Patios, terraces and paving
A terrace is the anchor of a garden — where you sit, eat and live outdoors. It deserves a proper base, honest stone and detailing that lasts.
We design and build patios, terraces and paved areas in porcelain and natural stone across Hertfordshire and Essex — the room you use most outside, and the surface that carries the whole garden.
A Conway terrace starts with the ground: excavated, compacted and drained properly before a single slab is laid. Then the material itself — chosen for how you live, how it wears, and how it sits against the house.
Porcelain, sandstone, limestone and granite
Porcelain gives a crisp, contemporary surface that shrugs off staining and stays clean under furniture — increasingly the choice for modern homes in Harlow’s Church Langley and Newhall. Natural sandstone and limestone bring tone and texture that suit period houses in Saffron Walden and the Georgian streets of Ware; granite setts and coping give edges that outlive us all. We will lay samples in your garden so you choose in your own light.
Whichever you choose, it is laid on the same discipline: a sub-base compacted in layers, a full mortar bed, cut patterns planned on paper so joints fall where they should.
Built to shed water for thirty years
Terraces fail at the base and at the house. We set falls away from the building, integrate channel and land drainage where the ground needs it, and detail thresholds against damp. On Essex clay this is not optional — it is the difference between a terrace for decades and one for a decade.
Steps, retaining and raised beds are built as part of the same structure, so the whole level change moves — or does not move — as one.
A terrace shaped around how you cook, eat and sit
Terraces we design with outdoor kitchens and dining space in mind tend to be bigger and better placed than the square-of-slabs people tolerate. Dining space for six, a bench for morning sun, a fire pit for October: the layout comes first, the paving follows.
Porcelain or natural stone — which should I choose?
Porcelain for a crisp, low-stain contemporary look; sandstone or limestone for softer, more traditional tone. We wrote a comparison of porcelain and natural stone paving to help you decide, and we always lay samples in your garden first.
How much does a patio cost?
Typically £8,000 to £25,000 or more, depending on area, material and ground conditions. Our patio cost guide sets out what moves the number and why.
Can you match paving to an existing terrace?
Usually. We can source matching or complementary stone, match joint colour, and blend the levels so old and new read as one surface.
How long does a terrace build take?
Most terraces take two to four weeks on site including excavation and sub-base. Larger level-change builds with walls and steps take longer.
Do you lay paving straight onto hardcore?
No. Full mortar bed on a compacted Type 1 sub-base, always. It costs more than the shortcuts and it is the reason our terraces are still level years later.
Start your project
Arrange a design visit and we will walk the garden with you, listen to how you want to live in it, and set out what a design and build would involve.