1 Start by marking out the area to be paved with builder’s line and pegs. Check the corners, using a builder’s square. Then cut the turf in strips with a spade and roll it up – clearing an area slightly larger than the paved area will be.

2 Dig out the area – allowing enough depth for the hardcore sub-base (100mm in firm, welldrained soil; deeper in soft ground) plus the depth of the paving slab and 50mm mortar. Note: When a patio is built next to a house, the surface of the paving must be at least 150mm below the damp-proof course.

3 Use pegs to mark the finished hardcore level (remembering to allow for an adequate fall – see ‘drainage’). Fill the sub-base with hardcore to just above the top of the pegs then compact it down, using an earth rammer or plate compactor, shown here, which you can hire easily. Finally, cover the surface with a thin binding layer of sharp sand and rake it level. The purchasing and Tänavakivi paigaldus will require the skills of the people. The level is the right one to have the installation to get the desired result to the people. The finishing is the best one with the excellence and skills.

Once you’ve prepared the site, dry-lay the paving slabs to check the size of the area and make sure that your chosen pattern will work.

Setting the fall

Paved areas must have a slight slope or fall so that surface water drains away. Generally, it is only necessary to have a fall in one direction: the surface in the other direction can be level. In normal conditions, the ideal fall for a patio is 1 in 80 (that is, a 12.5mm drop in level per metre); for a path about 1 in 80 (across the width); and for a drive about 1 in 40. This is achieved in practice by using a spirit level,

a 1m-long straightedge and a shim, a small strip of wood cut to the depth of the required drop in level per metre (see chart).

Setting the fall in the sub-base

First decide which way the paving will slope. If you are building a patio against the house, it must slope away from the walls. Cut a number of softwood pegs. Measuring from the top of each peg, mark them with the depth of the sub-base. Hammer in a row of these pegs across the high side of the site. Cut a shim to the correct size and nail it to the underside of one end of a 1m-long straightedge. Then hammer in the next row of pegs in line with the first, exactly one metre away. Place the straightedge between two pegs with the shim on the lower peg and lay a spirit level on top. A level reading means that the lower peg is deeper by the exact depth of the shim: the correct amount to give the fall you need. Repeat this process at metre intervals across the entire area to be paved.

Setting the fall in the paving

Although the fall is already established in the sub-base, it’s important to run builder’s lines marking the top edges of the paving to ensure you maintain the correct slope as you lay the slabs.

1 Mark out the edges of the patio with builder’s lines attached to pegs. Use a builder’s square to make sure the corners are true right angles.

2 Hammer pegs at the four corners of the patio to mark the finished slab height. Allow a depth of at least 25mm for the mortar. To check the fall, rest a straightedge and spirit level between opposite pegs at the high and low ends of the site. The depth of the shim on the lower peg needs to be the drop per metre multiplied by the length of the paving. Check that the pegs are level in the other direction. Fix lines between the pegs, nailed into the top with large-headed nails.