How long does it take to lay a patio?

Whether you’re getting a professional in to lay a new patio or wanting to do it yourself and want to know how long will it take to lay down the patio, this post will give you an idea about how long will take to lay down a patio with different examples.

In the process of building a patio, laying the paving slabs is the easy part of the job compared to other things like digging, and preparing the site with sub-base and mortar with proper slope is where the real hard work is involved.

If there’s only one person to do everything, you can expect him to lay 10 square meters per day whereas, each additional person can add more 10 square meters to it.

On average, a professional can lay 20-25 square meters of patio with one labourer per day (8 hours) so, for example, an 80 square meter patio can be laid down in 3-4 days. But this is just to prepare the base and lay, there’re so many factors that could take further days.

Definitely, the size of the patio is the biggest factor in determining how long will it take to complete the job. Also, there’re other things around the size of the patio that can also affect the time required. For example, if it’s a big size patio, they can get one or multiple diggers on the site whereas, for a small patio they might even don’t get a digger and dig manually which can take longer for even a small size patio.

DIYer? It takes longer than you think

If you’re doing the patio as a DIYer for yourself, things can take much longer because you’ve to learn as you go.

Our DIY checklist below can be a very handy tool to have as a DIYer to know exactly what you’ve to do right now and what’s your very next step is so you can learn accordingly and save yourself from a lot of complications by forgetting others steps in the whole process of laying a patio.

You get a PDF file that divides laying a complete patio into smaller steps in an easier looking and organised format so you can check as you go and see what’s next making you more confident, especially when you’re not a professional patio installer.

If the professionals are charging per day basis and the only reason to find out how long does a patio takes is to know how much does it cost to lay down a patio, you can read patio costs for more information. If not, continue reading the post to know what things can affect the average time required to lay down a patio.

Shape & Cutting

The patios which are laid to be in the square or rectangular shape look much more straightforward to lay than patios with curves or circular patios. Because then it involves a lot of cutting work and especially circular cuts take longer than straight cuts.

Also, if there’s a drainage or manhole cover where the patio is being laid, you just can’t let it as it is because it will look ugly for a new patio, won’t it? And if you want to cover that up like the rest of the patio, the pavers need to cut in such a way that they continue the pattern of the patio to make the whole patio look flawless.

Design and Pattern

Creating attractive patio designs with different paver colours or attractive patio patterns with different paver sizes and shapes can take extra time compared to if every paver of the patio is of the same size, shape, or colour.

If the patio pavers are of the same colour and same size, there’s no need to think of a dozen different designs and patterns for your patio because there are no designs or patterns to think of. It’s just laying the pavers randomly without keeping in mind any pattern or design.

Access

Access to the site can significantly affect how long will it take to complete the job. If there’s tight access you can’t get the machinery like an excavator on the site. In that case, it would need to be manually dug with a shovel and take the soil to the lorry for dumping as the lorry can’t get inside the site.

There’re other things that also depend on the access, like how far away is the materials that need to be brought to the patio.

Weather

How the weather is while laying the patio plays an important role in how long will it take to lay down the patio. The patio that’s just laid needs to be dried fully before pointing with traditional sand and cement mortar, and if the rain is forecast it will take longer to proceed with the job further like pointing the patio.

If the weather is not adequate, it can extend the work by a couple of days as you or who you’ve hired can only grout the patio after it has been dried. Usually, you can point the patio the next day after it has been laid, when the weather is clear.

But with other advanced options for pointing like brush-in jointing compounds, patios can be pointed in the rain too. Check this post out for more info: Can I point a patio in the rain?

The types of slabs that’re being used for the patio also make a difference. For example, porcelain tiles are very dense (non-porous) or tough hence, it’s a little harder to work with porcelain, especially when cutting so it takes a little longer for the job if there are many cuts involved. If you’re laying porcelain, check this post (click here) that is written specifically on how long it takes to lay a porcelain patio.