Cost Guide · Updated July 2026
Patio Cost UK 2026 — Patio Installation Cost
A new patio in the UK typically costs £70–£180 per m² installed depending on the paving you choose. A standard 20m² patio runs £2,400–£4,600 fully laid — concrete slabs at the budget end, porcelain and natural stone at the top. Groundworks, drainage and access can move the final figure by 20–40%.
Get 3 Free Patio Quotes →Quick answer — how much does a patio cost? Expect £70–£180 per m² fully installed in 2026, so a 20m² patio costs roughly £2,400–£4,600 and a larger 40m² patio £4,800–£9,000. The paving material is the single biggest driver: concrete and standard sandstone are the value picks, while porcelain, limestone and granite sit at the premium end.
Those figures include labour, a proper sub-base, laying, jointing and waste removal. Add for tricky access, extra excavation, drainage to a soakaway, and decorative edging or steps. See the full per-m² breakdown →
Patio cost per m² by material
The paving you choose sets the tone for the whole budget. The figures below are fully installed per m² — they include a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base, a bedding layer, laying and jointing, on a straightforward garden with reasonable access. Supply-only material costs are roughly a third to a half of the installed rate.
| Paving material | Supply only /m² | Installed /m² | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete slabs (riven / smooth) | £20–£40 | £70–£110 | Budget patios, large areas, modern grey looks |
| Block paving (concrete / clay) | £25–£50 | £75–£115 | Traffic-tolerant, herringbone patterns, driveways too |
| Natural sandstone (Indian) | £28–£55 | £90–£140 | Warm natural tones, riven texture, best all-round value |
| Limestone | £35–£60 | £100–£150 | Smooth uniform finish, blue-grey and black tones |
| Porcelain (20mm outdoor) | £40–£75 | £120–£180 | Low-maintenance, stain & frost resistant, contemporary |
| Granite | £45–£80 | £130–£200 | Extremely hard-wearing, premium flecked finish |
| Reclaimed / Yorkstone | £50–£120 | £140–£250 | Heritage and period properties, character |
Porcelain looks expensive per m² but it barely stains, never needs sealing and holds its colour, so many homeowners judge it the better long-term value. Sandstone remains the most popular natural choice on the BestBuilders platform because it hits a sweet spot on price and looks.
What’s included in the installed rate?
A correct patio build is mostly what you can’t see. Roughly a third of your money goes on the sub-base and preparation, a third on labour, and a third on the paving itself. A cheap quote that skips the sub-base will sink, crack and pool water within a couple of winters — so compare quotes on build spec, not just the headline number.
- Excavation to roughly 150–200mm depth and removal of spoil.
- Sub-base: 100–150mm of compacted MOT Type 1 hardcore, whacker-plated in layers.
- Bedding: a full mortar bed (not five spot-blobs) for natural stone and porcelain.
- Laying, cutting and jointing with brush-in or slurry-applied jointing compound.
- Waste removal and a basic tidy of the finished area.
Typical patio cost by size (10–40m²)
Most domestic patios fall between 10m² (a compact seating area) and 40m² (a full family entertaining space). The totals below are fully installed for a standard garden and cover the three most common material tiers. As a rule of thumb, per-m² rates drop slightly on bigger jobs because setup, access and delivery are spread over more area.
| Patio size | Concrete slabs | Sandstone | Porcelain | Rough duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10m² (small seating area) | £700–£1,150 | £950–£1,450 | £1,250–£1,900 | 2–3 days |
| 20m² (standard patio) | £1,400–£2,200 | £1,900–£2,900 | £2,500–£3,800 | 3–5 days |
| 30m² (large patio) | £2,000–£3,200 | £2,800–£4,300 | £3,700–£5,600 | 5–7 days |
| 40m² (entertaining space) | £2,700–£4,300 | £3,700–£5,700 | £4,800–£7,400 | 7–10 days |
Add roughly £600–£1,500 if the job needs extra excavation, a soakaway, steps or retaining edges — see the cost drivers below. These ranges assume a reasonably level plot; a sloping garden that needs building up or a retaining wall will cost more.
How patio size is measured
Patios are priced by the square metre of finished paving. Measure the length × width of the area in metres, then add about 10% for cuts, waste and breakages — more if you’re laying a diagonal or circular pattern. A good installer will confirm the exact area on a site visit before quoting, and factor in any awkward shapes.
