What laying pattern shall I use for my patio?

When you have purchased your paving, how do you decide upon a suitable laying pattern. There are specific laying patterns for stone paving that should be followed in some instances. For others there is room for personal preference.

This blog explains about the different laying patterns available for stone paving.

The correct laying pattern for natural stone paving

Natural stone paving from India is normally sold in project packs. Within these packs there is a set number of paving slabs in 4 different sizes.  At Stoneworld our paving is all 25-35mm thick ensuring a robust hardwearing patio In a crate there is sufficient to cover 12.82 sqm, comprising of 12: 845 x 560mm, 12: 560 x 560mm, 12: 560 x 275mm, and 14:  275 x 275mm. Some suppliers will sell more slabs in a project pack, covering more space, but these will be thinner less hard-wearing slabs that are more prone to breakage and frost damage over the life of the patio.

The laying pattern we recommend for natural stone project packs is as follows:

Laying patterns for single size paving slabs

Natural stone can also be bought in single size formats whereby all paving slabs are the same size. This is particularly desirable with contemporary formats such as sawn paving. Porcelain paving is often also sold in single size formats. The slabs can be laid in a square stack bond, which is simply each slab laid next to each other like a chequerboard. This is certainly the easiest pattern to lay the slabs in, but it requires accuracy. Any errors in the spacing of the slabs will be far more obvious using this pattern. Alternatively, use a brick bond, also called a staggered joint. Using this method, slabs are laid in parallel rows with slabs in adjacent rows laid either 50% across from the previous row, as seen here:

View our 50% brick bond laying pattern for guidance:

Or, if you use the 1/3 to 2/3 brick bond, lay slabs a third of the way across from the adjacent row as seen here:

These staggered brick bonds go by several names such as broken bond or half bond.  They all mean roughly the same thing as shown above.

Laying pattern for travertine paving

There are other patterns to adhere to depending on the product bought. For example, Travertine paving is commonly sold in project packs comprising of the following sizes: 200 x 200; 200 x 400;400 x 400;and 400 x 600. To create a neat pattern using the mixed sizes here use the small Opus laying pattern.

View our Small Opus laying pattern below:

Laying pattern for cobble paving

Cobble paving also requires its own laying pattern to use the smaller pavers in an even mix. Project pack sizes for this product comprise of 200 x 150; 200 x 200; 300 x 200; 300 x 400.

View the cobble paving laying pattern below:

These are a few of the main patterns we recommend for laying stone paving. There are a few more, suitable for specific products and interior flooring projects.

You can view all of our laying patterns here >>

If you have any questions, please call us on 01844 279274 or email us at sales@stoneworld.co.uk and we will be happy to help.