Garden Patio: Re-lay existing vs replace for new

20vt-rs

I've got a fairly small patio at home which over the years has gone very lumpy (sunken slabs, pointing fallen out etc). I am looking at having it re-laid and re-pointed, and a local guy says he can do this, around 60% of the slabs need re-lifting, cleaning up and re-laying, the rest can stay as they are. The old slabs are dabbed on, he is looking at creating a bed for the slabs to be laid on (wet bed) and then re-pointed.

This got me thinking, the old slabs are around 20-years old and do look their age, whilst it might be money saving to re-lay them, would it be worth investing in new slabs and the getting the laid at the same time? Also then I may not end up with some dabbed and some not, which may cause issues down the line. I need approx 85 slabs and around 10-15% of them will need cutting to fit, the rest would go straight down.

Also need to factor in cost to get rid of the old ones I suppose.

The question I guess, is if it's sensible to start again and put new down, rather than reusing the old ones? What do you think?

CliveOfIndia

If the slabs are in good condition, and you like them, there's no reason they can't be re-used.  Some people even prefer a more weathered look.

But if the slabs really are past their best, then it's probably false economy to re-use them.  Obviously there'll be quite a difference in price - slabs are not cheap to buy.  But it could be worth it in the long run.

End of the day, it really is personal preference - both from an aesthetic and budgetary point of view.

20vt-rs said:

Also need to factor in cost to get rid of the old ones I suppose.

You could always try advertising them free to anyone who can collect them - if nothing else they can be broken up and used for hardcore.  Alternatively, if you have a car, you could take them a few at a time to the local tip, most places will have a dedicate skip for stones/rubble.  A bit of a faff, obviously, and you'd have to factor in the cost of fuel - but if you happen to pass near the local tip on your weekly shopping trip or whatever, you could drop them off a few at a time.

20vt-rs said:

Also then I may not end up with some dabbed and some not, which may cause issues down the line.

Dot 'n' dab is a really cowboy way of doing it - ideally they should all be lifted and laid back on a solid bed, if you decide to re-use the old ones.

20vt-rs

Thank you for the feedback @CliveOfIndia , that’s really useful and food for thought. We think the patio has gone this way due to the base not being great, plus the dabbing letting water in from underneath. My thought about trying to repair sections, is that in the short term I may have to revisit and fix the bits not done this time. 

The guy I’m using now seems really good, he’s just done another small section of patio onto a decent bed, no dabs as he agrees with you!

Here’s some pics, the new slabs he just put down vs the old ones. I’m thinking of doing the lot now all the same rather than repairing, plus it'll all match. Just need to ask him how much difference in cost for the labour. The slabs themselves are pretty cheap (approx £4 each).

gwynlas

Be aware that not all councils offer free disposal of old slabs ours charge for rubble etc by the bag

twopenny

I'm not a fan of pink ones, out of date by decades but once they are cleaned it will make a world of difference.

I had mine relayed and cleaned and it looked like new.
I now keep them clean by applying some Wet and Forget each spring which keeps them clean till autumn.
I used to do it by hand or pressure washer but now I'm too old and there is so much more grime that comes down with the rain.

So it's really a matter of do you want  new slabs rather than the old clean.

20vt-rs

twopenny said:

I'm not a fan of pink ones, out of date by decades but once they are cleaned it will make a world of difference.

I had mine relayed and cleaned and it looked like new.
I now keep them clean by applying some Wet and Forget each spring which keeps them clean till autumn.
I used to do it by hand or pressure washer but now I'm too old and there is so much more grime that comes down with the rain.

So it's really a matter of do you want  new slabs rather than the old clean.

I’m with you on the pink ones, we inherited these when we moved here. Would you believe those have been power washed already, I think need some sort of product on them. But I really like the grey ones that have newly been put down, I’m going to see how much more effort is involved in replacing rather than fixing what’s there. The new slabs themselves would be approx £300 so in the grand scheme of scheme not a big deal (plus get rid costs).

Thanks all for the feedback!

JuzaMum

I had my patio re-laid and part of me wishes I had got new slabs. I didn't because the steps didn't need doing and they wouldn't have matched. 
As already said, freecyle/freegle/gumtree are great places to dispose of slabs. Someone always needs a few for a shed base or similar

20vt-rs

JuzaMum said:

I had my patio re-laid and part of me wishes I had got new slabs. I didn't because the steps didn't need doing and they wouldn't have matched. 
As already said, freecyle/freegle/gumtree are great places to dispose of slabs. Someone always needs a few for a shed base or similar

Yes this is what I think might happen if we keep the existing ones. As said above, the pink ones make them look dated, it’s a shame really but might be a bit more inclined to keep them if they were all the beige colour ones.

The other thought, is that to relay them will mean a lot of potential labour taking the old cement off the slabs to re do them (I think anyway).

good tips thought about advertising them free to collect, saves me a job!

bjorn_toby_wilde

20vt-rs said:

JuzaMum said:

I had my patio re-laid and part of me wishes I had got new slabs. I didn't because the steps didn't need doing and they wouldn't have matched. 
As already said, freecyle/freegle/gumtree are great places to dispose of slabs. Someone always needs a few for a shed base or similar

Yes this is what I think might happen if we keep the existing ones. As said above, the pink ones make them look dated, it’s a shame really but might be a bit more inclined to keep them if they were all the beige colour ones.

The other thought, is that to relay them will mean a lot of potential labour taking the old cement off the slabs to re do them (I think anyway).

good tips thought about advertising them free to collect, saves me a job!

If they’ve been laid on dabs of mortar the dabs usually come off pretty easily with a bolster and hammer. There’s always a chance of breaking one though.

20vt-rs

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

20vt-rs said:

JuzaMum said:

I had my patio re-laid and part of me wishes I had got new slabs. I didn't because the steps didn't need doing and they wouldn't have matched. 
As already said, freecyle/freegle/gumtree are great places to dispose of slabs. Someone always needs a few for a shed base or similar

Yes this is what I think might happen if we keep the existing ones. As said above, the pink ones make them look dated, it’s a shame really but might be a bit more inclined to keep them if they were all the beige colour ones.

The other thought, is that to relay them will mean a lot of potential labour taking the old cement off the slabs to re do them (I think anyway).

good tips thought about advertising them free to collect, saves me a job!

If they’ve been laid on dabs of mortar the dabs usually come off pretty easily with a bolster and hammer. There’s always a chance of breaking one though.

That's a good point, I don't have any spares so could be an issue there. Also, there are some slabs with the pointing stuck to the sides, that'll all need bolstering off too. (Additional time to do that v's laying new ones). 

stuart45

It's easier to knock off the edges. There's less chance of breaking them as well than when getting it off the bottom. If the builder is doing it however, you have to consider if cleaning them up is cost effective.