Woman reveals £5.50 way she ’tiled’ her patio and people are obsessed – all you need is hairspray to make it stay
PEOPLE can shell out thousands trying to get the picture-perfect patio.
But one woman has revealed how she transformed hers for less than £6, and it looks incredible.
Heather explained she was living her “Barbie Dreamhouse best life” with the idea, as she used chalk to map out a tiled floor.
“It’s mostly just laying down colour and blending at first,” she wrote over the top of the TikTok video.
Once the colours were done, with Heather using a kind of graduating pastel pattern, she got to work adding the “grout” – aka a darker line between the tiles.
She blended that out and then shared her trick to making it look 3D.
Heather used a white chalk down one side and across the bottom, to add a “highlight”, before using a black chalk up the other side and across the top to add a “shadow”.
Once she’d done that, she could feel a storm was brewing, so ran inside to find something to “kind of waterproof it”.
She added that while she would usually use WD-40, she couldn’t find hers, so had to use something else instead.
And in another TikTok, she showed how she used hairspray to protect the ’tiles’ from the elements.
“Hairspray it with the cheapest hairspray you can find!” one person commented.
To which Heather replied: “It’s a miracle I had hairspray in my home at all but I did and have been doing this!”
After spraying it liberally over one of the squares, she waited until it was raining, and wiped her finger across the top to see if any of the chalk came off.
It didn’t, so she declared it a “success”.
“Is there a way to make it stay?” another asked.
With Heather replying: “People have suggested hairspray and so far that’s made it last a little bit longer than it would normally!”
Heather also insisted in response to someone else’s comment that she doesn’t want the coloured ’tiles’ to stay there forever.
“This is beautiful! please coat it with clear epoxy resin and keep it there forevverr!” one person wrote.
How to repair broken patio slabs
THE paving specialists at Simply Paving told Fabulous how you can repair broken patio slabs, without the faff.
The experts advised: “If you have a loose paving slab, then it’s unlikely it can be lifted straight by hand. Instead, you will probably need a hammer and chisel to prise the paver free of your patio.
“To remove loose paving slabs without damaging your flagstones, carefully chip away at the mortar around the paving slab with the plugging chisel and rubber mallet until the slab comes completely loose.
“Then, slide the spade into the gap left by the mortar and prise the paver free of the patio.
“As you lift it up, place a short piece of timber underneath the spade to act as a lever, making it easier for you while protecting the slab underneath.
“When the paver starts to give, place the cylindrical wood underneath it and roll the slab out of the patio.”
To which she replied: “I appreciate it but this is more just a stress relief for me – like building sandcastles.
“I’m more interested in the process, and being able to redo it whenever I want!”
She added that she’s “already daydreaming about what to do next”.