I wasn't online much last week. One of the last posts I made a week ago was that instead of being in the 90's it was going to be in the 70s, and we were finally going to do something with the four pallets of pavers that have been sitting in our backyard since May. Plus another few hundred sq. ft. of recycled pavers from my son's (now his exwife's) house. She deciced she wanted a deck, not a patio, so we were buying the pavers and he would bring a load when he came to our lake house. Even after the divorce. Then she got mad at us and that stopped. But I digress. After we bought the pallets of pavers a chunk of tree fell on our house. So after the tree was removed (which opened up the place I really wanted the patio) and the roof was replaced, and the temp finally got to where I could work outside in the sun and not kill a 70 year old man, we got started. Not done, but I wanted to share what we accomplished so far, and updates will come when we get more done.
This is to show you what the walk from our back door to the garage looked like, with the tree in place. Pavers are disturbed because this was taken when I had run a water line to the back of the garage. My wife hates these pavers, but I'm cheap, so these will form the patio behind the garage where the cookers are going.
Now we have the "flagstone" pavers removed, tree removed, ready to get started. I know that the area the tree had occupied should have been allowed to settle for a couple of years, but I don't have a couple of years. Did I mention my wife and I are 70? I have no desire to do something like this in two more years when we are 72. If it starts to sink in 5 or 10 years I figure theres a good chance it won't be my problem. By the way, as I continue, if you want to point out the things that aren't perfect, I know they aren't. Did I mention I'm 70? BTW, it's always good to have a helper to check out how level things are. Dakota generously volunteered.
New sidewalk to the garage is almost in place, and I finally use the chop saw I bought on sale 2 years ago.
Now we are getting started on the patio itself. Once again, Dakota is being a huge help. And yes I did take the easy way. I did not do the "dig nine inches down, put in gravel...". I used a small amount of leveling sand, weed barrier and plastic paver base. Probably cost about the same for materials, but far less labor intensive.
Shots of the almost completed patio. It still needs edgers, and the locking sand has not been applied (since the edgers aren't in place.
Both Bentley and Dakota are glad to have their water dish back where it belongs. And yes, that is a closeup of my finger.
This is the sidewalk running along the garage. At the moment it is a sidewalk to nowhere. BTW, a project still to be completed is the replacement of the current fire pit. This one does not have a steel insert, and the blocks are crumbling. We have a 5 ft ring ordered, and I think last night my wife and I agreed on a plan for how it's going to be placed. Detail to follow.
This is the point I'm at. This space will be where the cookers live. How much of it gets covered with the pavers salvaged from the back of the house depends on just how far they go. The sidewalk with the Holland Pavers will contine to the concrete pad in front of what will be my cook shack. Bentley is checking out the lay of the land for me. At the back of the garage is the pile of grass from before I bought my extremely pristine trailer to haul clippings etc. to the dump a mile away, and also before I started mulching when the grass finally stopped growing so fast. I'm rationalyzing that it's composting for next year's project of raised garden beds.
The first picture here is what was on the property when we bought the house. The house is 124 years old. Not sure how old the shed is.
Three years go I put in more windows (it had one fixed window on the other side), a new door, new roof, siding, flooring, drywall, ran electricity to it, and let the grandkids use it for a playhouse. They've outgrown it, so now it's going to be my cook shack, with a chair my wife can't find anyplace else for, so she's brining it out here so she can sit nice and comfy while I cook.
That's how far I am at the moment. Still lots to do, but getting the four pallets of pavers out of the yard is a huge relief.
Getting this far feels really good. I've been dreaming of a patio here for five years. Finally becoming a reality.
By the way, did I mention I'm 70? I felt every year this past week.
This is to show you what the walk from our back door to the garage looked like, with the tree in place. Pavers are disturbed because this was taken when I had run a water line to the back of the garage. My wife hates these pavers, but I'm cheap, so these will form the patio behind the garage where the cookers are going.
Now we have the "flagstone" pavers removed, tree removed, ready to get started. I know that the area the tree had occupied should have been allowed to settle for a couple of years, but I don't have a couple of years. Did I mention my wife and I are 70? I have no desire to do something like this in two more years when we are 72. If it starts to sink in 5 or 10 years I figure theres a good chance it won't be my problem. By the way, as I continue, if you want to point out the things that aren't perfect, I know they aren't. Did I mention I'm 70? BTW, it's always good to have a helper to check out how level things are. Dakota generously volunteered.
New sidewalk to the garage is almost in place, and I finally use the chop saw I bought on sale 2 years ago.
Now we are getting started on the patio itself. Once again, Dakota is being a huge help. And yes I did take the easy way. I did not do the "dig nine inches down, put in gravel...". I used a small amount of leveling sand, weed barrier and plastic paver base. Probably cost about the same for materials, but far less labor intensive.
Shots of the almost completed patio. It still needs edgers, and the locking sand has not been applied (since the edgers aren't in place.
Both Bentley and Dakota are glad to have their water dish back where it belongs. And yes, that is a closeup of my finger.
This is the sidewalk running along the garage. At the moment it is a sidewalk to nowhere. BTW, a project still to be completed is the replacement of the current fire pit. This one does not have a steel insert, and the blocks are crumbling. We have a 5 ft ring ordered, and I think last night my wife and I agreed on a plan for how it's going to be placed. Detail to follow.
This is the point I'm at. This space will be where the cookers live. How much of it gets covered with the pavers salvaged from the back of the house depends on just how far they go. The sidewalk with the Holland Pavers will contine to the concrete pad in front of what will be my cook shack. Bentley is checking out the lay of the land for me. At the back of the garage is the pile of grass from before I bought my extremely pristine trailer to haul clippings etc. to the dump a mile away, and also before I started mulching when the grass finally stopped growing so fast. I'm rationalyzing that it's composting for next year's project of raised garden beds.
The first picture here is what was on the property when we bought the house. The house is 124 years old. Not sure how old the shed is.
Three years go I put in more windows (it had one fixed window on the other side), a new door, new roof, siding, flooring, drywall, ran electricity to it, and let the grandkids use it for a playhouse. They've outgrown it, so now it's going to be my cook shack, with a chair my wife can't find anyplace else for, so she's brining it out here so she can sit nice and comfy while I cook.
That's how far I am at the moment. Still lots to do, but getting the four pallets of pavers out of the yard is a huge relief.
Getting this far feels really good. I've been dreaming of a patio here for five years. Finally becoming a reality.
By the way, did I mention I'm 70? I felt every year this past week.
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