Types of Patios

Dry-Laid

• Homeowners may elect to build patios using dry-laid construction. Dry-laid construction includes excavating a patio site, building drainage, laying a sand bed and laying the patio paving stones into place. This simple process requires little prior masonry experience, making the project easy for amateur homeowners to do it themselves. Brick patio pavers and natural or cut stones provide great materials for building patio using dry-laid construction.

Mortaring

• Similar to dry-laying, homeowners may also construct patios using mortar to hold the bricks, stones and pavers more permanently into place. This method of construction relies on the same preparation methods as dry-laying. After spreading the sand layer, set the bricks, stones or pavers into place using mortar. This method ensures that stones, bricks and pavers do not sink over time, eliminates gaps and provides a smoother patio surface.

Slab Patio

• Poured concrete slabs provide home and business owners with another option when seeking to build patios. Whether placing the patio surface indoors or outdoors, covered or uncovered, a concrete slab patio provides a very durable surface often capable of withstanding heavier weights than dry-laid and mortared patios. To build a slab patio, a construction team must build a form in the shape of the patio and pour the form full of wet concrete. As the concrete dries, it requires smoothing and leveling or sloping until fully dried.

Raised Patios

• Patios do not have to lie flush with the ground but may stand inches or many feet above the ground. To build a raised patio, you must start with a retaining wall around the outside of the patio to prevent the materials within the patio from falling loose. If you build a raised patio from concrete, you may build a tall frame or retaining walls to contain the concrete inside the patio. Dry-laid construction also works to build a raised patio, as long as you mortar the retaining walls into place.