Acklam's semis and their gardens
Most of Acklam was built between the wars and in the years after 1945, when Middlesbrough spread west towards the A19. That gives the area its familiar look: rows of brick semis with bay windows, hipped roofs and front gardens, and behind them long, narrow back gardens that run a good way down from the house. Later estates filled in the gaps, and there are pockets of newer homes, but the 1930s semi is still the house we visit most here.
Those long gardens shape the job. The original patio, if there is one, is usually a narrow strip of slabs outside the back door that has dropped over the decades. Many owners now have a kitchen extension or a garden room across the back, so the patio needs to be wider, sit at a new level and step down to a lawn that may be lower still. A path down the side of the garden to the shed or the back gate is often part of the same job, and a low wall or raised bed can tidy up the change in level.
Narrow plots reward a simple plan. One good-sized terrace across the back of the house, a straight path and some planting usually work better than lots of small paved areas.
Acklam Park, home to Middlesbrough's cricket and rugby clubs, and the leafy roads around Acklam Hall give the area plenty of green, and many back gardens here have established hedges and fruit trees worth keeping. We plan patios around them rather than clearing everything.
Ground, levels and drainage in TS5
Acklam sits on the same heavy clay as much of Middlesbrough. It stays wet in winter and can crack in a dry summer, and that seasonal movement is why so many old Acklam patios rock or tilt. We dig down to firm ground, take away the soft soil, and build a compacted crushed-stone sub-base before any slab goes down. Each slab is bedded on a full bed of mortar, not on dabs, and the whole patio is laid with a fall so rainwater runs away from the house and into a border, a gully or a drain.
Levels are the other big issue on extended semis. The new floor is often higher than the old one, so we check the damp-proof course and any air bricks first and keep the patio safely below them. If that means a step down from the doors, we build it in properly rather than ramping the slabs up to the threshold.
For the finish, a textured concrete slab is a good-value choice on a long garden, Indian sandstone suits the red brick of the period, and porcelain gives a crisp, easy-clean finish outside new glazing.
Planning and Acklam Hall
For almost every Acklam home, a ground-level back-garden patio is permitted development and needs no planning application. A raised patio more than 30cm above the ground usually does, and so does paving over five square metres of a front garden with a non-porous surface, unless the water drains to a lawn or border.
Acklam's best-known building is Acklam Hall, a Grade I listed house from the 1680s, and the area around it is the Acklam Hall Conservation Area. If you live within that boundary, tree work needs six weeks' notice to Middlesbrough Council, and it is sensible to check before changing anything at the front of the house. For the vast majority of Acklam's semis, none of this applies.
Front gardens are worth a word. Plenty of Acklam owners want to turn a small front lawn into tidy paving. We can lay a permeable surface or drain it to a border, so the planning rule on front gardens is met.
As for price, a long Acklam garden can take a patio of almost any size, so the cost varies a lot with the area you pave, the slab you choose and any path or steps. We explain the factors in our patio prices guide, and the quote after our visit is the figure that counts.
Patios in nearby areas
We also lay patios close to Acklam:
- Patios in Linthorpe: Just to the east, with Victorian terraces, walled yards and a conservation area.
- Patios in Hemlington: To the south, with 1960s and 1970s estates and the new homes at Hemlington Grange.
See every place we cover on our areas page.
Questions people ask
Do you work across all of Acklam?
Yes, across TS5, including the roads off Acklam Road, Green Lane and Trimdon Avenue, and the neighbouring parts of Brookfield and Saltersgill.
Our old patio has sunk. Can it be reused?
Sometimes the slabs can be lifted, cleaned and relaid on a new base, but older concrete slabs often crack when lifted. We will tell you honestly whether reusing them makes sense once we have seen them.
Can a patio be laid right up to our extension?
Yes, as long as it stays below the damp-proof course and keeps air bricks clear. We set the levels from the house first, then work out the fall and any step down.
Can you lay a path down the side of the house too?
Yes. Side paths to the back gate or bins are often done at the same time, laid on the same kind of base and finished to match the patio.
