Step-by-step guide to laying a circular patio
One of the latest must-haves for the keen garden enthusiast is a circular patio. These features can provide a beautiful environment for an evening meal on a warm summer day, or an impressive standing area for potted plants and feature stonework.
So what do you need, and how should you go about building your circular patio? What do you need?
Whatever style of patio you want to lay, you should always start with a full bed of mortar. This allows varying thicknesses of stone to be placed together, and aligned correctly. Take care though, remember that wet mortar can burn your skin so be sure to wear the right protective clothing at all times.
In addition, a simple toolkit for building a patio includes a couple of trowels for pointing, a string building line together with a long spirit level to get the slabs laid evenly, a rubber mallet, digging tools and a mixer for the mortar.
Laying your circular patio
1. Choosing your stone
For the stone work, we stock a wide range of circular patio slabs providing all the high quality cut stone you’ll need to construct a neat paved circle. We also provide a range of squaring off packs, so if you want to enclose the circular patio within a more angular shape, this can be done as well.
All of our cut stonework is available to match the colours and textures we usually stock, so you can be sure that we’ll be able to closely match your existing stones. Take a look at our range of patio features kits to make sure we’ve got exactly what you’re looking for.
2. Preparing and digging the area
For preparing and digging the area, see the steps in our main guide for quickly and easily laying a garden patio.
3. Laying the patio stones (circular)
For a circular patio, it’s best to start at the centre and work outwards. That way you know everything will fit neatly, and you’ll have no glaring gaps in the middle.
Now you’ll need to spread mortar to a depth of 30-40mm covering the area required for each slab, then place the stone down and tap it level with the rubber mallet. Leave about 15mm between each stone. Use the spirit level and the building line to ensure everything is level, and avoid walking on the slabs for at least 24 hours.
4. Pointing the stones
This is the last thing you’ll need to do once the stones are set and the level is even. Use a damp joining mortar and simply trowel it into the joints, pressing it in as you go, then smooth it down.
Be careful not to get mortar on the surface of the slabs, and scrape off any excess. Leave it to harden and then enjoy your new patio!
For more information about patio slabs, and everything you need to build your own patio, contact Minster Paving online or call us on 01865 300252.
