Patio Costs: Lay, Seal, Point & Remove
Patios can be done in many different ways, with different materials, in different sizes, at different locations, and from different people. So this many variables to the job make it very difficult to price it up.
I’ve tried to get as much data as possible here in this post from laying down a new patio to removing an old patio.
Cost to lay a Patio per Square Meters
Laying the patio is the easy part of the job, the hard work is in preparing the area, digging if needed and taking in/out the materials/waste depending on the access to the site mostly affect the cost.
The average cost just to lay down a patio in the UK is £100-£120 per square meter for labour and materials. This cost can increase if there’s the need to work on digging, retaining walls, etc.
You could see a lot of people around charging way less, like £60/m2 for labour and materials, but is it going to be any good. You’ve to remember the £100 per m2 sweet spot for the materials of patio and labour to lay it down. Anything less than this is not going to be good work.
How much does labour cost to lay a patio?
If you’re supplying materials for the patio, the cost just for the labour to prepare the area and lay down patio is £20-£40/m2. If there’s any extra work involved like digging the cost can shoot way up like £60-£80/m2 depending on the time required and access to the site.
Many people aren’t trying to do the business this way, because they’ve their profits on the materials. Also, some of them find it frustrating because sometimes the materials aren’t proper and it’s not available on time and that sort of things.
If you know any landscaper who can provide quality work but does not do the job this way, one thing you could do is tell him that you’ll pay for whatever his profit was if he brought the material from his side. It’s can be 10-20% of the total material cost.
Some landscapers don’t work on per meter basis. They will calculate the average time required to complete the job depending on the size of your patio and is there any extra work involved in installing it, and according to it, they will quote a price. If they complete the job faster than what they’ve expected and quoted accordingly, it’s their profit but if the patio takes longer than what’s expected, they can’t charge anything on top of what they’ve quoted even if it’s their loss.
Cost to lay a Patio Per Day
Mostly, landscapers charge £200-£250 per day for the labour to lay down a patio, and it can go up to £400 per day depending on the company you choose to source labour from.
You should remember that as you’re supplying all the materials and paying just for the labour for the patio if you don’t supply materials on time and labour has to wait due to materials, you may have to compensate for that.
If the patio can be laid down easily, some landscapers can sum up and give you the fixed labour cost upfront for the complete job. For example, £600 just for the labour to lay a 30 square meter patio. Fixed price over the day rate is also fine if both, you and the landscaper agree on it.
If he sees that there are some complications involved to lay the patio, he may charge day rate because then he also has no idea how time-consuming the job can be.
Cost to lay a Porcelain Patio
Landscapers may charge more or less depending on the type of material you choose for the patio. Obviously, porcelain is an expensive option for the patio and as it’s expensive, the landscapers may ask a little extra for porcelain fitting over other types of pavers.
For supply and fit, a porcelain patio costs between £160-£180 per square meter. Whereas only for the labour to lay down a porcelain patio, you’re expected to pay like £30-£40 per square meter.
Cost to lay a Indian Sandstone/Limestone Patio
For supply and fit, an Indian sandstone/limestone patio costs between £120-£140 per square meter, or if you’re supplying the materials then £20-£40 per square meter only to prepare the area and lay Indian sandstone. If there’s any extra work involved like digging, the cost can shoot way up like £60 per
Indian sandstone buying cost is £20-£30 per square meter or they’re available in packs such as around £500 for a pack that covers 20 square meters.
Cost to Point/Repoint a patio
Repoint or grouting a patio is a time-taking job if done correctly. The old joints of the patio have to be taken out and clean all the gaps and then fill with sand and cement. For long-term results, the mixture should be nicely filled inside the gaps instead of just sweeping it. If the landscaper uses pre-mixed grout for pointing the patio, it’s certainly expensive like £35 for a tube of 12.5 kg.
Mostly day rates are charged to repoint a patio that’s usually £200-£250 per day plus the cost of grinding disc and the materials required for repointing. If we calculate the cost to repoint a patio on per square meter basis, it’s roughly around £20-£30/m2.
Cost to remove Old Patio
Depending on the time required to remove the patio, the removal cost can be the per hour or per day labour rate. To remove a 10×10 meters patio is a day’s work so, £200-£250 is the full day labour cost to remove it or you can think of £20-£30 per hour for the labour if you want to calculate it per hourly basis.