The idea
The idea for the patio system came about through hands-on experience as a garden designer, where many customers live in town houses with no rear access and limited parking. More often than not, the remit for the design is to remove some or all of the turf and provide a small area surrounded by either new turf or decorative stone to give the customer a low maintenance garden to relax in. Circular patio features are always popular but fairly intricate to lay, as they typically come in around 25 segments, which all have to be accurately spaced, levelled and jointed in, which increases the price per square metre considerably over normal paving.
There had to be a better way
It was a particularly hot day a few years ago that we arrived at a customer's two up, two down townhouse to begin work, only to find that there were no available parking spaces near the house. We eventually managed to find a spot at the end of the road and proceeded to traipse all the materials the length of the road to the house, only to find that the doorway was too narrow to fit a wheelbarrow through! The door had to be removed and the passageway and kitchen sheeted up to protect the floors, before we could begin work to lay the customer's traditional circular patio.
Joined up thinking
Plastic ground grids mainly used as ground stabilising for car parks etc., are of an open 'honeycomb' construction, made of a strong plastic and designed to be laid on the ground and the 'honeycombs' either filled with gravel or soil and grass seed and strong enough to take the weight of a vehicle. We looked at using a similar concept as a replacement for the need of mortar as a core ground stabilising unit, instead supplying 4 quadrants that join together to form a circular patio base. Then we devised how to replicate the look of a traditional circular patio within a one piece rubber patio top cover, with a lip that simply sits over the core base unit to hide it, much like a bottle cap sits over the mouth of a bottle. The whole assembly is then simply pegged to the ground and ready for use.
Off the shelf and on to your garden
Now patent pending, the patio system is designed specifically as an 'easy up' off the shelf DIY option for a small town garden, or a secondary seating area for larger gardens. No special skills or tools are needed for installation and the whole assembly can be easily installed in around an hour. The natural rubber patio cover is interchangeable and if required, the whole system could easily taken up and re-laid elsewhere.
The patio system that will grow and grow
Our vision for the future is to develop the circular system further to allow for different shape/size configurations and offer a range of complimentary add-ons such as low slung wide walling units, integrated lighting, planting voids and water channels. The scope to offer the customer new and funky finishes going forward is immense and we have exciting plans to introduce a range of fun and funky patio cover finishes into the marketplace. Imagine a patio cover that sparkles with integrated lights set into the rubber, or glows in the dark.
Contact us (trade enquiries welcome):
- E-mail: .
- Tel: 02392 599 068
Registered office: Pick up A Patio Ltd, 60 Walburton Way, Clanfield, Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 0XP.
Company registered in England and Wales, registered number: 06632564.