Patio


I don't recommend you try this (in a weekend)!

I left work Friday at 11:30AM without having started on this project... except for the intensive planning.

Tabitha and I staked off the area for the patio, rented a tiller and a plate compactor and went to work. The tiller didn't break up the ground so well because it was so hard so that didn't go as planned. I took the tiller back and picked up a truckload of sand on the way back home.

I got out the pick axe and the shovels and we did what we had to do. I borrowed a light from my neighbor and worked until about 10:30 digging out 3-4 inches of soil from a roughly 12x14 foot area. Well, we didn't quite finish with that so we were at it first thing Saturday morning. By about 1 in the afternoon we had the area dug out and level.

The landscaping fabric was the next step. We got it stapled in and began laying the plastic borders to contain the sand and guide the pavers. The PVC pipes were guides as to how deep to make the sand. Then it rained and we were forced to take an hours' break.

Once it was about right we took them out and filled their holes with sand.

This is where the plate compactor comes in. It vibrates and basically shakes it all down to pack the sand as tight as it can be.

It was about 7:30PM when we started laying the pavers.

Once again we used the light to extend our working hours to about 11:30PM.

Sunday afternoon we started again at about 2:30 to lay the rows of pavers. More sand to fill between the cracks, wash it in with water, use the plate compactor, more sand, more sweeping...

I used a cool little diamond bladed saw to cut some pavers to size and some of the weird angles and finished the whole job by about 8:30PM. I'll get some better pictures of the whole thing in the morning when there's daylight.

It couldn't have been done without the help of Tabitha, the Myers and, of course, Joshua!

The planter boxes were finished and benches built between them. Stone and dirt filled...

And then the flowers...

These two roses in the front planters...

and morning glories in the planters framing the walkway.

The clematis will be planted on the back fence.