by John F Mann

Created on: April 28, 2008   Last Updated: January 23, 2010

As for any substantial home improvement project, careful planning for a raised patio is essential to help ensure that you obtain the desired result and to minimize potential for mistakes. You may also be surprised to find planning (or design) to be quite enjoyable. New planning  / design skills learned can even be used for other projects.

An often overlooked benefit of planning (until problems arise) is the ability to obtain prices from contractors bidding on the same scope of work. If you ask for prices without a detailed plan, you will get prices based on an "interpretation" of what you want from each contractor. Since each interpretation is almost surely to be different, the low cost may simply mean that the contractor missed important requirements, a sure way to end up with cost overruns and conflict.

Several online sources advertise "free" estimates for patios. However, you will find that most of these are only for a patio installed on existing ground ("at grade"), not for a raised patio which is of course above existing ground.

Discussion of cost and how to obtain a cost estimate follows an overview of conceptual planning.

CONCEPTUAL PLANNING

The first step in the planning process is to develop an overall concept in your mind of what you are trying to accomplish. This may sound obvious, yet experience shows that a well-defined concept anchors the entire plan, preventing costly mid-course corrections during the "storm" of construction. 

Conceptual ideas include purpose or function, size & shape, overall appearance, materials and (of course) budget.

Extensive information is available from a wide array of magazines, books and web sites.

Ideas for patios in general are found on the following web sites;
http://www.allanblock.com/RetainingWalls/Newsletter/ Contractor/july08/MainPage1.aspx?ta=3

http://www.landscape-design-advice.com/patio-designs .html

Detailed information about concrete pavers is available from the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute;

http://www.icpi.org/

You can also search for a "certified installer" on the ICPI site. 

Case history of a raised patio installation, including photos during construction, is provided by Interlocking Concrete Paver Magazine;
http://www.icpi.org/myproject/05%20Feb%20Raised%20Pa tio%20onstruction.pdf

Although it takes much more time, another very good source of ideas is to visit patios already built. Since patios are almost always behind a house, viewing is difficult without approval of the owner.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>