? Or do I need to think about more complex drainage etc?
You could use a linear channel next to the house and connect it to those downspouts you show in previous pictures. The linear channel could be set to a level less than 150mm below DPC - your 90mm below would be just about OK, and then channel acts as an interceptor for any damp or errant surface water.
Tony McC wrote:You could use a linear channel next to the house and connect it to those downspouts you show in previous pictures. The linear channel could be set to a level less than 150mm below DPC - your 90mm below would be just about OK, and then channel acts as an interceptor for any damp or errant surface water.
Thanks for the reply Tony. That would require me to dig out the concrete (foundation?) sufficient to fit the channel in? Was trying to avoid digging any more of that out. Is the 90mm trouble without the channel or can I get away with it?
On another note - I filled in your online consultancy request last Friday, I appreciate it has been a bank holiday. If at all possible I would like some help designing the layout and with some other questions. I have listed them below for ease, apologies if this is not how you like it done.
Here is my plan (please note that it is not to scale) can send you a pdf if you prefer -
I plan to use Indian Sandstone from Rock Unique (Mango) -
Email the pdf to me - I've not seen your form or I would have responded, as I spent more or less all day yesterday catching up with emails from the last week or so.
As for the linear channel, the standard ones tend to be 150mm deep and you need some bedding, of course, but there are shallower versions.
Tony McC wrote:Email the pdf to me - I've not seen your form or I would have responded, as I spent more or less all day yesterday catching up with emails from the last week or so.
As for the linear channel, the standard ones tend to be 150mm deep and you need some bedding, of course, but there are shallower versions.
Thanks Tony. I have sent the pdf to the ####### email address.
Tony McC wrote:Please don't publish email addresses on this or any other forum, The spambots harvest them and then we get inundated with all sorts of shite.
That's why I edited your post above - to remove my email address.
OK Tony, no problem. And thanks for the plans - looks great. Will post some pics when I have finished.
