Concrete terrace slabs on a gravel bed with or without edge restraint

Hello everyone,

how did you lay your concrete patio slabs or have them laid? With or without edge restraints like edging stones, borders, etc.? Our patio slabs are supposed to have a thickness of 42mm. I imagine it would be difficult to lay them without edge restraints and then lay them in concrete or make a concrete wedge on the outer row. You only have 2cm of space if the concrete wedge is to be minimally covered with topsoil later. Grass probably also grows poorly there. However, this could save the work of setting the edging stones. At least theoretically, you can set the edging stones so that the slabs fit without cutting. But whether that works well in practice is another question.

What are your opinions/experiences? Possibly even with pictures without edge restraints.

Many thanks

So I have enclosed everything... No grass grows on the concrete wedge...

No, it looks cheap with concrete wedge

No, it looks cheap with a concrete wedge

I don't think it looks cheap without edging. But the terrace slabs would probably have to be thicker so that you can make a concrete wedge and still have topsoil on it.

I don't think it looks cheap without edging. But the terrace slabs would probably have to be thicker so that you can make a concrete wedge and still get topsoil on it

That will never hold and nothing will grow there

You could use lawn edging stones as an edging. With 10 cm of soil support, you can cover about 15 - 20 cm more, and grass will grow there. There are also other edging stones (which are not rounded on top) and 30 cm high. Or you can lay the last row of the slabs in a mortar bed (mortar must be suitable for outdoor use). Often there are so-called [QIdeengärten] in the region where manufacturers present their products.