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How to Build the Best Patio Layout: Top Tips
Many a homeowner yearns for an outdoor space, but few consider the factors to consider for the best patio layout. In this article we offer a list of top tips for you if you are planning a new patio to ensure you build the best format possible for water drainage and exposure to sun on your own property. Read on to learn more.
Build the Best Patio Layout For Drainage, Sunlight, and Plant Health
When homeowners think about their patio, most consider its appearance above all else. The best patio layout can dramatically affect and optimise drainage, sunlight, and plant health, but it rarely crosses homeowners’ minds.
Put your patio layout wrong and you’ll battle with pools of standing water, dead plants, foundation damage, and an outdoor living space that’s no fun to spend time in.
The good news? You can completely avoid these problems by ensuring your patio layout is well thought out.
What you’re going to learn:
- How Patio Layout Impacts Water Drainage
- Why Sunlight Mapping Matters For Your Patio
- How Patio Layout and Plant Health Are Connected
- How To Ensure Your Patio Layout Is Perfect
Best Patio Layout Factors And How They Affect Your Property
How Patio Layout Impacts Water Drainage
Before you continue reading, ask yourself have your considered these factors of the best patio layout when building your patio…
Patio Layout
Does the layout of your patio affect how water drains away after it rains? If you answered yes, you’re absolutely right.
If not, the layout of a patio plays a huge role in where water will drain once it hits the ground. Water running down a flat patio or patio sloped towards the home will pool where it’s not wanted. And that can cause some serious issues.
Patio Grading
Ideally, your patio should be graded so that it slopes away from your home slightly. You only need a quarter inch of slope for every foot of patio to allow water to drain away from your home and towards an area for runoff.
However…
Homes with patios experience water drainage problems nearly 40% of the time. And problems with drainage are almost always caused by the patio’s layout or grading being off.
Partnering with experienced residential patio builders like Proficient Patios & Backyard Designs means your patio layout will be designed with water drainage in mind from the start. It could save you thousands in water damage repairs later on.
Examples of common drainage problems associated with poor patio layout:
- Standing water that takes days to go away
- Washed-out soil surrounding the patio edges
- Moisture collecting near or in your home’s foundation
- Uneven patio pavers from water freezing and expanding in the cracks
All of these issues can be avoided by having a patio sloped and laid correctly. Not only will your patio’s surface material matter (permeable pavers are best), but so will how it’s graded.
Why Sunlight Mapping Matters For Your Patio
Here’s a patio-related issue most homeowners don’t think about…
The Impact of Sunlight
The location of your patio on your property will determine how much sunlight your garden beds and plants will receive. If your patio covers a large portion of your backyard, it can shade plants from hours of direct sunlight. This is an important factor to consider when planning your best patio layout.
And that matters.
Most vegetables, fruits, and flowers need at least six hours of direct sunlight each day to prosper. Without it, plants don’t grow as vigorously. You’ll notice discolored leaves, fewer blooms, and root vegetables failing to develop fully underground.
What is the Best Patio Layout for Your Appetite for Sunlight
While a patio facing south is going to naturally receive a lot of sunlight throughout the day. That sunlight is excellent for nearby plants that require many daily hours of sun.
But too much sunlight will heat up your patio beyond comfortable levels during hot the summer months. Overheating while trying to relax on your patio can be very uncomfortable.
What about a north-facing patio, on the other hand? You’ll notice much more shade in that area of your yard. Plants located near north-facing patios must be able to tolerate those cool, shady conditions.
Hostas, ferns, and shady vegetables like lettuce are all examples of plants that would thrive near a north-facing patio.
What is the Smart Solution for Your Best Patio Layout?
Map out where the sun hits your backyard at what time of day. It’s the best way to position your patio so it takes advantage of natural sunlight without completely blocking it from your garden.
You can even use structures like pergolas or shade sails to control the amount of sunlight your patio receives without restricting it permanently.
Photo credit – yağız uçal
How the Best Patio Layout Will Affect Plant Health
Poor drainage and insufficient sunlight can kill plants. Both of these patio considerations tie directly back into the way your patio is laid out.
Consider this…
If your patio slopes towards your garden beds, rainwater will run off the patio and flood your plants. Too much water in the soil suffocates plant roots and promotes deadly root rot.
But what if you slope your patio away from planting beds? Plants may not receive enough water to stay healthy.
It’s all about finding a happy medium. By teaming up with residential patio builders who pay attention to landscaping, you can create your dream patio without sacrificing the health of your plants.
Can the Best Patio Layout and Plan Placement Improve Plant Health?
- By controlling the flow of water runoff into garden beds
- Prevents overwatering plants near patio edges
- Allows you to map sunlight exposure
- Protects soil from being washed away during heavy rains
In fact, 98% of experts agree that your outdoor living space affects your home’s value. That value isn’t strictly about curb appeal. Water drainage and healthy landscape features play a major role too.
After all, showcasing healthy plant life year-round because your patio was placed correctly is a huge selling point. Clay soil drains much slower than sand. If you have clay-heavy soil, you’ll need to grade your patio to accommodate that.
Photo credit – Emilio Sánchez Hernández
How To Ensure Your Patio Layout Is Perfect
Creating the best patio layout doesn’t happen by chance. Once paving stones are laid, you can’t exactly adjust where they’re placed.
Start with this…
- Map sunlight patterns
- Identify natural drainage routes
- Test your soil to learn what you’re working with
- Plan your patio’s slope
- Choose patio materials that work for your space
Each of these steps is crucial to creating a patio layout you’ll love. If you skip over the planning process and jump straight into installation, you’re begging for problems to occur.
Then you’ll be forced to regrade an existing patio, or worse, break it all up to install a proper drainage system. Depending on what needs to be done, those fixes can cost you a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
The easiest way to avoid problems? Work with residential patio builders that know how to design patio layouts with drainage, sunlight, and landscaping in mind from day one.
Final Thoughts on Planning the Best Patio Layout
Everything from water drainage to sunlight exposure to your plants’ health begins with your patio layout. Although it’s often overlooked, paving stone layout needs to be addressed long before your patio gets installed.
Here are the final takeaways to remember:
- Your patio should be graded so that water flows away from your home
- Map your backyard’s sunlight exposure before settling on a patio layout
- Certain patio layouts will direct too much or too little water to your plants
- Your patio material should match the climate and soil type of your outdoor space
Homeowners who plan out their patio layout before getting started end up with stunning outdoor living spaces. They enjoy their patios for years without having to deal with any problems.
Don’t be that homeowner that ignores the patio layout. Plan it out, and watch how much better your outdoor living space functions!
FURTHER READING
At Housesit Match we often share practical ideas and information for our members, such as this article on how to build the best patio layout. Here are some useful links for some of our earlier gardening blogs to help you keep a thriving garden. We hope you enjoy them and find them of use.
Create the perfect garden – 7 Top tips
Home gardening safety tips – Green thumb 101
