Why are my patio slabs rocking?

Almost always spot bedding — mortar dabs under the corners leaving a void beneath the slab. Water fills the void, frost lifts the slab and it rocks. The fix is lifting and re-bedding on a full mortar bed.

Can you replace just a few cracked slabs?

Yes. We lift the damaged slabs, correct the bedding beneath and lay matched replacements. On weathered natural stone a brand-new slab will look fresher at first and will blend over a season or two.

My patio pointing keeps crumbling — why?

Usually a weak mix, joints that are too narrow or shallow, or pointing applied over a damp or dirty joint. We rake out fully and re-point with a jointing product matched to your paving type.

Can a patio that holds water be fixed without rebuilding it?

Often, yes. We lift the affected area, reset the falls and add a channel or slot drain where the water needs to leave. If the whole terrace was laid flat, a wider rebuild may be the only lasting answer.

My patio is level with the damp proof course. Is that a problem?

Yes. Paving should sit at least 150mm below the DPC or have a drained margin against the wall. Bridging it can cause internal damp, and lowering the paving is the correct repair.

Do you repair patios laid by other contractors?

Most of our repair work is exactly that. We will show you what we find under the slabs and explain honestly whether repair or rebuild is the sensible spend.

Patios

Patio Repairs in Guildford

Rocking slabs, crumbling pointing and puddles that never dry — nearly always a bedding or drainage fault rather than a worn-out patio.

Get a free quote 07457 401492

A patio that has failed after a few years was usually spot-bedded on five dabs of mortar, laid without falls, or pointed with a mix that was never going to hold. All three are repairable. What we will not do is re-point over a hollow bed and take your money for a fix that lasts one winter.

What we repair

We repair the paving types we install, and we lift a slab to look underneath before quoting so the diagnosis is based on what is actually there.

Loose, rocking and hollow-sounding slabs
Cracked or broken paving replaced with matched stone or porcelain
Failed, crumbling or missing pointing and joints
Sunken and dished areas relaid to correct levels
Standing water and incorrect falls corrected
Damaged step nosings, edges and retaining courses
Patios sitting too high against the damp proof course

Patio repair work in progress in Guildford, Surrey

Why patios fail

Spot bedding is the biggest single cause. Mortar dabs under the corners leave a void beneath the slab; water gets in, freezes, and the slab rocks and then cracks. Once one goes, its neighbours follow.

The others are familiar: no sub-base or too thin a one, no fall so water sits on the surface, pointing mixed too weak or applied to a wet joint, and terraces built up over the years until they bridge the damp proof course.

Repair or replace?

If the base and bedding are sound and the problem is a handful of slabs or a run of pointing, repair is straightforward and good value. We lift, re-bed on a full mortar bed, and re-point the affected area.

If most of the patio is spot-bedded or there is no real sub-base, repairs will keep coming back. In that situation we say so plainly and quote both options — a partial repair with realistic expectations, or a rebuild that ends the problem.

Pointing and jointing done properly

Most failed pointing was applied to joints that were too narrow, too shallow, damp, or filled with a weak sand-and-cement mix. We rake out fully, clean the joints, and re-point with an appropriate jointing mortar or brush-in compound matched to the paving type — porcelain, sandstone and block paving each need something different.

Where joints are simply too narrow for a durable fill, we will tell you, because re-pointing a 3mm joint in riven stone is a repair with a short life.

Drainage and damp problems

Water sitting on a terrace, or running back towards the house, is a levels problem. We re-set falls across the affected section, install a slot or channel drain at the threshold, and take water away to a soakaway or existing drainage.

Where a patio has been built up above the damp proof course, the correct fix is to lower it or form a drained margin against the wall. It matters: bridging the DPC is a genuine cause of internal damp in Surrey homes.

Recent work

Patio Repairs projects across Guildford & Surrey

Work completed across Guildford, Godalming, Woking, Farnham, Cranleigh, Haslemere, Shalford, Merrow, Burpham, Ash, Normandy, Ripley and the surrounding Surrey villages.