Patios come in all shapes and sizes, from the basic circle or square-shaped place to sit out in the fresh air, to the wide-spreading party patio with dining area, kitchen, and firepit. If you are thinking about building a patio for your home, we have some questions you should ask yourself, lists you should make, and best patio practices to consider to help with your project.
Examine Your Existing Space: Understanding your space is more than making sure you know the square footage you want to work with. You will also want to consider the exterior features of your home that will affect the design or build of your patio, such as stairs, AC units and doors you want to connect to your patio. Don’t forget to measure the elevations of your yard, and to make a list of what is currently on site (existing patio, gas fire exhaust, installed irrigation, etc.). A handy visual tip is to draw out the potential patio area with spray paint to see exactly what space you’ll be working with. Remember—grass grows so that paint will be gone after the next mowing.
Layout Well: Planning for everything you need helps ensure you end up with what you envision. Consider how you will use the space—do you want an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, tables, a grill, or outdoor TV? How many people do you expect to entertain on a regular basis? Realistically the smallest patio that holds a table is 12×12. If you want your outdoor area to be more than a dining space, you will need to make sure you have enough square footage for more. You may even do a bit of staging to see what size accommodates what furniture and appliances.
Patio Materials: The best materials for a patio base are 53 limestone gravel and flume sand. Paver-wise, Eagleson Landscape highly recommends (and stands by after many years of use) Reading Rock pavers, but obviously other paver distributors exist. Just don’t go cheap—after installing a few hundred pounds of concrete pavers, you will not want to have to replace them for a VERY long time.
Utilities, Lines, and Pipes: Before you dig anything you must call 811 and have your property checked for utilities. Otherwise you may find dangerous not-to-code main lines (that nearly kill you!). Work closely with your 811 guys to make sure you are safe—mistakes can happen with any job, and their marks include a range of 3 feet on either side of their flags, so you will want to dig a wide berth around them. Aside from electrical lines, there are drainage pipes, irrigation and gas feeds you may run into while digging. Reroute, rebury, and dig carefully. You may also find large rocks, trash and other surprises in the ground that you will need some way of getting rid of. Also, don’t forget to direct water away from the base of your home. Put your hardscape in with a slight downgrade from the house to ensure all water is draining away (rather than directly toward!) your basement.
Fiery Additions: If you are considering a gas firepit, fireplace or grill, we highly recommend installing the necessary piping during the patio build. Installing gas after the fact is costly, and you will not want to tear up your lovely patio to do it. Gas lines do need to be buried to code.
Seating Walls: To install a seating wall, first plan where they will go, then dig out 3 inches deeper to allow for extra base support for the wall’s weight. Seating walls work great with a patio when they are placed in such a way as to encourage people to sit and stay for a while, such as around a firepit.
Patio Kitchens: Similar to walls, dig out 3 inches deeper where you plan to put the kitchen. Lay piping or electrical lines during the early stages so they get buried in with the gravel base. The best kitchen is a user-friendly one that sits close enough to the party that the cook can be part of it! And the guests aren’t too far from the food, either.
We wish you good luck and fair weather for your patio project, and if you need help bringing your backyard vision to light, don’t hesitate to call us at (317) 997-4803 or email us with your requests.
