Most homeowners in Cornwall can expect a professionally laid patio to come in somewhere between £120 and £250 per square metre, fitted, with the slabs themselves only part of that figure. The rest is groundwork: excavation, muck away, sub-base, drainage and the labour to do it properly on our often clay-heavy, wet ground. This guide breaks down where the money goes so you can compare quotes fairly.
Prices vary with materials and ground conditions, but a sensible starting point is £120 to £160 per square metre for a plain concrete or Indian sandstone patio on a full mortar bed with a compacted Type 1 sub-base. Porcelain, which is popular around St Austell and Newquay because it shrugs off salt air and moss, usually runs £180 to £250 per square metre because it needs a primer slurry and more careful cutting.
For a common 20 square metre patio, that puts a realistic all-in budget at roughly £2,500 to £5,000. Very small patios often cost more per square metre because setting up, machinery hire and skip charges are spread over fewer slabs.
The biggest variable is what is under your garden. Much of mid Cornwall sits on clay or made ground from old mining and china clay activity, and that needs deeper excavation and a thicker sub-base, typically 150 mm rather than 100 mm, to stop the patio heaving or sinking. Rock close to the surface, which is common around Roche and the St Austell moors, can mean breaking out with a hydraulic breaker at extra cost.
Access matters too. If a digger and dumper can reach the garden, excavation is quick. If everything has to be barrowed through the house or down a narrow path, labour costs rise sharply. Sloping gardens need retaining walls or steps, and any patio against the house must be finished at least 150 mm below the damp proof course, which sometimes means more digging than the homeowner expected.
A fair quote should list excavation depth, the thickness of MOT Type 1 sub-base, whether slabs go on a full mortar bed rather than spots, the jointing compound, and how surface water will be dealt with. A fall of around 1 in 80 away from the house is standard. If a quote is far cheaper than the others, it is usually because one of these steps has been skipped, and that is where patios fail within a couple of winters.
Ask whether the price includes VAT, waste disposal and any pointing or sealing. Ask what happens if they hit rock, old drains or a soft spot, so an unexpected extra does not turn into an argument. A written quote with the specification set out is far more useful than a round figure over the phone.
Laying a patio in Cornwall is very much a spring to autumn job. Mortar does not cure properly in frost or heavy rain, and wet clay is miserable to excavate. Booking early in the year often means a shorter wait and a better price than trying to get it done in June.
Doing it yourself can halve the material cost, but the base is where most DIY patios go wrong. Hiring a plate compactor, a mixer and a skip, plus a couple of tonnes of Type 1 delivered, can easily reach £600 before you have bought a single slab. For a small level patio with good access it can be worthwhile. For anything sloping, near the house or on clay, getting the groundwork done professionally and laying the slabs yourself is a sensible middle ground.
A typical 20 to 30 square metre patio takes two to four days with a small team, assuming machine access and no surprises in the ground. Add a day or two if the old patio has to come up first.
Usually not, but if you are covering more than five square metres of front garden with a non-permeable surface, it must drain to a lawn or soakaway rather than the road. Patios that raise ground level significantly near a boundary can also need permission, so check with Cornwall Council if in doubt.
For coastal or shaded gardens, often yes, because it does not absorb water, resists moss and stays looking clean with a hose down. On a sheltered, sunny plot, good sandstone gives a similar life for less money.
Got a job in mind across Cornwall or Devon? A quick call or message with Robert is usually all it takes to get a quote moving.