Hallelujah, the patio is done!
I’ve caught my breath a little bit and regained feeling in most of my muscles, so I’m back to tell you the end of the tale. Let’s see, where did we leave off? Oh yeah, with us me passed out on the mostly-laid pavers late Friday night.
As you know from Sherry’s post yesterday, we took Saturday off to have some family time / start Mother’s Day early. Then on Sunday afternoon, I decided to take an hour or two to finish cutting the pavers around the edge. Apparently my day away from patio made me forget how much effort each step of this process takes. My “hour or two” turned into “seven or eight.”
Allow me to demonstrate my process to explain why. Naturally, curved edges require lots of cuts. This I knew going in. But residual confidence from tiling our old bathroom had me ready to take on this more-than-beginner design.
So to determine where to place each cut, I laid my full stone in place against the border pavers (which I’ve learned is called “a soldier course”) and marked where my cut should go (the area that overlapped the border) with a pencil.
To cut, I entrusted my brother-from-an-inanimate-object-mother: the wet saw. You may remember I fell in love with this guy during the bathroom project in our first house. But after all of the recent patio craziness, we aren’t so chummy anymore (we’re not “tight” or “aight” as the kids say).
It’s really not the poor saw’s fault. He just wasn’t meant for this type of job. But since he was free (aka, on loan from my dad, who paid $99 for it btw) I wanted to give him a shot, instead of dropping $700 on his big brother. The issue is that my blade wouldn’t cut through all 2.5-ish inches of paver (those suckers were thick). So I had to do 2 cuts per paver – one, then another one from the other side once the paver was flipped over. Some particularly long cuts even required 4 trips down ol’ Wet Saw Lane because part of the machine blocked the whole stone from sliding through all of the way. And even after two to four cuts per paver, I still had to break the stones apart with a quick chisel-like move (thanks to a hammer and screwdriver) to smash the piece in the middle that my blade clearly still couldn’t reach:
So multiply two to four cuts per paver by the 50+ stones that needed cutting and you’ll start to understand why it took me so long. That $700 big daddy wet saw was starting to look well worth the money by about hour three. But I’m cheap. So I stuck with the borrowed (free) one.
Assuming my cut was accurate (which it wasn’t always, unfortunately) all I had to do was lay the cut stone in place and tap it down gently with a rubber mallet (which we used when setting all of the pavers in the middle and along the border of the patio as well, just so they sunk slightly into the bed of sand and were level/secure).
Despite all of the hassle, when it works – it’s a beautiful thing (plus I later learned that the sand that I’d brush between the stones would camouflage some of the less perfect cuts really well).
By the end of Sunday I had finished all of my cuts and even had enough energy to remove and re-attach one of our sagging gates (it threatened to scrape the stone a bit when closed).
So here’s the patio in all of it’s pre-sand glory (the whiter edge pavers are just lighter from wet saw dust that hadn’t been hosed off yet).
And here I amid all of my post-paver cutting sexiness. Happy Mother’s Day to Sherry, right? That’s spray from the wet saw all over my shirt and face (thank goodness for goggles, wish I had bought a mask). And notice the yellow hands? That’s some sort of strange stain from my work gloves (apparently they don’t like getting wet).
Oh, and since I promised more info about the pattern – here it is a bit closer:
We’ve heard it called both an “I Pattern” and a “K Pattern” (so feel free to split the alphabetical difference and go with “J Pattern”). Although sometimes I see it as more of an “H” – made up of two 6 x 9″ pavers and four 6 x 6″s – and flanked by more 6 x 9″s on all sides. There’s a diagram here that might make seeing the whole H thing more clear than our pic above.
The reason we opted for this pattern in the first place is because it’s what the previous owners chose for the pavers in our driveway (and we wanted a cohesive look). Plus we like that it looks sort of like organized chaos. It appears random but there’s really a method behind it all. We’re nerds for that stuff. The lady at the stone yard warned us that it can be more difficult than some of the truly random patio patterns, but we honestly found it pretty straightforward once we got our first few pavers down. We just constructed one or two of those H-looking shapes and built out from there.
When Monday rolled around, I prepared for the final step by breaking out a broom and some leftover bags of paver sand (when I ran short on Friday and grabbed sand at Lowe’s, I must’ve overcompensated a bit so I still had a lot left). The purpose of this top application of sand is to fill the cracks between the pavers so they don’t shift. The process was pretty straightforward. Step one: dump sand on pavers.
