Brains and steps

[R D S]

Drop the lawn a few inches.

[dave]

I'm thinking this might work, but it still doesn't bring us up to the same level as the patio. The top step would have to slope upwards towards the patio.

[dave]

That's an interesting idea. No idea how it would look but it's definitely worth thinking about!

[dave]

I was thinking. maybe if I used black paint on the top riser, and brought it down so I painted the back of the slab too, maybe this would make the riser look bigger that it really is. It would probably make the steps look shit though!

[Andrew]

Two brick courses down is the usual distance, though these days where bi-fold doors seem to be the rage, many people seem to have their patio at the same height as the house floor, and rely on a run of acco-drain to keep water out of the house.

[dave]

There's a single brick height step from the house onto the patio. This is also too narrow, and we've had people falling down this too. At least this is a simpler problem to fix.

I thought, maybe the best thing to do would be to get rid of the row of bricks round the edge and raise the whole patio by 1 brick. That would fix both problems in one go. And yes, I would probably put some barriers on.

[Jimk]

& infinitely better than concrete fakery IMHO

[Jimk]

how high against the house wall dpc have you built your patio?

[Jimk]

When you build yours maybe consider...

"The Building Regulations require at least 150mm between the dpc and the ground or any paving."

[nightjar]

On 13/09/2020 23:52, Dave Liquorice wrote: ...

...

I assumed that was the next stage of construction. That patio looks as though it involved 'significant works of embanking or terracing to support the patio', which would mean it needed planning permission and I don't see it getting that without railings being in the plan.

[Dave Liquorice]

I don't think the reason for tripping is a false visual cue. You still trip on unequal risers when you can't see the steps, carrying a large box for example.

The trip is either catching your toe on the front edge of a step when it's fractionally higher or not contacting a solid surface when you expect to if fractionally lower, which causes momentary panic in the balance department.

Normal subconcious walking or ascending/decending steps is a controlled constant fall forward, anything that upsets the timing of contact with the ground upsets that controlled fall forward and panis the balcnce department. If you're traversing rough ground or obviously uneven "steps" you consiously look where you are putting your feet...

[Dave Liquorice]

There is only one way to keep a builder interested in completing a job: Don't make the last (50%) payment until it's done and snagged.

[Dave Liquorice]

The OP said "recently" but judging by the lack of mud and complete long grass cover right up to the retaining walls and steps "recently" is several months ago. Ah, supposed to have been finished Oct last year...

Agreed it wouldn't. If planning permission was sought. It wouldn't occur to me that a raised patio would require planning... B-)

[Dave Liquorice]

You'd know. We would have worked together. Happy happy happy... B-)

[John Rumm]

I would guess something like:

[Tim Streater]

Not obvious that it would. At our old property, we had a small dining room with patio doors where you dropped down 3 feet to the ground, then the ground sloped away down another 4 feet or so. We built this up similar to the OP's picture with a paved patio and steps down, and brick-wallplanters around the edges.

When we moved, I wondered about PP, but South Cambs DC replied that it all fell under permitted devt.

[dave]

I (and everyone else) tends to trip on the way up, on the top step, so before you get to the top where the smaller rise is. Up to that point the steps are pretty even.

[dave]

It was supposed to have been finished last October, but was actually finished on the 6th August this year.

[nightjar]

That rather depends upon the construction. If that front wall acts as a retaining wall, it almost certainly would. It then becomes an engineering work, rather than just a patio.

[Andrew]

Two brick courses is about 150mm. That photo shows three brick courses. Part M says front paths have to be level with top of cill, which all the new houses I have seen seem to comply with.