The 7 things that change your patio cost
Two identical-looking patios can differ by thousands once you account for what’s underneath and around them. These are the factors that separate a £2,400 quote from a £4,600 one on the same 20m² area.
| Cost driver | Typical add-on | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Groundworks & sub-base | £25–£45 /m² | The non-negotiable foundation. Deeper or softer ground needs more Type 1. |
| Excavation & waste removal | £200–£600 | Skip hire and muck-away; heavy clay or old concrete adds cost. |
| Drainage / soakaway | £400–£1,200 | Required where run-off can’t discharge to a permeable area (SuDS). |
| Edging & restraints | £15–£40 /linear m | Kerbs, setts or haunched edges stop paving spreading over time. |
| Laying pattern | +10–25% labour | Diagonal, circular or mixed-size patterns mean more cutting and waste. |
| Access | £150–£600 | No side access means barrowing materials through the house or over fences. |
| Steps, walls & features | £250–£1,500+ | Level changes, retaining walls and raised beds are separate builds. |
Groundworks and the sub-base
The sub-base is where corners get cut. A proper patio needs 100–150mm of compacted MOT Type 1 over a geotextile membrane, whacker-plated in layers so it doesn’t settle. On soft, clay or made-up ground you may need to dig deeper and import more hardcore, which is the most common reason a quote comes in higher than a neighbour’s. It’s money well spent — a failed sub-base means lifting and relaying the whole patio.
Drainage, falls and soakaways
Every patio must be laid to a slight fall (around 1:60 to 1:80, roughly 15mm per metre) so water runs away from the house. Where that water can’t soak into a lawn or border, you’ll need a channel drain to a soakaway or, where permitted, a connection to a surface-water drain. Getting drainage right protects both your patio and your damp-proof course — see our damp proofing cost guide if you’re worried about water near the wall.
Access and site logistics
A tonne bag of Type 1 and a pack of slabs are heavy. If there’s no vehicle or barrow access to the rear, everything gets carried through the house or craned over — adding labour and protection costs. Mention access clearly when you request quotes so figures are realistic from the start.
Should you lay a patio yourself?
Laying a patio is one of the more achievable garden DIY jobs — but it’s physically brutal and unforgiving of mistakes. Getting the falls, sub-base and full mortar bed right is what separates a patio that lasts 25 years from one that pools water and rocks within two.
| DIY (20m² sandstone) | Professional (20m² sandstone) | |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | £900–£1,300 | Included |
| Tool / plant hire | £120–£250 (whacker, cutter, mixer) | Included |
| Labour | Your time — 4–7 days | Included |
| Typical total | £1,050–£1,600 | £1,900–£2,900 |
| Risk | Falls, settling and staining if base is wrong | Workmanship guarantee, insured |
DIY can save £800–£1,300 on a 20m² job, mostly in labour. It makes sense for small, level, ground-level patios in a forgiving material like concrete slabs. For porcelain (which must go on a full, wet mortar bed with a primer/slurry), for anything on a slope, or where drainage is involved, a professional almost always pays for itself — a botched porcelain patio is expensive to put right. Compare quotes on our artificial grass and fencing cost guides too if you’re planning a wider garden makeover.
Sealing & maintenance costs
Ongoing costs are modest but material-dependent. Porcelain is effectively maintenance-free; natural stone benefits from sealing to resist staining and algae; concrete sits in between.
| Task | Cost | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Sealing natural stone (DIY sealant) | £40–£90 per patio | Every 2–3 years |
| Professional seal & jointing refresh | £250–£500 | Every 3–5 years |
| Pressure washing | £0 DIY / £80–£200 pro | Yearly (spring) |
| Re-pointing / re-jointing worn joints | £150–£450 | As needed, 5–10 yrs |
| Porcelain upkeep | Soapy water only | As needed |
A word of caution on pressure washing: too much pressure blasts jointing compound out and pits soft stone. Keep the lance moving, use a fan tip, and re-joint afterwards if needed. Sealing is best done on a dry, mild day with the paving fully cured — never seal a damp patio or you’ll trap moisture and cause a milky bloom.
