How much does a patio cost in the UK? (2026)
Verified UK patio installation costs in 2026 by material (Indian sandstone, porcelain, concrete, slate, granite, block paving), per square metre and by patio size, plus sub-base prep, labour rates, sealing, and the scope gaps that catch homeowners out.
A new patio in the UK in 2026 costs between roughly £600 for a small concrete-slab patio and £8,000+ for a large porcelain or granite terrace. For most homeowners replacing or laying a typical 20–25m² rear-garden patio, the bill lands between £1,500 and £4,500 fully installed, with the material choice the single biggest driver. The figures below come from cross-referencing MyJobQuote and Checkatrade.
Quick answer
UK patio cost 2026, fully installed per m²: concrete slabs £60–£120, brick or block paving £70–£120, Indian sandstone £75–£160, slate £90–£180, porcelain £90–£180, granite £120–£220. By size: small 10m² £600–£1,400, medium 20–25m² £1,500–£4,500, large 40m² £2,400–£7,500. Sub-base and laying add £75–£100 per m² on top of paving supply.
How to read this guide#
Two kinds of figures appear below:
- Headline price ranges (per-m² rates by material, totals by patio size, sub-base, removal, sealing): cross-referenced against MyJobQuote's 2026 patio guide and Checkatrade's 2026 patio-laying guide. Sources are listed at the bottom.
- Practical guidance (material trade-offs, sub-base spec, drainage, regional variation, red flags): drawn from standard UK landscaping practice. Useful for context but not cross-referenced figure-by-figure.
Headline ranges (verified)#
Per square metre (supply only)#
| Material | Range per m² |
|---|---|
| Concrete slabs | £15 – £55 |
| Brick / block paving | £15 – £50 |
| Indian sandstone | £20 – £30 |
| Limestone | £30 – £55 |
| Slate | £50 – £80 |
| Porcelain | £50 – £100 |
| Granite | £55 – £95 |
Per square metre (fully installed)#
| Material | Range per m² |
|---|---|
| Concrete slabs | £60 – £120 |
| Brick / block paving | £70 – £120 |
| Indian sandstone | £75 – £160 |
| Slate | £90 – £180 |
| Porcelain | £90 – £180 |
| Granite | £120 – £220 |
By patio size (fully installed, mid-range materials)#
| Size | Range |
|---|---|
| Small (~10m²) | £600 – £1,400 |
| Medium (~20–25m²) | £1,500 – £4,500 |
| Large (~40m²) | £2,400 – £7,500 |
Labour and preparation#
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| Labour only (per m²) | £25 – £50 |
| Two-person crew day rate | £250 – £400 |
| Sub-base supply and lay (per m²) | £30 – £50 |
| Old patio removal and disposal (per m²) | £18 – £50 |
| Sealing (sandstone, limestone) | £5 – £10 per m² |
| Jet-washing existing patio | £150 – £400 |
| Soakaway installation | £600 – £900 |
Practical guidance (industry standard)#
Where the price comes from#
Three things move the price most:
- Paving material. Concrete slabs at one end, granite and high-end porcelain at the other. The supply price gap can be 5x; the fully installed gap is 2–3x because labour and sub-base costs are similar across materials.
- Sub-base spec. A 100–150mm compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base is the baseline. Anything thinner is a cost-cutting shortcut that fails within a year or two on UK clay soils.
- Site conditions. Skip access, levels, drainage, and the state of the existing surface. A back garden reached only through the house doubles labour because every barrowful of waste and material has to go through.
The "cheapest" patio quote is often £45 per m² of slab supply against a fully fitted £140 per m². They are different scopes, not the same job at two prices.
Material trade-offs#
- Concrete slabs. Cheapest. Modern riven-effect slabs look reasonable and last 15+ years. Cheaper plain slabs can stain and weather quickly.
- Brick or block paving. Hard-wearing, drains well in permeable laying patterns. Block paving sub-base needs to be deeper for trafficked patios.
- Indian sandstone. The default UK choice in 2026. Wide colour range, good durability, easy to cut. Needs sealing to stay clean.
- Slate. Darker, dramatic finish. Slipperier when wet than sandstone. Best in covered or shaded areas.
- Porcelain. The premium choice for a contemporary look. Stain and frost resistant, no sealing needed, but slabs are heavy and brittle to cut and have to be laid on a full priming-slurry mortar bed.
- Granite. Hardest-wearing of all. Highest price. Limited colour palette but ages well.
What the price should include#
A complete patio quote should cover:
- Marking out, excavation, and disposal of spoil
- Geotextile membrane
- Compacted sub-base (MOT Type 1) to the specified depth
- Bedding mortar (full bed for porcelain, screeded bed for sandstone and concrete)
- Paving supply, cutting, and laying
- Jointing (sand for permeable patterns, mortar or resin for sealed patios)
- Edge restraint where the patio meets soft landscaping
- Site clearance at the end
It often does not cover:
- Removal of an existing patio, deck, or concrete base
- Levelling significant slopes or building retaining walls
- Drainage works beyond a simple soakaway
- Sealing of new paving in the first year
- New garden steps or path connections
- Replacement of damaged turf alongside the patio
Drainage rules#
Since 2008, new patios that drain to a public drain or highway need planning permission. Most homeowners avoid this by laying the patio with a slight fall (1:60 to 1:80) away from the house and toward a permeable surface (lawn, border, gravel strip). A quote that lays a sealed-joint patio flat against a house wall with no fall is a damp problem in winter.
