3D Patio Design - Better Ideas?

tuacuerdate

I am building a new patio, approximately 7 x 3 meters.

The problem I am facing is the garden sloping towards the house. The vent air bricks are on average just 10cm above the soil. For building a patio slopping away from the house I would have to go above the air vent bricks, leaving an ugly gap in between.

I am prepared to put the time and effort to make it right.

Is there any better way of doing this?

Fairygirl

Hi @tuacuerdate. I think you'll have to dig out the part of the garden nearest the house, so that the whole patio is below those air vents.
That will mean a bit of spadework and somewhere to re use the soil. No problem if you want to create beds or borders though. It will also mean a step out of the doors [a broad one would be ideal, and safest]  but it's the only way to avoid the problem as far as I can tell.
The rest of the garden will then require a small retaining wall of some kind - difficult to see what height that would need to be, as I can't see the slope well enough,  but it can be done to match your existing patio and founds, or with railway sleepers etc. 

Hostafan1

Could you fit a "grille" of some sort between the wall and the start of the patio, to allow air to flow.
something like this?
https://www.drainage-channel.co.uk/category-6073/DCG908.html?kw=&ci=151119047938&network=g&pm=&cid=333240493&aid=34139779839&tid=pla-462302147974&dev=c&mt=&lim=&lpm=1007149&pos=1o2&dm=&fid=&mid=109648528&pid=DCG908&country=GB&source=google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsZ_SoePg5wIVh7HtCh3MmAvBEAQYAiABEgKP_fD_BwE

tuacuerdate

Fairygirl said:

Hi @tuacuerdate. I think you'll have to dig out the part of the garden nearest the house, so that the whole patio is below those air vents.
That will mean a bit of spadework and somewhere to re use the soil. No problem if you want to create beds or borders though. It will also mean a step out of the doors [a broad one would be ideal, and safest]  but it's the only way to avoid the problem as far as I can tell.
The rest of the garden will then require a small retaining wall of some kind - difficult to see what height that would need to be, as I can't see the slope well enough,  but it can be done to match your existing patio and founds, or with railway sleepers etc. 

Thank you.  

Do you mean to dig the "hill" to slope away from the house as in the drawings below? 

What I don't like from the second design is having two steps down from the dining to the patio instead of one. Also, having another step up to lawn isn't great.

Fairygirl

tuacuerdate said:

Do you mean to dig the "hill" to slope away from the house as in the drawings below? 

What I don't like from the second design is having two steps down from the dining to the patio instead of one. Also, having another step up to lawn isn't great.

Yes 
I'd construct it to have one big, shallow step from the doors, rather than two small ones though. You could have it the full depth of the patio, and approximately the width of the doors, creating a two tier patio, which would be a safer option

tuacuerdate

Hostafan1 said:

Could you fit a "grille" of some sort between the wall and the start of the patio, to allow air to flow.
something like this?.

This was my initial plan but everything I have been reading says against. Having a suspended floor, the internal floor would be 350mm higher than the patio, so no risk of flooding.

If I lay the channel drain as in the drawings below with the patio sloping towards the house, would this go against building regs? 

Looking at the first picture below. What's the point of the gravel in between the edge and the wall? 

wild edges

Do you know if it's a concrete or timber floor in the house? You could fit perescope vents into the external insulation but it might not look the neatest job.

wild edges

You can also install patio slabs on adjustable feet which means you can maintain a ventilated gap beneath them.

https://www.tilemountain.co.uk/blog/installing-outdoor-slab-tiles-using-adjustable-support-pedestals/

BobTheGardener

I agree with Fairygirl and would go with something like this (had to improvise the edits!):

Pete.8

My garden slopes toward the house and I've just had a patio laid.
The patio also slopes back toward the house and there are Aco drains to take the water away and there been a lot of that lately!
The patio was completed just before Christmas. I've decided the step needs to be deeper, so they're coming back to do that shortly.
The garden also slopes from left to right so they had to do a lot of digging out to lower the level for the airbricks and make it level



The entire patio slopes toward the house but it also all slopes toward this drain and even with all the rain we've had of late there have been no puddles

Fairygirl

That's very smart @Pete.8. I don't know where the OP lives, but not sure those wee drains would cope with the biblical rain we get here!   
Your extension looks lovely though. Lots of scope for big planters, beside the doors etc, too. Hope you get a lot of enjoyment looking out from it in less clement weather. The dug looks like he does anyway 
I wondered if @wild edges, or someone who has good 'building' experience, would know of a solution to the gap. Sounds like a plan 
@BobTheGardener- that's exactly the kind of thing I meant. Pity there's a need for a step there as well. Two big 'platforms' would be more pleasing, but we can't always get what we want, as Mr Jagger rightly says.