Raised sawn sandstone patio on a red brick retaining wall with a timber and wire balustrade in Esher, Surrey

Case study

Raised sandstone patio with bullnose steps in Esher

Location: Esher, Surrey (KT10)
Timescale: Under two weeks
Services used: Raised sandstone patio, block and brick retaining wall, bullnose steps, wire balustrade
Approximate value: Available on request

The brief

A deck that had reached the end

The back of this Esher house was served by a raised timber deck, reached by a flight of timber steps with a timber balustrade around it. It had greyed and worn, the boards were tired and the steps were the kind you watch your footing on.

The raised level lines up with the back doors, so the new patio kept it, built this time in something that would not need replacing again in a few years.

Before and after

The same garden, under two weeks apart

Before: weathered raised timber deck and steps at the back of a house in Esher — Before.

After: sandstone steps with bullnose treads leading up to the raised patio in Esher — After.

The build

From timber deck to stone terrace

The deck was dismantled and taken away, and the ground underneath cleared. Concrete footings were poured along the line of the new patio, and a block and brick retaining wall was built up on them to the specified height, with a brick step built into the wall as part of the same structure.

Inside the wall, MOT Type 1 was brought in and compacted in layers to give a solid base for raised paving. Building up against a house also means checking the air vents in its wall, so the vents were inspected first and provision made to keep air moving to them.

Sawn natural sandstone was laid on a full mortar bed, cut and lined up for clean joints, then pointed in sand and cement. The steps down to the garden are finished with bullnose sandstone treads, which take the hard edge off each step.

Timber posts were set into the wall during the build, and wire was run between them for a contemporary balustrade that keeps the view across the garden open.

Sandstone terrace surface with timber posts and wire balustrade overlooking the garden, Esher

The result

A raised patio that will last

The patio sits at the same height as before, but now it is stone on masonry instead of boards on joists. The bullnose steps are easy underfoot, the wire balustrade keeps it safe without boxing it in, and with low lights along the wall it works well into the evening.

Raised sandstone patio and bullnose steps lit at dusk, Esher

Services used on this project

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