Which type of paving

[nabby68]

Hi
Im new to the forum but need some help and advice please.

I plan to pave my rear garden, about 60m2 in total and on two levels. The problem I have that the rear garden is very subsceptiple to moss/algae growth. The previous paving, York stone I think, used to get covered and required jet washing every year. I would now like to lay something that would minimalise this or erradicate it altogether if possible.
I have been advised porcelain, but this may be beyond my budget as it seems very expensive. Would appreciate any help or advice

[Tony McC]

You could use porcelain which would minimise the algae/moss problem, but even the very best porcelain is not completely immune to weeds, stains and all the other niggles of garden life.

Or you could choose and alterenative 'less prone' material, such as a good quality slate (the Brazilian Black is very good, as is native Welsh Slate), or a quartzite, but, again, nothing is perfect.

The simplest option is to choose a paving that you like the look of, both in terms of aesthetics and costs, and then rely on a regular maintenance routine. I treat my paving with a reasonably well-known biocide twice a year, and there's not a spot of lichen, not a clump of moss, not a single blade of errant grass on it. Costs me 25 quid to treat 300m² and takes me 15 minutes each time. I consider that to be money well spent to have the paving I love looking at its best all year round.

[nabby68]

Thanks TonyMcC for your excellent reply. Could you advise as to what paving slabs to stay away from in terms of maintenance ? Like I said in my first post, we have had York stone which was awful to maintain.

I do plan to lay the paving myself, so in terms of slate, does that require the same care and attention I've read that porcelain needs?

Also, im not sure if this is the correct forum to get some advice regarding fencing?

Thanks again for all your help so far

[lutonlagerlout]

Just from my own experience
Kandla grey is the least maintenance stone I have come across
very hard to cut
but low maintenance,as long as you like grey :;):
cheers LLL

[London Stone Paving]

Establish your budget and start from there. Porcelain is low maintenance but its not the dream everyone thinks. The light colours particularly can mark very easily.

Kandla Grey is low maintenance as Luton recommended but there is also Raj Green or Autumn Brown Sandstone which are both extremely hard. If you go for any type of natural stone you should think about pre-sealing it as this massively slows down the algae and green stuff.

With a north facing garden whatever you go for there will always be a level of patio maintenance required, par for the course

[Tony McC]

Stay away from the soft sandstones, so that's Mint (and Fossil Mint), Teak, Rainbow and the like....the ones you can scratch with a fingernail.

The flaky slates from India are more trouble than they are worth.

Cheap wet-cast concrete, of course.

And if you are interested in porcelain, a reasonable rule of thumb is that you do tend to get what you pay for, and the stuff sold at 20 quid/m² is very, very unlikely to be true porcelain. Read more about how to identify quality porcelain here