Step two: Push it around with your broom ’til all of the cracks have sand in them (this was just from one bag so far):
Step three: lightly mist the surface with water so that the sand slides down into the cracks.
Though it really is more like a twenty step process, because like shampoo-ing, it’s one of those “rinse and repeat” situations (or at least it was for me). See, my wet crack sand (wait, that sounds gross) did a lot of sliding between the pavers – making things not so pretty on top.
So I repeated. And repeated again. And then did some touch ups. This step seemed to take longer than I expected (consider it to be the theme of this whole project) but by Monday afternoon it all seemed pretty settled into place for a consistent and even look. And happily the yellow-orange tint to the sand disappeared when it dried out (it was really wet and clumpy when we applied it but it thinned and dried to a nice complementary gray tone).
Oh and here’s a note for all you fancy patio DIYers. If you have it in the budget you can splurge for Polymeric Sand (which basically gets brushed on and then misted with water, which turns it into a concrete-like consistency so it sets up hard to discourage weeds and all that good stuff). But thanks to our bursting patio budget, we opted to use standard paver sand which was about $100 cheaper (it was used on the patio at our last house which we enjoyed for 3+ years without much more than very occasional weeding so we knew it would work for now). And we can always upgrade to the good sand later (if we have $100 to spare down the road, it’s as simple as spraying the sand out of the cracks with the highest hose setting and switching to the fancy Polymeric stuff).
Anyway, with my sand step done, I jubilantly (yes, I was beyond excited to be almost done) moved on to my last task before handing things over to Sherry, which was backfilling the edges of the patio with dirt (since exposed plastic edging is akin to VPL). I forgot to take an “after” of my borders all filled in with dirt, so let’s fast forward to the real after afters. But first, let’s enjoy a look back at two liriope-filled before shots:
And now the patio-tastic after fest- complete with totally temporary furniture:
Since we sold all of our old patio furniture before we moved (which wouldn’t have worked well in this layout anyway) this is all random stuff that we had in the sunroom/basement/cluttered playroom. Actually a lot of it isn’t rain-proof at all, so Sherry just dragged it out there for fun (yes, after pics with temporary furniture is her idea of a good time because she thinks an empty patio reveal would have been “a real womp-womp”). I definitely agree that it helps with scale and stuff (and who am I to deny my wife of an hour of playing with already-owned pillows and random furniture?). I think we both just liked the idea of beginning to picture various ways that we can enjoy our new 300 square feet of added outdoor living space. And of course it’ll look a lot better with not temporary furniture when we can invest in some down the line.
Our long-term dream is to have some sort of daybed/loveseat with a coffee table to create a casual “outdoor living room” along with a spot for a sandbox slash baby pool for Clara. Because we have plans for a big outdoor dining zone somewhere else (but with an “outdoor living room” situation on the patio, we could still enjoy casual meals there).
Of course Sherry went nuts with the whole fantasy world and played scrabble with herself to conjure up this cozy scene (and even got two water glasses to suggest that she wasn’t out on the patio alone playing against herself). Busted.
But speaking of playing, we do seriously hope this is a space that Clara gets a lot of use out of. Since we no longer have that huge driveway behind our old house, we’ve wanted a spot where she can be outside, minus the fears of her running into the road. So this gated-on-all-sides area is perfect for whenever she doesn’t feel like playing in the grassy backyard beyond. Because chalk just isn’t as much fun in the grass.
Although Clara may be a few developmental milestones away from actually enjoying a game of hopscotch, at least it’s not too soon to tap sticks of chalk together.
And she only tried to eat it twice. That my friends, is progress.
The only item in our 100% temporary patio layout that will be permanent is the grill. It’s been hiding in my basement workroom since we moved because I had no other spot for it (it lived in the carport for a while but that was just weird). So from the moment we first started talking about Project Patio I had an area all planned out for this baby. And although I’m talking like I’m some big macho grillmaster, I’ve probably used the darn thing less than a dozen times. Hopefully its beautiful new home will inspire us to get better acquainted. Especially when we get some permanent outdoor furniture to go with it.
As for Sherry, she’s more excited about the “crowning jewel” of the patio as she likes to call it: a ceramic bird feeder that she snagged at Marshall’s for $9.99 a few weeks back. It’s been sitting on the counter next to our bathroom sink (away from roaming Clara hands) just waiting for a new patio to preside over. And it looks a heckova lot better out here than it did near the sink.
