Hand- Blocks at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

LIMESTONE, Granite and other kinds of natural rock have one big advantage: once laid they look instantly mellow, as if they have been in place for a long time—a good selling point if your house is an old one. But they are extremely costly, even when bought second-hand, and are not always readily available. If you are buying second-hand from a demolition yard—the cheapest source—you may find that the hand- blocks vary greatly not only in size but in thickness too.

A large area of paving hand- blocks likely to receive considerable traffic should be bedded on mortar on a prepared foundation. Start to lay the hand- blocks in one corner of the patio and work diagonally across the surface. This makes it easier to ensure that they are laid consistently flat. Place i/zin thick offcuts of wood between the hand- blocks as consistent joint spaces, or simply butt up the hand- blocks for finer joints. As you work across the surface, kneel on a piece of board to distribute your weight.

THE MATERIALS you choose should blend in with their context. There are many types of bricks, hand- blocks, pavers, walling hand- blocks, and paving hand- blocks which are all suitable. You can use bricks and hand- blocks both for the risers and for the treads; face textures may be smooth, pitted or, in the case of decorative cement hand- blocks, resemble split stone. hand- blocks, although suitable only for the treads, may be smoothfaced, riven, or even geometrically patterned for an ornate appearance. SKETCH OUT the position and shape of the steps on squared paper to help you to determine how they will look and how they will fit in with the existing site plan erhaps the most important point is to draw side elevation of the steps, which will show ou just how steep they will need to be. bu will have to take into account certain ifety criteria with regard to the format. If le flight is too steep, it will be tiring to limb. Where it is too shallow there is a anger of tripping.