Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994 TAG: 9403140156
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This architectural feature was brought to Latin America by the Spanish and came to the United States from Mexico, although American patios tend to be tacked onto the outside of the house, rather than built in the center.
Today, patios can be found in every section of the country, even where winters are harsh, and like decks and screened porches, they are becoming more popular every year, as the desire for outdoor living space grows.
Patios can be made of a variety of materials. Concrete is the most inexpensive and the most common material, although brick, flagstone, slate, adobe and tile can be used as well. Some homeowners use gravel until a more permanent surface can be built.
A good concrete patio should last at least 20 years, said Bill Lee, of William H. Lee Pool Construction Company, "but it does have a definite lifespan." Concrete hardens as it ages, he said, and will eventually crumble.
How long a concrete patio lasts "depends on soil conditions," he said. If the underlying soil is unstable or doesn't have adequate drainage, "it will crack."
Although some homeowners might want to try to lay their own concrete, it's a difficult procedure, and something as simple as making a mistake in mixing materials or working when it's too cold can ruin a project. For that reason, Lee said, it's a good idea to find a reputable contractor for this kind of work.
Concrete "is really economical," he said, and should cost about $3 per square foot to install.
Economics are also a big consideration when planning a patio made of other materials.
Brick, flagstone, slate, tile and adobe surfaces are fairly common in Roanoke's older neighborhoods, but they're quickly becoming rare in new construction.
Laying patios made of these materials is extremely labor-intensive, said Rod Dixon of RKO masonry, and not many contractors will do them these days. In fact, Dixon only does one or two a year, preferring to concentrate on pouring concrete and building stone walls. The money is good, he said, but the effort is almost not worth it.
Homeowners can try laying brick or slate themselves, but "they have to be very talented," he said. Because of this, brickwork is quickly becoming a luxury.
What many homeowners don't understand, Dixon said, is that surfaces set in mortar require specialized labor and follow-up care to get them to look right. Slate, for instance, must be cleaned on hands and knees using hydrochloric acid. If too little acid is used, a haze appears on the stones: too much, and the mortar washes away. A brick or stone patio often can cost two or three times what a concrete one would, he said. Although it is usually just a veneer set on a concrete pad, "it will be there forever."
Although brick or slate costs more than concrete, these surfaces can be very attractive. Brick, for instance can be laid in a variety of patterns, and it has the advantage of being porous. When it rains, there is less runoff, and the water soaks into them and creates a cooling effect.
As an alternative to mortar, bricks also can be set in a bed of sand, Dixon said. The surface lasts almost as long, although the bricks tend to sink and buckle over time and must be maintained. This is the kind of project homeowners can do fairly easily themselves, he added.
Some of the home improvement stores offer kits that use premanufactured plastic frames and special paving bricks, but Dixon doesn't recommend using these. The results are not as good as brick on sand or mortar, he said.
A sand and brick patio might cost about $5 per square foot, he said, while brick set in mortar would be about $9 per square foot.
Janice and J. Michael Saunders of Salem have had both kinds of patios. When their house was built in 1950, the owner put a sand-and-brick patio out back. But by the time the Saunderses moved in six years ago, the surface had become uneven, Janice Saunders said. Some of the bricks were sticking up, and others had sunk into the ground.
Still, it was very attractive, she said. The previous owner had been president of a local brick company, and in addition to the patio, there was a small serpentine wall, similar to the ones designed by Thomas Jefferson.
"It's unusual and quite lovely," Saunders said. "It's been admired by architects."
The house is made of brick, too, she said, so the patio was a design element they wanted to keep.
When Janice Saunders went on a six-month overseas trip in 1989, her husband decided to have the patio remodeled while she was gone as a surprise. He paid their son to pull up the old bricks.
"It was quite a job," as Janice Saunders saw later, when she watched the videotape her husband had made of the project.
After the patio was pulled up, a contractor friend provided the bricklayers to set the original brick in mortar.
"It doesn't have the quaint feel it had," Saunders said, but the patio has been expanded to include low walls and ledges for planting areas, and there are now two levels with steps between them surrounded by flower beds.
"I love it because I love flowers," Saunders said.
by CNB