So there you have it, the end to our patio-building party. And it’s just in time to start setting up for the real party (Clara’s birthday on Saturday). Perhaps we’ll challenge our guests to some hopscotch?
We wouldn’t mind a few crossed fingers for good weather this Saturday. It rained on Clara’s birthday last year so we unscientifically decided that it couldn’t rain again this year (although the odds are probably the same every year). And as soon as we finished the patio I turned to Sherry and said “You know what this means right? We finished the patio in time so it’s going to rain on Saturday. We jinxed ourselves.” Here’s hoping I’m wrong.
Oh and here’s a rarely seen angle taken from the new lower patio looking up at the upper patio (which was always there) and the sliders in the living room and sunroom that lead out to it. That area was too small to accommodate our grill (let alone any larger seating arrangements) so we’re so glad that we expanded our outdoor living space with the addition of the paver patio below.
We estimate that we spent about 30 hours on the whole patio project, from planning to clean-up (but we did mess around with lots of curves and hit some crazy concrete during the demo phase, so it won’t necessarily take everyone that long). And now for the big ol’ budget breakdown:
- 300 square feet of Cottage Stone pavers (from Southside Building Supply): $621
- Heavy duty plastic patio edging and spikes (from Southside Building Supply): $69.00
- Paver sand (from Southside Building Supply & Lowe’s): $107
- Gravel (from Southside Building Supply): $240
- Delivery for pavers, sand, and gravel (from Southside Building Supply): $145
- Miscellaneous supplies (wood stakes, line levels, nylon string, and hand tamper from Home Depot): $40
- Weed blocking fabric & crampons (from Home Depot): $30
- Grand (ouch) total: $1,252*
*We actually paid $1,332 but got an $80 deposit back when we returned the bags that our gravel and sand came in.
We already chatted about how our original under 1K budget was blown here (well, in the waaay beginning Sherry proclaimed that this would be a two-day-under-$500 project, how wrong she was). But in the end we’re happy to have spent what we did and to have worked our buns off to save nearly 4K instead of hiring a pro (estimates for a patio with curves of this size started around $5,000). Totally worth the blood, sweat, tears, and creepy orange glove-stained hands. But if you’re asking me if I’d do it again tomorrow, the answer is: chiiiill. Let me relax for a hot second.
Psst- Want to look back on the entire patio process from beginning to end? Here’s the first post (about planning), the second post (about prepping the area), the third post (about unexpected budget breakage), the fourth post (about further prepping the area), and the fifth post (about adding the gravel & sand along with the majority of the pavers).
Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says
Congratulations! It looks amazing!!! Fingers crossed for nice weather on Saturday for ya!
Kenley says
The patio looks GREAT!!!! I am sorry to say that NBC 12 (our local news) is calling for 70% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, but I will start praying for clear skys for you all!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Nooooooooooo! We just need no rain for a few hours. It can pour the rest of the night!
xo,
s
Shannen says
Wowie! Seriously, it looks so awesome! I love summer evenings outside and it sure looks like you guys be enjoying many of them on your new patio! Good luck with your baby girl’s first birthday party!
Patience says
WOW! Looks absolutely fabulous!!!
On a side note….am I the only one that saw the Pati-Oh and immediately thought of the movie Hook? Ru-Fio, Ru-Fio, RU-FI-OOOOO? Maybe I’m alone on that one…ha ha. Any who, fantastic work, thank you for the inspiration!
Patience
http://whitelacquer.blogspot.com
YoungHouseLove says
Come on, someone tell Patience that she’s not alone. Haha.
xo,
s
banclothing says
Regarding the bird feeder.. be careful because they often attract mice and rats.
YoungHouseLove says
Really??? Never heard that one before. Squirrels for sure though. I jokingly call it our squirrel feeder (which is why it’s still empty).
xo,
s
Amy says
Don’t worry! I have multiple bird feeders and have never had a problem with either.
Squirrels, yes. :)
Kat says
Wow Wow WOW! You guys should be proud. This is awesome.
and HAHA at the extra water glass! I love scrabble! I’d probably play it by myself too.
Jessie@ www.mixandchic.com says
Nice work, John. The patio looks fantastic! I guess all your hard work and effort really paid off with the end result looking like this!
