How we chose
We started from the thirty-two patio firms Google Maps shows across Telford. Scheme memberships were sourced from the Checkatrade register, each firm's own website and platforms such as TrustMark and Book a Builder UK [6] [11]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. What customers say counts most toward the score — the star rating itself, since beyond a small handful of reviews volume adds nothing — then qualifications, then whether the firm has traded two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the firm to the job first. A patio installer owns excavation, sub-bases, laying, cutting and pointing in Indian sandstone, porcelain or block paving; a landscaper suits a patio inside a full garden redesign, and a builder suits one inside an extension or walling job [3]. When you first enquire, say which material you have in mind, the rough size in square metres, how machines or barrows reach the garden, and whether levels fall toward or away from the house.
No licence is needed by law to lay a patio, so check voluntary proof instead. The Marshalls Register lists accredited landscape contractors and driveway installers you can search by area, and members back domestic work with a ten-year hard landscape guarantee — ask the firm about it by name [1]. BALI runs a directory of accredited landscapers [9], TrustMark holds a register you can search for the specific trade [6], and Checkatrade profiles carry reviews from real jobs plus a record of the checks each trade has passed [11]. Search the register yourself rather than taking a logo on a van at face value.
Check the company and the waste plan together. Companies House shows free company detail including the registered address, the incorporation date and whether filings are up to date — search the exact limited-company name [8]. Anyone carting away your soil and broken slabs is carrying construction waste, which needs upper-tier registration, so search the business name on the Environment Agency waste carrier register [7]. Then ask for public liability insurance details in writing, with the insurer and limit named on the quote rather than a bare promise of full cover.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same written scope so you compare like with like [1] [10]. Each quote should name the slab by brand, type and thickness, the excavation depth, the sub-base depth and material, the falls and drainage, edging and jointing, waste removal, the start date and payment stages. A deposit for materials is normal, while full payment before completion is not. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or left out.
Agree levels and drainage before anyone digs. Every patio must fall away from the house — the standard is roughly fifteen millimetres per metre — and finish below the damp-proof course, with a channel drain where it cannot [3]. Paving more than five square metres of front garden must be permeable or carry planning permission [5]. A rear patio at ground level is usually permitted development, but check first if the house is listed or in a conservation area [4]. Put the agreed levels and the drainage route on the written scope.
At the end, collect the invoice, the written guarantee terms showing what is covered, for how long and who honours them, and photos of the finished levels and drainage. File these with your house papers — you will need them if slabs settle or joints fail. Pay the balance only when the work matches the written scope. If a dispute will not resolve, Citizens Advice sets out your options for faulty home improvements [10].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: concrete slabs £50–£80 per square metre laid; Indian sandstone £80–£130; porcelain £100–£180; concrete block paving £80–£140 [3]. A medium sandstone patio of twenty-five square metres lands around £2,000–£3,250 against £2,500–£4,500 in porcelain, and Telford tracks the Midlands average rather than London and South East prices [3] [4]. Guide figures include excavation, sub-base, materials and laying.
The slab is the biggest lever: laying labour is broadly similar whatever you choose, so the gap between concrete and porcelain sits almost entirely in the material [3]. Groundworks and labour are usually the larger share at well over half the total, which is why access, excavation and drainage move the figure next [4]. Drainage work can add £500–£1,500, a soakaway £200–£500, steps £100–£300 each and old-patio removal £20–£40 per square metre [3].
Ask whether each quote includes VAT or adds it on top, and get the answer in writing. Firms in this round all offer quote routes but publish almost no example rates, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer. A straightforward medium patio usually takes a small team three to four days, with bigger areas, steps and wet weather adding time [4].
Get the scope in writing before work starts — the exact area, slab specification, sub-base depth, drainage, waste removal, guarantee terms and what changes the price if the dig reveals worse ground than expected. Agree payment stages and keep every quote, invoice and guarantee term together [10].
Red flags
Quotes for a full patio without visiting or asking for photos, measurements and how the garden is reached.
Gives one fixed price for a large job with no breakdown of labour, materials, sub-base and VAT [3].
Claims accreditation but gives no membership detail you can check yourself on the scheme register [1].
Will not name the slab, its thickness or the sub-base depth going under your patio.
Has no plan for falls or drainage where water would run toward the house [3].
Plans to cart away soil and rubble but gives no waste carrier registration you can search [7].
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms [10].
Will not put the scope, price, start date and guarantee terms in writing before lifting a tool.
The bottom line
For most Telford homes, start with Arcox Landscaping: one firm for patio and garden together, with accreditation, insurance and waste paperwork already stated. Prices go unpublished, so ask for an itemised fixed quote first. If the weight of customer opinion matters more, Tri Pave is the close alternative with guaranteed work.
Match the firm to the job: Anthony's for patios inside ongoing garden care, Right Choice for stated cover across a wide area, GES for block paving around Shifnal. Then get two or three itemised quotes on the same written scope, agree levels and drainage before work starts, and keep every quote, invoice and guarantee term together.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.