Patio Relaying & Repairs in Stockton

Telltale signs

Sunken or uneven slabs, with dips and raised edges.
Slabs that rock or clunk when you step on them.
Cracks, often around manhole covers, gullies or where a heavy pot has stood.
Standing water after rain, or a patio that drains towards the back door.
Gaps and weeds in the joints.

More often than not, the slabs are fine. It's the base underneath that has given up.

Sunken or uneven slabs

A lot of Stockton is on heavy clay that holds water. It swells when it's wet and shrinks back in a dry spell, and a patio laid on sand or straight onto soil goes up and down with it until it settles unevenly. Trenches dug for drains or an extension and back-filled loosely are another common cause. Lifting the area, building a firm base and laying the slabs again is the repair that lasts.

Rocking and cracked slabs

A slab that rocks has usually lost the mortar beneath it, or was only ever laid on five spots of mortar rather than a full bed. We take it up, clear out the old bedding and relay it on full mortar. Cracked slabs are swapped out, matched where the original is still made. Where it isn't, we can move a sound slab from somewhere tucked away and put the replacement there instead.

Lifting and re-bedding on a proper sub-base

A proper relay goes like this:

Lift the slabs carefully, setting aside the sound ones for re-use.
Dig out the old bedding and anything soft beneath it.
Lay a crushed-stone sub-base and compact it in layers.
Re-bed each slab on full mortar, primed where the material needs it, to straight, even lines.
Joint with mortar or a jointing compound that suits the slab.

Example image: slabs being bedded on a full mortar bed over a compacted stone sub-base — Example image: slabs bedded on full mortar

Drainage and falls

The original concrete flags behind many of the semis in Hartburn, Fairfield and Billingham were often laid flat or sloping back towards the house. When we relay, we build in a fall of a little per metre so water heads for the lawn, a border or a drain, and keep the surface at least two brick courses below the damp-proof course. On the sloping gardens in Ingleby Barwick and Wynyard, we also look at where water from higher up ends up, and add a channel drain or soakaway if it's needed.

Repointing as part of a repair

Once the slabs are sound and level, we rake out any cracked or loose joints and repoint them so rain can't get underneath. Repointing by itself won't fix a patio that's moving. It's the finishing touch on a proper repair, not a substitute for one.

When relaying beats replacing

Relaying is usually the right call when the slabs are in decent condition and you like them. Natural stone in particular is worth keeping, and suits the older houses in Yarm and Norton. It also makes sense when only part of the patio has moved. A new patio is likely to be better value if most slabs are cracked, if no match can be found, or if you'd like more space or a different look. Our patio slabs, Indian sandstone and porcelain pages cover the options.

What affects the quote

The area that needs lifting and relaying.
The cause: bedding, sub-base, drainage, roots or an old trench.
How many slabs are broken, and whether they can be matched.
Access: a side path is easier than carrying everything through a terraced house.
Other work done at the same time, such as drainage, a step or edging.
Waste: taking away old bedding and broken slabs.

We'll assess it all at the free visit and give you a written quote. See what affects patio prices for more.

Questions people ask

Can you fix one part of the patio?

Yes. If only a section has sunk or a few slabs rock, we can relay that part on a proper base. We'll tell you straight if the rest looks like it will go the same way.

Will you re-use my slabs?

Where they're sound, yes. Some usually break on lifting, so it helps if you've kept any spares.

My patio drains towards the back door. What can be done?

Relaying it with the right fall sends the water the other way. If the patio sits too high against the house, we can lower it below the damp-proof course at the same time.

Will the repair show?

Relaid original slabs blend straight back in. New ones may look fresher at first and usually tone down as they weather. We'll show you before anything is laid.

Is there anything I need to do first?

Clear the patio of pots and furniture if you can, and point out any drains or cables you know about. We'll take care of the rest, including the waste.