Permeable requirements & when planning permission applies
A rear-garden patio almost never needs planning permission — it’s Permitted Development. The rules tighten for front gardens because of surface-water run-off. Here’s what genuinely applies in England in 2026 (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have broadly similar sustainable-drainage aims).
Front gardens: the 5m² permeable rule
If you lay more than 5 square metres of a front garden in a non-permeable surface (traditional slabs or concrete that sheds water onto the road), you need planning permission — unless the run-off is directed to a permeable area within your own boundary, such as a border or lawn. Use permeable paving, or drain to your own soakaway or a rain garden, and you stay within Permitted Development. This comes from the government’s guidance on paving front gardens, introduced to reduce flash-flooding and pressure on drains.
SuDS and connecting to drains
Sustainable drainage (SuDS) principles mean patios should manage their own water wherever possible — that’s why installers build in falls and soakaways. You must not connect surface water from a new patio into the foul sewer, and connecting to a public surface-water sewer may need the water company’s consent. A permeable build (permeable jointing over an open sub-base and sub-grade) sidesteps most of this and is increasingly specified for larger areas.
Building regulations
A ground-level patio itself doesn’t need Building Regulations approval, but keep the finished paving at least 150mm (two brick courses) below the damp-proof course of the house, and don’t bridge airbricks. Getting this wrong is a common cause of rising damp against an outside wall.
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Compare Patio Quotes →Patio cost questions, answered
A 20m² patio typically costs £2,400–£4,600 fully installed. Concrete slabs land at roughly £1,400–£2,200, natural sandstone £1,900–£2,900, and porcelain £2,500–£3,800. Those figures include excavation, a compacted sub-base, laying, jointing and waste removal. Extra excavation, a soakaway, steps or poor access can add £600–£1,500.
Sandstone is cheaper to buy and lay (£90–£140/m² installed) and gives a warm, natural riven finish, but it needs sealing every 2–3 years and can stain or grow algae. Porcelain costs more (£120–£180/m²) but is virtually stain-proof, frost-proof, colour-stable and needs only soapy water — so over 10–15 years many owners find porcelain the better value. Porcelain does demand a full wet mortar bed and a primer/slurry, so professional laying is strongly advised.
A rear-garden patio is almost always Permitted Development and needs no permission. A front garden is different: if you lay more than 5m² of non-permeable surface that drains onto the road, you need planning permission — unless you use permeable paving or drain to a soakaway/border within your own boundary. Listed buildings and conservation areas may have extra rules, so check with your local planning authority first.
A two-person team lays a standard 20m² patio in 3–5 days: roughly a day for excavation and muck-away, a day building and compacting the sub-base, one to two days laying and cutting, and time for jointing and curing. Allow 7–10 days for 40m² or where drainage, steps or a retaining wall are involved. Wet weather can extend curing times for mortar and jointing.
A well-built patio improves saleability by making the garden usable and adding kerb appeal, and a quality installation generally returns most of its cost at sale — estate agents often cite an attractive outdoor space as a deciding factor for buyers. It won’t add a fixed percentage to your valuation, but a tidy, well-drained patio in good materials is one of the more cost-effective garden improvements you can make.
For a standard patio: excavate 150–200mm, lay a geotextile membrane, then 100–150mm of MOT Type 1 hardcore compacted in layers with a whacker plate. Slabs and porcelain go on a full wet mortar bed (10–40mm), not spot-blobs, which cause rocking, cracking and staining. Build in a fall of about 15mm per metre away from the house so water drains properly.
DIY can save £800–£1,300 on a 20m² job, almost all of it labour — materials and tool hire still cost £1,050–£1,600. It’s realistic for small, level, ground-level patios in concrete slabs. For porcelain, sloping sites or anything needing drainage, professional installation is usually worth it because mistakes in the base or falls are costly to put right.
Written by the BestBuilders Editorial Team · Reviewed by a qualified landscaper and hard-landscaping estimator · Last updated: July 2026.
How we produced this guide: Price ranges are drawn from BestBuilders installer quote data across UK regions and cross-checked against published material rates and merchant pricing. Drainage, permeable-paving and front-garden rules reflect current UK government planning guidance on paving front gardens and sustainable drainage (SuDS) principles; Building Regulations guidance on damp-proof course clearance is per the current Approved Documents. Always confirm scheme rules and permissions with your local planning authority before starting work.
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