Every house on this Stratford development came with the same composite deck at the back, put down by the developer when the houses were built. Our clients wanted theirs gone and a proper paved patio in its place.
The Brief
We removed the decking and laid Dijon honed and tumbled limestone pavers in its place. Each paver is 200 × 50 × 40mm, set in a herringbone pattern across about 15m². The honed and tumbled finish gives softly worn edges and a warm, pale colour against the brick of the house.
The Build-Up
- 100mm MOT sub-base
- 30–40mm bedding layer
- Dijon limestone pavers, 200 × 50 × 40mm, in herringbone
- Tuffjoint paving grout in the joints
- Sealer, applied once the grout had cured
Why We Grouted the Joints
Pavers like these are usually butted tight and the joints filled with kiln-dried sand. Here we agreed with the clients to leave a gap and fill it with Tuffjoint paving grout, which keeps weeds out of the joints.
It made the laying slower. Natural limestone pavers aren't all exactly the same size, and a herringbone pattern with an even joint can't be rushed: each paver is placed and checked against its neighbours. It's slow, careful work, and it's what keeps the pattern true across the whole patio. If you're weighing up jointing options for your own patio, our paving materials guide covers what we use and why.
The Inspection Cover
The existing cover was round and black plastic, which would have broken the pattern in the middle of the patio. We replaced it with a pave-in inspection cover, a recessed tray that takes the same pavers as the rest of the surface, and set the herringbone out so the pattern runs straight through it. Access underneath is unchanged. The cover just stops interrupting the paving.
Getting It Done
The hardest part of the job was logistics. With the house in the way, every paver, bag of material and tool had to be carried through it. The paving itself took just over a week. We came back once the grout had cured to seal the patio.
The Result
The developer's composite deck is now 15m² of herringbone limestone with the inspection cover blended into the pattern. The clients were very pleased with it.
Thinking about paving your own garden? See our paving service or what paving costs.
