How To Lay A Concrete Patio Base

Preparation is the most important aspect of pouring a concrete slab.

How to lay a concrete patio base. Lay a garden hose on the ground or use stakes and string to define the shape of your diy patio. When you re building a patio you ll make layers using these materials. Use a tape measure to find the square footage of the area where you ll lay the patio. A 6 inch layer of gravel for the paver base.

Continue until you have a 6 inch base. Align the top of the expansion joint strip with the tops of the form boards. Whether rectangular or curvy in design next to the home or freestanding in the yard a concrete patio establishes new living space outdoors and adds a striking feature to the landscape. In this video we show you how to pour your basic 16 x 12 concrete slab.

A 1 inch layer of sand. That will help. Properly preparing the subsurface helps to limit the potential for cracks in the finished concrete slab. You ll see how to calculate the volume of road base fill you ll need.

This video from bunnings wa. Making an existing stone patio larger later on is often more challenging than simply building a large patio in the beginning. Learn how to lay road base and prepare and area for paving. Remember to keep the slope uniform.

The location is also important. Your patio needs the support of a gravel paver base. Laying pavers is a diy project that takes about one weekend to complete. If the patio is too large in area it might not be an easy diy job.

Concrete is porous so you need to erect a concrete slab where drainage is not an issue. Subsurface water can cause the ground the flex creating stress cracks in the cement. If the patio slab will abut an existing concrete structure such as a garage slab driveway or house foundation install strips of expansion joint material onto the existing structure using spray adhesive or concrete nails. Add the gravel in 2 to 3 inch layers wet it and run the plate compactor over it.

We go over all the necessary steps for your concrete slab to come out perfect.