Where Are You Going to Put Your Patio?

The first questions are - Do you want your patio to be adjacent to your house? Do you want covered patio designs? Most patios are, but they don’t have to be. Some people find it more convenient to have a patio attached to the kitchen or dining room to make it easier to bring dishes, drinks and other items out to the patio but the patio can really go anywhere.

You could create a lovely open air patio in the center of your backyard, or at the far end of your backyard, or on the side of the house. If you are going to put the patio somewhere other than adjacent to the house make sure that you make a plan to add a walkway to the patio so that you and your guests aren’t walking on uneven ground to get to the patio from the house.

You also need to consider the sun position when deciding where in the yard to place the patio. Some other questions you need to take into account are,

How much sun does your yard get?

How does the sun travel over your yard?

Where is the sun direction during the morning, afternoon and evening hours? In other words, what is in sun or in shade at certain times during the day?

If you are planning on being outdoors mostly in the afternoon, you should ask where the sun will be shining at that time. If you don’t want your patio to have full sun exposure in the afternoon then you might want to place the patio in an area of the yard that only gets partial or little sun, or that has some kind of natural shade like trees or bushes or to have covered patio designs.

Is The Ground In Your Backyard Level and Even?

If your backyard ground isn't level, then you need to grade the backyard or at least the part of the backyard where you plan to build your patio foundation. It is important to make sure the patio is level. A small amount of unevenness won’t be enough to be noticeable to the people who are standing on the patio.

However, if your patio foundation is laid over uneven ground then eventually the foundation will start to crack and split. It will be a nightmare if you need to lay a whole new foundation again.

Therefore, you must be certain that the ground where you want to build the patio is even to begin with. This will make sure you can enjoy your patio for many years to come. It is a good idea to hire a reputable contractor who can assess the evenness and stability of the ground where you want your patio. A good contractor can foresee potential problems and also ensure good build quality.