advice needed on laying a patio!!!

[mrandmrsbeeby]

Hi we need some help pleeease!!!

We have just started to lay a patio onto old concrete which is next to the house, the problem is the ground is sloping a lot towards the garden. The concrete is very uneven in places so we started to fill it level with sharp sand and small stones / pebbles to to give a level surface for layin the slabs down. They measure 40cm x 40cm. We have had to use a lot of sand, 5 large bags from b&q for 6 slabs. The depth of sand is deeper towards the lawn than at the house wall. If we make the depth smaller it will end up being higher at house wall and lower at the lawn (if that makes sense) making it uneven and sloping a lot.

We cannot afford to take all the concrete out, and its our first time laying a patio. We have stopped because of the bad weather but hoping you can really give us some excellent advice so we can do an excellent job. The patio will be on both lawn and concrete and will be around 4m x 4m.

Thanks in advance for your help

[thedoctor]

The slabs should be laid on a bed of sand and cement about 50mm thick. The mix should be 8 sand to 1 cement and when mixed it should be fairly dry so you can squeeze a lump in your hand and it will stay as a lump but no water will squeeze out. The depth can vary slightly to reduce the slope down to the garden but it should still slope as this allows surface (rain) water to be carried away from the house. The top of the patio nearest the house should be no higher than 150mm under the DPC of the property and it should slope away from that point. An ideal slope over 4 m is 50mm (2 inches)