Hertfordshire Driveways Ltd. are experienced and professional Patio Builders with many years of experience in the industry.
Your patio is an extension of your home and provides you with an additional outside living space that you can enjoy year after year.
We like to think that we are more than just patio builders, providing a complete service from patio design, consultation, installation and additional features to compliment your patio and enhance your home.
If you would like to discuss your requirements with one of our professional Patio Builders click here to contact us or to arrange a no obligation appointment.
For a no obligation survey and quotation for your driveway or patio work please click here
We have put together some useufil information and advice when considering building a patio, redesigning your patio or renovating an existing patio below;
A Patio is typically an outside paved area adjoining your house. A Patio can be thought of as an extension to your living space. A Patio is designed to provide a high quality low maintenance option to replace lawns completely or to complement an existing lawn. Patios are typically made up of decorative concrete or stone slabs.
The Patio slabs are usually laid down over small stones, sand and cement for stability. A Patio can be covered by some form of roof. A Patio roof can be a simple awning. An awning is typically a covering made of canvas or acrylic and wall mounted above the patio. In many cases these are also retractable into a mounting on the wall above the Patio. Instead of being mounted on a wall a Patio awning can be free-standing.Alternatively a Patio roof could be a more permanent structure such as a Patio roof made of glass, these are typically known as glass verandahs.
Outdoor heating is available for Patios. This can take the form of wall mounted heaters or free-standing heaters on a pole arrangement. Wall mounted Patio heaters tend to be powered by household electricity. The older style of free-standing Patio heaters are usually powered by LPG or propane gas. These typically work by directing flames upwards against a circular metal hood which causes the heat to be radiated in a circle around the Patio heater. The newer types of Patio heater tend to be InfraRed, more energy efficient, and are powered by household electricity.
A range of furniture is available for your Patio such as garden dining tables and chairs, swinging chairs, sun loungers, umbrellas and outdoor cushions to mention just a few.
A patio garden is an outside paved area used for gardening. The patio garden can be used to grow a whole variety of plants, including shrubs, flowers, fruits, vegetables, salads and herbs. A range of containers can be used in the patio garden, everything from simple plant pots to manger raised planters and raised bed tables.
The patio garden can use a number of different apparatus to grow plants. It could contain growbags, garden frames, bookshelf planters, cane patio garden planters, hanging baskets, upside down patio garden planters, grow bag trough and frames, strawberry towers and potato barrels to mention just a few. A patio garden has a number of advantages over conventional gardening. Disease, pest and weed control is easier.
Access to the patio garden is easier which means watering and fertilising is easier too. Plant containers can be moved around to change the look and feel of the patio garden and also to capture the sun at the best times of day. Outdoor lighting can be added to your patio garden to give it that special appeal after dark.
Patio Pavers are slabs of differing materials, shapes, sizes and colours used to build attractive patios. Patio Pavers are available in many different materials including concrete, brick, asphalt and stone. They basically fall into two categories, manufactured or natural stone. Manufactured Patio Pavers are cheaper then natural stone Patio Pavers but their appearance can be just as appealing.
Patio Pavers can be used to create beautiful patterns. Patio Paver colours can be selected to match your home and garden. Patio Pavers can also be used to build very attractive raised patios. It is possible to buy moulds for concrete Patio Pavers to create your own custom shapes and sizes.
The preparation of the site and laying of Patio Pavers can be very hard work so it is best left to a professional such as a specialty bricklayer or paver contractor. One particular difficulty when laying your own patio is ensuring the foundations for the stone are level; otherwise stepping on uneven pavers can cause them to break. After the Patio Pavers have been laid sand is usually swept into any gaps between them, and compacted down with a brush to hold them in place. However, over time the sand can be washed away by rain so the sand needs replacing. Patio Pavers can be used elsewhere around the home. This can include the driveway, walkways, the edge of a swimming pool or as borders to flower beds.
