Is your home lacking a cosy outdoor space? Do you have nowhere to sit on a summer’s day when family and friends come over? We have a solution for you.

Perhaps it is time to start considering a patio design to add outdoor living space to your house. Undertaking an outdoor project can seem daunting, but it will be well worth it when you have an additional outdoor room that can have multiple purposes.

Whether you build a DIY patio or get garden designers involved, your patio can enhance the surrounding landscape and be used as an outdoor dining area, playroom, barbeque area or just a place to kick back and relax.

Below, you can read more about building a patio and what you need to consider when starting work on your patio.

A Guide to Building your Backyard Patio

Building a patio in your backyard is simpler than building an additional room, however, you might still require a building permit. You should contact your local council to determine which building permits are required before you start work on your patio.

Plan the Patio Design

What are you using it for?

The location, size and shape of your patio will depend on what you plan on using it for. 

If you want a large patio to host extravagant dinner parties with a fire pit and built-in planters, it will have to be significantly larger than if you want to keep it as a small breakfast nook for the family.

What is the best location?

You will have to consider the layout of your backyard to find the best location for your patio. It will require a flat area, or perhaps have a slight slope to allow rainwater to flow off the surface.

If your backyard is lower than the house, you can build a raised patio by using a wooden deck. Alternatively, you may have to excavate an area if your backyard is higher than your house.

The access to the house from the patio will require careful consideration. An outdoor dining area should have easy access to your home’s kitchen.

If you plan on building an outdoor kitchen with counters on your patio, consider how it would look when you look out of your windows and try not to ruin any views you might have.

Decide on your materials

Your patio floor will have a hard surface, but it is up to you to decide which materials to use. 

Natural stone can be used to construct a stone patio that can handle a lot of foot traffic, or you can use wood, tiles, bricks or concrete pavers for a more rustic look.

Prepare your backyard

Now that the patio design and materials have been decided, it is time to start preparing the ground.

Delineate the area where your new patio would go by using stakes and string and make sure you are happy with the layout of your planned outdoor area.

Remove the topsoil and any grass, and level the area if required. If the patio is located against an exterior wall of the house, make sure it slopes away gently so rainwater can flow away. You can surround the patio with crushed stone to drain the rainwater.

Appointing a construction team to help will make a big difference in preparing the ground and building a patio.

Lay down the base material

You should use an impermeable fabric, like plastic sheeting, to prevent weeds from cropping up between your selected paving material.

Spread gravel over the fabric, and stamp the gravel down to form a solid base. Use sand to cover the gravel, and stamp the sand down as well.

Start paving

Once the sand is dry and firmly compacted, you can start laying down your pavers or stones. Leave slight gaps between the stones or pavers which you can fill with mortar to fix everything into place.

You may want to enlist the help of construction workers or builders who have some knowledge of how to build a patio to double-check that you have done everything correctly up to this point.

Final Thoughts

When designing your patio, you should let your creativity flow. Building a new space in your garden will allow you to extend your home and make it more enjoyable to spend time in your yard.

Whether you build a patio with a fire pit as a focal point and an entire outdoor kitchen or opt for a small, cosy sitting area that takes little maintenance, you will not regret building a patio in your backyard.