Patio builders in Hartlepool

Quality materials, proper preparation

A good patio should feel like part of the house: generous, level, well drained and neatly finished at every edge. In Hartlepool it also has to cope with more than most. Wind and rain come straight off the North Sea, sea frets leave everything damp for days, and a lot of the town's gardens sit on heavy clay that holds water after a downpour. A patio that copes with all that is mostly down to the work you never see once it is finished.

That means digging out properly, a compacted crushed-stone sub-base, every slab bedded on a full bed of mortar, and a steady fall so rain runs off towards the garden instead of sitting against the back wall. The finished level stays safely below the damp-proof course, and joints are filled with something that will not wash out after the first winter.

The job goes in the same order whatever you choose:

1. Survey and layout. Size and shape, levels against the house, steps, gullies and manhole covers all agreed before anything is lifted.
2. Dig out and base. Old slabs, turf and soil out; crushed stone in and compacted.
3. Lay and joint. Slabs bedded on mortar to the agreed fall, cut cleanly at the edges, then pointed or jointed.
4. A tidy finish. Edges made good, lawn lines neat, the patio cleaned down and the site left clear, with a word on when you can walk on it and bring the furniture back.

Choosing a patio

• Porcelain patios: smart, even and about as low-maintenance as paving gets. Shrugs off salt, damp and barbecue fat.
• Indian sandstone patios: natural stone in warm, mixed colours, well suited to older houses and the period streets of the Headland and West Park.
• Patio slabs and paving: quality textured and stone-effect slabs, a smart finish at a more modest outlay.
• Resin patios and paths: a seamless, porous finish with no joints for weeds or moss to get into.

If you are torn, tell us how you use the garden, whether it catches the sun or the wind, how much looking after you will give it and roughly what you want to spend. We'll talk you through it at the visit.

Paths, steps and walls

Most patios come with a bit more to sort out: a path down to the shed or the back gate, a step where the garden drops, or an edge that needs finishing.

• Garden paths and steps that link the back door, the patio, the bins and the gate, with safe steps where the ground changes level.
• Garden walls, from a few courses of brick round a patio to raised beds and retaining walls.
• Patio relaying and repairs, from re-bedding a few rocking slabs to relaying a patio that has sunk or drains the wrong way.

Why people in Hartlepool get in touch

• Done properly. Proper groundwork, good materials and a tidy finish come first; a patio is meant to last for years.

• Free quotes, no obligation. A written price, and you decide in your own time.

• Local. Hartlepool and the villages close by, from the Headland and Seaton Carew to Clavering, Hart and Elwick. See areas we cover.
• Honest about price. Patios are not priced off a list, so we explain what affects the cost and you get a figure for your own garden.
• Patios and garden paving only. Patios, paths, steps and garden walls. No driveways, fencing or decking.

Questions people ask