For larger patios on impermeable ground, a soakaway is the usual answer at £600–£900 installed. Cheaper alternatives (a French drain along one edge) work for moderate runoff.
Regional variation#
Patio prices vary by region, mostly on the labour side (paving materials are nationally priced):
- Inner London: ~20–30% above national
- Outer London / South-East: ~10–20% above
- Midlands and East: close to national
- North of England, Wales: ~5–15% below
- Northern Ireland, rural Scotland: ~10–15% below
For a 25m² Indian sandstone patio costing £3,000 nationally, this means roughly £3,600–£3,900 in inner London and £2,500–£2,700 in the North.
Red flags in patio quotes#
No sub-base spec. Depth of MOT Type 1, compaction method, and bedding mortar type should all be stated. A quote that says "lay paving on a suitable base" leaves the door open for a shortcut.
No fall specified. Water needs to drain away from the house at a defined gradient. Silence on falls is a future damp problem.
Slab supply only. A patio quote that prices only the slabs and "installation" as a lump sum hides the labour content. Insist on a breakdown of materials, sub-base, labour, and disposal.
No removal allowance on a replacement. Breaking up an existing concrete or paved patio is significant work. A quote silent on it either expects you to do it or will charge extra on the day.
Suspiciously low per-m² for porcelain. Anything under £80 per m² fitted for porcelain in 2026 is either using low-grade tiles, skipping the priming slurry (slabs will lift within a winter or two), or both.
No mention of edge restraint. Unrestrained patio edges drift over years. Mortar haunch, kerb, or block edging needs to be specified.
Cash-only, no VAT. Landscapers turning over £90,000+ a year must be VAT-registered. A larger job priced cash-only often signals an undeclared trader, no public liability insurance, or both.
Sequence of work on a typical replacement#
- Survey and quote. Landscaper measures the area, confirms material spec, falls, sub-base depth, and drainage plan.
- Strip out. Existing patio, deck, or turf removed; spoil loaded and disposed.
- Excavation. Dig down to base level, allowing for sub-base depth, mortar bed, and slab thickness (typically 200–250mm total).
- Sub-base. Geotextile membrane laid, MOT Type 1 placed in layers, each compacted with a vibrating plate.
- Bedding and laying. Mortar bed screeded; slabs laid to falls with consistent joints.
- Jointing. Mortar pointed, brush-in sand swept into permeable patterns, or resin compound applied to porcelain.
- Clean and seal. Site cleared, paving cleaned, sealant applied where the material calls for it.
A 25m² patio is usually a 3–5 day job for a two-person crew. Add a day for difficult access or material handling, and add weather contingency in winter.
Comparing your quote#
The reliable way to know if a patio quote is fair is to check each line against the ranges above: paving material and area, sub-base depth, labour, removal, jointing method, and sealing. The easier way is to paste your quote into Check the Quote, which compares every line against current UK rates for your postcode, flags anything above the fair range, and tells you what is missing. Your first project is free. For related outdoor work, see the driveway cost guide or the garden landscaping cost guide.
Got a quote you want checked?
Paste any UK contractor quote and Check the Quote compares every line item against current market rates, flags missing scope, and runs a Companies House check on the contractor. Free on your first project.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a new patio cost in the UK in 2026?
- A typical 20–25m² patio fully installed costs roughly £1,400–£4,500 in 2026, depending on the paving material, confirmed across MyJobQuote and Checkatrade. Concrete slabs are at the lower end, Indian sandstone in the middle, and porcelain or granite at the top. London and the South-East run 20–30% above these national figures.
- Which is cheaper: Indian sandstone or porcelain?
- Indian sandstone is cheaper to buy and to lay. Sandstone runs £20–£30 per m² supply-only and £75–£160 per m² fully installed. Porcelain is £50–£100 per m² supply-only and £90–£180+ per m² fully installed. The labour gap is because porcelain is non-porous and needs a full mortar bed with a priming slurry, which takes longer than the bedding method used for sandstone.
- Do I need a sub-base under a patio?
- Yes, for any patio that will hold weight or take foot traffic in wet weather. A standard sub-base is 100–150mm of compacted MOT Type 1 hardcore over a geotextile membrane, then 30–50mm of bedding mortar on top. Patios laid directly onto soil or sand fail within a year or two as the ground settles unevenly. A quote that does not mention sub-base depth has either absorbed it invisibly or skipped it.
- How long does it take to lay a 25m² patio?
- A two-person crew typically completes a 20–25m² patio in 3–5 days on level, accessible ground. Day one is excavation and sub-base, day two is laying, day three is jointing and cleaning. Awkward access, sloping ground, complex shapes, or specialist materials like porcelain add 1–2 days. Wet weather can stop work for days because mortar cannot be laid in heavy rain.
- Do I need planning permission for a patio?
- Usually not, if the patio drains to a permeable surface (lawn or border) rather than into a public drain or highway. Patios over 5m² that drain onto a public highway need planning permission under the 2008 surface-water rules. Always check if your property is listed, in a conservation area, or has a covenant restricting hardstanding, before commissioning work.
- Should the patio be sealed?
- Sandstone and limestone benefit from sealing in their first year and every 3–5 years after to resist staining and lichen. Porcelain is non-porous and does not need sealing. Concrete slabs benefit but it is not essential. Sealing costs roughly £5–£10 per m² when done by a contractor, or £30–£60 in materials if you do it yourself with a roller and brush.
Last updated: 4 June 2026
Sources cross-referenced: