BuildByJai

    Patio Cost Calculator UK

    A new patio is one of the most common garden projects in the UK, and the quotes for the same job can vary by thousands depending on the paving you choose and who lays it. This UK patio cost calculator gives you a realistic supply-and-fit budget before the landscaper arrives, across Indian sandstone, porcelain, natural limestone, granite, block paving and budget concrete slabs. It factors in the sub-base, laying, excavation and spoil removal, decorative edging, your region and the ground conditions, then shows a low-to-high range, a typical figure and a cost per square metre.

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    Enter your patio details to estimate the cost.

    How this calculator works

    The tool starts from your patio area, entered directly or worked out from length and width. It multiplies that by a 2026 supply-and-lay rate for your chosen paving, which already bundles the sub-base, the bedding and the laying labour for a full installation. Job type, ground conditions and region then adjust the figure: laying onto an existing sound base is cheaper than a full dig-out, a sloping site with poor access costs more than a flat one, and London labour costs more than the North East. Excavation with spoil removal, and any decorative edging, are added as separate lines because they are real costs that a headline "per square metre" price often hides.

    Takeaway: the paving is only part of the price. Ground conditions, access, edging and waste move the number as much as the slab you pick.

    What a patio actually costs in the UK (2026)

    As a rough guide, a straightforward Indian sandstone patio lands around £100 to £150 per square metre supply and fit, before VAT. Budget concrete or riven slabs sit lower at roughly £75 to £110 per square metre, while porcelain, which is harder to cut and needs a full mortar bed with a slurry primer, runs about £120 to £180. Granite is the premium option and can push past £180. The single biggest variable most people miss is what is under the slabs: a proper compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base and a full mortar bed cost more than a sand-and-cement dab job, but they are the difference between a patio that stays flat and one that rocks and sinks within a couple of winters.

    Takeaway: budget for the surface, but do not let anyone save money on the sub-base. That is where cheap patios fail.

    Full install, lay-only or replace?

    A full install excavates the area, lays and compacts a Type 1 sub-base, then beds and joints the paving. It is the standard job on bare ground or a lawn, and the option this tool defaults to. Supply and lay only skips the excavation and sub-base because a sound base is already there, so it is noticeably cheaper, but it is only honest if the existing base really is level and stable. Replacing an existing patio adds the cost of lifting the old surface and carting it away before the new one goes down, which is why it lands higher than a fresh install on open ground.

    Takeaway: "supply and lay only" is the cheapest line on any quote, so check the quote is not assuming a sound base that is not actually there.

    A point most patio cost calculators skip

    Plenty of online patio tools give you one tidy number, which is close to useless when you are comparing quotes. A real patio price is a range, and the honest detail is in the breakdown: how deep is the dig, is the sub-base a full compacted Type 1 or a token scrape, is the paving on a full mortar bed or five dabs, and who is taking the spoil away. A quote dramatically cheaper than the rest usually is not a bargain, it has skipped the excavation depth, thinned the sub-base or left the muck-away off. Under BS 7533, the British Standard series for the structural design and installation of pavements, natural stone and concrete flags on a domestic patio should be laid on a full mortar bed, not spot-bedded. Spot bedding is a common corner-cut that voids that guidance and traps water under the slab.

    Takeaway: compare the breakdowns, not the bottom lines. The cheapest quote is often the one missing the dig, the sub-base or the muck-away.

    Worked example — a 20 m² sandstone patio in Bolton

    Take a 20 m² Indian sandstone patio in Bolton (North West), a full install on moderate ground, with a decorative border, VAT included.

    • Paving supply & lay: 20 × £120 × 1.00 (full) × 1.00 (moderate) = £2,400
    • Edging (perimeter ≈ 4 × √20 ≈ 18 m × £22): £396
    • Excavation & waste removal: 20 × £15 = £300
    • Subtotal, then × region (North West 0.95): (2,400 + 396 + 300) × 0.95 = £2,941
    • VAT at 20% (computed forward): £588
    • Typical total: ≈ £3,550, about £178/m², with a realistic range of roughly £2,900 to £4,350

    Swap the sandstone for porcelain and the same patio moves closer to £4,000, mostly on the harder cutting and the primer-and-mortar bed porcelain needs. Small patios always cost more per square metre than large ones, because the fixed costs of turning up, digging out and hiring a grab lorry are spread over fewer metres.

    Takeaway: for a small sandstone patio in the North West, budget around £3,500 all in, and treat any quote far below that with caution.

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    Disclaimer: This calculator gives an indicative 2026 UK supply-and-fit estimate for planning only. It is not a quote. Actual patio costs depend on ground conditions, access, excavation depth, sub-base spec, paving choice, waste removal and local labour rates. BS 7533 covers the design and laying of paving, and front-garden surfacing may fall under the 2008 surface-water drainage rules. Always obtain at least three written quotes and check whether excavation, sub-base, edging and VAT are included in each.