Paving is the major hard-landscaping material in the garden and will occupy most of those areas which are used for sitting and dining, access and hard standing. Vis budget, paving can amount to 75 percent of the total garden costs so it’s critical to choose well and lay it soundly.
So far as a sitting area or patio is concerned , the minimum size should be 3.6 x 3.6m which roughly equates to an average room inside the home. Trails have to be about 1m wide and, if laid just below the level of an adjoining lawn will act as a cropping edge and eliminate that tiresome chore of hand-edging. As we have already seen, trails should link all parts of the garden and, if you have got a young family, a circular route will be excellent for wheeled toys.
Where paving adjoins a house the finished level must be 2 bricks or 15cm ( 6in ) below the damp proof course and have a light fall, or slope away from the building to help drainage.
As a general rule, natural substances such as stone slabs, cobbles, granite sets ( like bricks made from granite ) and slate are way more expensive than synthetic materials. This is due in part to the price of quarrying and in part to transport charges. Generally though, natural stone has the great thing about age and will last a lifetime.
The larger a paved area, the simpler a surface should be. A drive or hard standing will look better wholly laid to gravel concrete or tarmac rather than a opposing mass of materials. In contrast, a patio or terrace is naturally more intimate and here you can mix’n'match materials in a simple pattern. Remember, too, that the more little the material you use the simpler it is to lay to a curve. Cobbles, brick or sets will agree to a sweeping path while larger slabs would need cutting to shape which is a laborious and pricey operation.
The texture of the surface you select will also affect The speed and kind of traffic passing over it. Smooth concrete or tarmac is a high-speed surface ; bumpy cobbles are exactly the opposite. Just note that when choosing materials go for those which will look good, suit your necessities and comply with the layout simply.
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Want to find out more about spider plants, then visit Ray Jenkins’s site on how to choose the best house plants for your needs.
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