Patio Remodel design

What the room has to do

A patio remodel is a surface and a boundary. The paving format sets the character, the edge detail decides whether it looks finished, and the fall decides whether it is usable the day after rain.

Layout rules

• Fall away from the house at roughly 1:80 — flat paving holds water against the wall.
• Keep the paved surface at least 6in below any damp course.
• A dining patio needs 12×12ft to hold a six-seat table with chairs out.
• Large-format slabs suit large patios; on a small one they leave awkward cuts at every edge.
• Allow 36in of route between the door and the garden.

Lighting plan

Wash the boundaries rather than the middle. Lighting the walls and planting that surround a patio makes it feel like a room; lighting the paving itself makes it feel like a car park.

What usually goes wrong

• A patio laid dead level, so it puddles and stains.
• Paving brought up above the damp course.
• A surface sized for a table nobody measured.
• Spike lights aimed up into the eyeline of everyone seated.

In a small one

On a small patio, run the paving in one direction and take it right to the boundary. Borders and inset patterns eat the area visually and make a modest patio look smaller than it is.