Rate my paving layout :)

[{SAS}TB]

Hello Home and Garden

Further to my thread about a gazebo and the various patio / paving threads and posts I have been looking at the 20m2 pack linked by @bainbridge here

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/posts/34611351/

https://www.pavingtraders.co.uk/product/kandla-grey-calibrated/

The 4 size mixed project pack contains the following sizes and quantities:
17 @ 900mm x 600mm
17 @ 600mm x 600mm
16 @ 600mm x 290mm
14 @ 290mm x 290mm

My base for the gazebo will be 3m by 5m (I am extending a 3x2.5m base so have some leeway in the 5m length but not really on the 3m length)

It will also be slightly raised (due to a sloping garden) by a few courses of brick as opposed to laid directly onto a sub base in the ground.

Using a rudimentary Excel grid I have drafted the following:

First of, as a layout (having never done a "random" layout) is there any fundamental problem / issue with the above design ?

Then a few other questions:

1) Assuming there will be a few mm joint between the slabs which will increase the overall length and width as well as the tolerance on the stone assuming if it is a few mm / cm too long a "lip" or overhang on the ***** base would be fine (as opposed to cutting the stone for a few mm / cm)?

2) If I do need to cut any stones as the 300, 600, 900mm widths don't (to my mental arithmetic) go into a 5m length am I best off cutting the smallest stones (coloured) to get a hopefully neater job?

Any observations / thoughts / comments welcome - cheers!

 

[rodders]

The 5 P's! Nothing wrong with that.

Never laid a patio, but looks like a good start. Layout looks good.

 

[j.col]

its pretty good but i am not keen on the long joint near the top of the first pic (bottom of the centre A) and you have it repeated at the bottom as well
But its just me being pedantic. (even the long joint in the url pic annoys me lol)

If you have to cut any slabs it will have to be along the perimeter.
Cutting slabs in the middle of the patio will through your joints way out.
Also if the slabs are actually 600mm (and not 580 or 590mm) then you will need to allow 10mm joint on average between each slab so it will finish about 5.1m x 3.06m

Are you laying this yourself?

 

[{SAS}TB]

Think he's talking about the chickens again

Looks good to me. The only rule I know of is no 4-way joints.

Edit: Love the Excel-fu tho.

Lol, don't worry about the chickens they're absolutely locked down won't spot them in any pictures

Thanks - it was the quickest and easiest way I could think of to get the layout right in my head

its pretty good but i am not keen on the long joint near the top of the first pic (bottom of the centre A) and you have it repeated at the bottom as well
But its just me being pedantic. (even the long joint in the url pic annoys me lol)

If you have to cut any slabs it will have to be along the perimeter.
Cutting slabs in the middle of the patio will through your joints way out.
Also if the slabs are actually 600mm (and not 580 or 590mm) then you will need to allow 10mm joint on average between each slab so it will finish about 5.1m x 3.06m

Are you laying this yourself?

Lol, thanks and hadn't really noticed until you mentioned - but that's part the reason I asked

Thank for the tip on the joints and cuts - appreciated

No, not laying it myself - got a price for the base and asked what stone. When I shared the link he said it was fine, but did I have a pattern for the layout - again hence the thread. He hasn't seen it yet but thought I'd ask here first and any issues / points like the cuts and joints can discuss when we next speak - cheers

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

GD-esque responses outside of GD aren't cool IMO...

Patio looks good though, we planned our random pattern out much like you have, one issue I didn't foresee is that the sawn edges don't look the same as the manufactured edges. Not a huge issue but evident on the radii we have goping on.
ALso, as above, no 4 ways but you seem to have that covered.

 

[j.col]

Sometimes i use a program called patio tileomatic.
You have to change the default layout by unticking the black boxes, then edit the layout constraints.
you do this by allowing 1 box to be the same as your smallest slab, in this case 300x 300, so in your case the grid would be 17 x 10

here is what i done

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3q5j8r0pqqurkm/patio 1.png?dl=0

forgot how to link a pic on this site lol

vw gti 0 60 time

 

[j.col]

or if you want to lay more larger slabs
vw gti 0 60 time

 

[Buffman]

Subscribing to this thread! Tempted to do similar with the same stones

 

[Quartz]

Using a rudimentary Excel grid I have drafted the following:

Have you looked into tesselation? Nothing like what Google Images shows. My father did it with his patio of a similar size and it was very successful. He simply alternated full-sized paving slabs with quarter-sized ones and the slabs were all of different colours and the full-sized ones were shifted up half a slab each time.

 

[j.col]

also regards pointing, we only use jointing compund products like Easyjoint or Joint-It, you can get them different colours ans are not prone to shrinkage or cracking like mortar is

 

[{SAS}TB]

GD-esque responses outside of GD aren't cool IMO...

Patio looks good though, we planned our random pattern out much like you have, one issue I didn't foresee is that the sawn edges don't look the same as the manufactured edges. Not a huge issue but evident on the radii we have goping on.
ALso, as above, no 4 ways but you seem to have that covered.

Indeed.

Thanks @NoNameNoNumber. Any cut edges will be at one of the two sides next to the boundary fence or wall so wouldn't be seen. Ideally will just overhang the base slight if needs to to avoid any cuts

Sometimes i use a program called patio tileomatic.
You have to change the default layout by unticking the black boxes, then edit the layout constraints.
you do this by allowing 1 box to be the same as your smallest slab, in this case 300x 300, so in your case the grid would be 17 x 10
*SNIP*

Thank you @j.col - very interesting - ill have a play with that

or if you want to lay more larger slabs
*SNIP*

Thanks !

Subscribing to this thread! Tempted to do similar with the same stones

Ha ha saw your post @Buffman - looks like this patio stone is becoming the outdoor equivalent of the Howden doors

Have you looked into tesselation? Nothing like what Google Images shows. My father did it with his patio of a similar size and it was very successful. He simply alternated full-sized paving slabs with quarter-sized ones and the slabs were all of different colours and the full-sized ones were shifted up half a slab each time.

@Quartz no I haven't, I'll take a look, thank you

also regards pointing, we only use jointing compund products like Easyjoint or Joint-It, you can get them different colours ans are not prone to shrinkage or cracking like mortar is

Thanks again mate, I'll speak to the chap i've got laying them

 

[bainbridge]

The plan looks fine, no + joints as mentioned. Your methods are certainly more technologically advanced than mine lol:

 

[{SAS}TB]

Brilliant !

Daren't show my Mrs or I'll be cutting up cereal boxes tonight

 

[{SAS}TB]

The shed we need to move to enlarge the base started to be removed earlier :

..

I ordered the stone and it was delivered 4 hours later

Best get playing with that layout generator

 

[{SAS}TB]

Well the software doesn't seem to like running on my pc

So @bainbridge I've gone old skool too

Much more fun this way and two options so far

 

[bainbridge]

Haha excellent! I prefer pattern 1 because it looks more random and less uniform than option 2 but they both look good with no + joints that I can see and an even blend of different sizes

 

[watercooledman]

perfectionist love it

 

[{SAS}TB]

thanks both !

#1 was my eldest daughters attempt

#2 was mine - I'd consciously tried to get a pattern of sorts in the middle and larger stones at the corners and middle of the longer edges for when the gazebo posts go on

It's quite therapeutic and frustrating in equal measures as you think yay! Then look and there's either + joints and / or long runs of joint

Will have another play later, it's quite addictive

 

[watercooledman]

must be a cheshire lad like me

 

[{SAS}TB]

must be a cheshire lad like me

Ha! I do live in Cheshire