A Patio Paver is a slab of material used to build a patio. A Patio Paver falls into two different categories, manufactured and natural stone. Examples of a manufactured Patio Paver are concrete and brick. An example of a natural stone Patio Paver is flagstone, a type of sandstone.
A Patio Paver comes in many different styles, textures, colours, sizes and shapes. A manufactured Patio Paver tends to be more durable than a natural Patio Paver.
Patios can be constructed using Patio Slabs. Typically these are stone slabs of square or rectangular shape laid adjacent to one another with a small amount of cement mortar between them. Patio slabs are typically stone or concrete. Patio Slabs are available in a wide range of textures and colours.
Patio Slabs are usually laid down on a base of compacted stone chips, a layer of sharp sand, and a layer of cement mortar. Patio Slabs are also available in circular shapes and can be used to form circular patio arrangements on the ground. It is also possible to create raised areas using Patio Slabs.
Flagstone Patios are made up of flagstone which is a form of sandstone. Flagstone typically comes in yellow-brown, red or blue colours but more exotic colours such as chocolate are also available. The type of flagstone that is used to build a Flagstone Patio is usually about 2 inches thick, quite heavy, and broken up so that individual pieces of flagstone have jagged edges and are of differing sizes.
A Flagstone Patio is laid on a level base of sand roughly 2 inches thick. The individual flagstones are laid down in a mosaic pattern with gaps between them. The appearance of this is quite appealing. After the flagstones have been laid the gaps are usually filled in with sand, mortar or concrete. The disadvantage in using sand is that over time the sand will settle, or be washed away by rain, and therefore need topping up.
The use of mortar or concrete provides a more durable construction requiring little maintenance. The DIY construction of a Flagstone Patio can be quite complicated and it can be difficult to create a level base for the patio. Therefore, it is recommended that a professional firm is used to construct a Flagstone Patio.
An Outdoor Patio is typically an outside paved area adjoining your house and adjacent to a garden if you have one. An Outdoor Patio floor is typically made up of decorative concrete or stone slabs. The Outdoor Patio slabs are usually laid down over small stones, sand and cement for stability. An Outdoor Patio can be covered by some form of roof.
An Outdoor Patio roof can be a simple awning. An awning is typically a covering made of canvas or acrylic and wall mounted above the Outdoor Patio. In many cases these are also retractable into a mounting on the wall above the Outdoor Patio. Instead of being mounted on a wall an outdoor patio awning can be free-standing. Alternatively an Outdoor Patio roof can be a more permanent structure such as an Outdoor Patio roof made of glass, these are typically known as glass verandahs.
Heating is available for Outdoor Patios. This can take the form of wall mounted heaters or free-standing heaters on a pole arrangement. Wall mounted Outdoor Patio heaters tend to be powered by household electricity. The older style of free-standing Outdoor Patio heaters are usually powered by LPG or propane gas. These typically work by directing flames upwards against a circular metal hood which causes the heat to be radiated in a circle around the Outdoor Patio heater. The newer types of Outdoor Patio heater tend to be InfraRed, more energy efficient, and are powered by household electricity. A range of furniture is available for your Outdoor Patio such as garden dining tables and chairs, swinging chairs, sun loungers, umbrellas and outdoor cushions to mention just a few.
A Paver Patio is built using pavers which are slabs of manufactured or natural stone. Both types are attractive. However, manufactured stone, such as concrete is cheaper. Many different textures, colours, sizes and shapes of stone are available to build a Paver Patio.
Your Paver Patio can be built to a very high standard to complement your home and garden. Preparing the site and laying the stone can be very hard work so you should consider using a professional firm to build your Paver Patio. One particular complication, when building your own Paver Patio, is ensuring that the foundations for the stone are completely level; if the Pavers are not level they will break when you stand on them.
After the pavers have been laid sand is typically brushed into the gaps between the pavers and compacted down with the brush. After a while rain can wash away some of this sand so it becomes necessary to brush more sand into the gaps. Typically this is usually the only maintenance required to a Paver Patio.