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How to lay paving slabs

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have either a stack of merchant flags or a box of amazon.co.uk stepping pads, and the search result offers one recipe for both. A bedded patio and a rubber step in the lawn are different jobs. By the end you should know which sequence matches what you bought, where the fall goes, and the point where you stop and call a landscaper. Product names stay on the [paving slab comparison](/hub/flooring/paving-slab). The Products Compared editorial team used UK trade guides and the saved listings, on 19 October 2026, and did not lay a patio. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have either a stack of merchant flags or a box of amazon.co.uk stepping pads, and the search result offers one recipe for both. A bedded patio and a rubber step in the lawn are different jobs.

Our top picks

Nicoman Nicoman rubber stone blocks, 4 pack

Best overall

Nicoman Nicoman rubber stone blocks, 4 pack
7.5/10about £35.99
View offer
Nicoman Nicoman rubber stomp stones, 4 pack

Best value

Nicoman Nicoman rubber stomp stones, 4 pack
7.0/10about £19.99
View offer
Buachois Buachois resin rounds with stakes, 4 pack

Alternative

Buachois Buachois resin rounds with stakes, 4 pack
4.5/10about £50.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Check which thing you are laying
  2. 2.A bedded patio, in outline
  3. 3.A step in the grass
  4. 4.Where you hand the job over

Check which thing you are laying

A concrete flag, a natural-stone slab, or a 20 mm outdoor porcelain paver sits on a compacted base and a full mortar bed. The pads here say place it, or they ask you to push short stakes into the ground. The DIVCHI plastic 4-pack is listed at 200 g. The Nicoman 46 cm rounds are listed at 11.17 kg for four. If you are still unsure which family you bought, the paving slabs buying guide separates them before you dig.

A bedded patio, in outline

Set the fall away from the house before you think about the pattern. Paving Direct uses about 1:80 and also allows 1:60. Pavingexpert describes about 1:60 as usual on a private patio and points specification work at BS 7533-4. Build that fall in the base. A thick blob of mortar is how a corner ends up proud. Paving Direct talks about a sub-base around 150 mm and a mortar bed around 50 mm. Marshalls' porcelain guide uses about 100 mm of Type 1, a full bed of about 30–40 mm, a slurry primer, and no five-spot bed. Keep the finished paving at least 150 mm below the damp-proof course. If your levels cannot meet that clearance, stop. A rubber pad does not enter this sequence.
Nicoman Nicoman rubber stone blocks, 4 pack

Testsieger

Nicoman Nicoman rubber stone blocks, 4 pack
7.5/10about £35.99
View offer

A step in the grass

BBC Gardeners' World sets the stride first, then digs so a real stone sits flush or slightly under the grass, on sharp sand, so a mower can pass. That assumes a stone with some mass. It is a poor match for a 200 g plastic shell. On the Nicoman 46 cm rounds, buyers say the pieces squash unless there is hardcore, and that worms shifted a set until it was refitted. On the 30 cm pads, one shared review reports mowing over them for nearly a year. The Buachois rounds want six 9.5 cm stakes in level ground, and the page says an unlevel sit will not be sturdy. One reviewer could not fit the stakes. If the pins will not seat, return the set. The pad-or-flag fork is on rubber stepping stones or real slabs.

Where you hand the job over

Stop when you cannot keep the paving at least 150 mm below the damp-proof course, or when the fall runs back toward the wall. Stop when a car will cross. Pedestrian flags and these place-down pads are the wrong build for a driveway. Stop before you dry-cut concrete or stone. The Health and Safety Executive treats that dust as respirable crystalline silica and wants water suppression or extraction, plus suitable respiratory protection. Do not wet an electric saw. In England, more than 5 square metres of hard surface between the front wall and the highway is a separate question. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not that English order. A dropped kerb is a council application and is not granted by laying the slabs well.

Common questions

Can I lay slabs straight on the grass?
A single real stepping stone can sit in turf if you cut the grass out, bed it on sharp sand, and keep the top at mower height. A continuous patio on grass, with no compacted base, sinks and rocks. The rubber pads in this comparison are placed by hand. Reviews of the heavier rounds still say soft ground squashes them.
Is dot-and-dab acceptable?
The patio guides cited here say no. A full mortar bed supports the whole slab. Five spots leave the corners and the middle with nothing under them, which is how a 20 mm porcelain paver cracks under a point load. A slurry primer is part of the porcelain method in the Marshalls guide, and it is irrelevant to a place-down rubber pad.
How do I set a rubber step so I can mow?
Firm the spot, and set the top of the pad level with the soil or a little below the cut. A review of the 30 cm Nicoman pads describes mowing over them for nearly a year. Another calls them spongy. Check after rain. A 200 g plastic tile is not that step, whatever the title says.
When do I stop and call someone?
Call a landscaper for vehicle loads, for levels you cannot keep 150 mm below the damp-proof course, and for cuts you cannot do with water suppression or extraction and the right mask. Ask the council before you seal a large front garden in England, and before any dropped kerb.
Do the amazon pads need mortar?
The kept listings do not describe a mortar bed. They say place the pad, snap a mesh, or push stakes into level ground. Mortar belongs with a flag or a porcelain paver on a prepared base. Putting mortar under a 200 g plastic tile does not turn it into a patio slab.

Related pages

Paving a front garden

Paving slab

Best paving slabs: Nicoman blocks for a muddy path

Paving slabs buying guide: flags versus garden pads

Rubber stepping stones vs paving slabs: which to buy

Sources

Public UK sources and amazon.co.uk listings, checked on 19 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the figures in the display file. The Turnbull porcelain price is one merchant example, not a concrete-flag band.

  1. Class F, GPDO 2015, hard surfaces (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK, permeable surfacing of front gardens (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE, cutting paving blocks, kerbs and flags (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE CIS54, dust from cutting paving (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Pavingexpert, concrete flags (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Pavingexpert, laying flags (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. BSI, BS EN 1341:2012 external natural stone slabs (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Bradstone, British Standard paving (retrieved 19 October 2026)