Jessie
Jaime says
You guys are inspiring! LOVE your new patio!! I was thinking… the brick stairs next to the porch stairs… you could one day turn that into a little stage area for Clara perform some dinner theater for you guys. You guys are creative, so it can double as something else too. Just a thought. :) Congrats on an amazing transformation!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, always a possibility!
xo,
s
Kathryn G. says
Or you could try a little stacked garden like this. http://pinterest.com/pin/251563/
Seems like the right shape for your space.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes- that’s exactly what I’m picturing! Long simple planters on each step. The only thing is that I don’t think that area gets a ton of sun so we’ll have to go with part shade plants and stuff.
xo,
s
Michele says
It looks amazing, congrats! Did you think about ripping out the weird second set of stairs while you were already out there ripping things out or was that too much for an already crazy project?! Just curious!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually heard from the original owners that we do not want to remove those stairs for nightmarish reasons so we’re going to keep them there and add some clean-lined long planters or build them out or something. All we know is we can’t demo them without a ton of work so we’re going to avoid that at all costs!
xo,
s
Kristin H. says
You guys have heard from the original owners of this house too?! That’s so neat! (I remember the post about the orig. owners of your last house! Loved that :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh this time we knew the previous owners from the sale (sadly not the original owners) so they warned us about the stairs because they had built the sunroom while they lived here. I wish we heard from the originals though! Maybe someday…
xo,
s
kim b says
I would love to see a photo from the very back of your property looing towards the house, and or a quick landscaping scketch. I can’t seem to get my head around the yard, patio, side area locations.
YoungHouseLove says
Check out this post. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
kim b says
oh ya forgot that one… totally helps. I knew there were pics somewhere. thanks
Meg says
This is a stupid question, but after rain (or a few times washing away sidewalk chalk with a hose), won’t the sand in the cracks eventually need a a bit of a facelift or a new layer? Sorry if this was actually addressed in the post!
YoungHouseLove says
You would think so but I guess 2.5″ of depth is a deep enough hole to hold it steady for years? Our last patio was sanded the same way and 3+ years later it still had sand in the cracks and never looked weird or needed more. No idea how that works.
xo,
s
Micha says
Absolutely amazing! I’m beyond wowed :o)
Marlo says
Looks AMAZING! I am going to show this to my husband as inspiration to start working on ours ;-)
Ashley says
Wow! It looks 100% professional and gorgeous! Have you thought about some structure to have big outdoor drapes hanging from around the future daybed? I see pictures of patios like that and I just drool…
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve thought about hanging some fun lanterns and big string lights all in those trees (the greenery itself is so nice we don’t want to block too much of it with fabric).
xo,
s
brandt @ NewHouseOnTheBlog says
With all the dirt and exhaustion, it looks like it was totally worth it. Anything you would have done differently?
YoungHouseLove says
Not that I can think of, except maybe coerce a few strong guys to help me. And loan me a better wet saw. Haha.
-John
Abigail says
bravo! seriously awesome job, John (and Sherry!) :) I actually love the soft look of brick so I was curious to see how the ‘new’ pavers would look and I love it. You guys are going to have so many good times out there!
Kelley says
Looks great, John! I think you both will love it even more because of all the hard work you put into it. I’m glad you went with a curved (more difficult) layout, too. Makes it look super-pro. Crossing fingers for no rain!
Mandy says
What an awesome job!! You guys make me want to DIY everything!!
aLi says
Wow! Amazing! Cheers to YHL!
Sari says
Stunning! What are you doing out there for lighting?
YoungHouseLove says
We have some lights on the house that shine down on that area but I want big bulb string lights for ambiance and lots more charm.
xo,
s
Zoë says
Is it kind of weird that I, a complete stranger, but a huge YHL fan, am so proud of John for doing such an amazing job? It looks fantastic. And I so want to bring my kids over for a game of hopscotch with Clara. You are going to have so much fun on your new patio. Great job!!
Claudie says
I think your patio looks awesome and I’m jealous! We have a concrete slab for a patio and it’s too small and just unimpressive.
With regards to the upper patio, they have a lot of techniques now where it wouldn’t add much height. There’s a concrete treatment that can be done and I know that they sell thin tile (almost like mosaic tile, but it comes in flagstone and other types) that can be laid right over whatever surface you have. For that one, I’d think you’d probably have to do something to even it out if it’s got a pea gravel texture.
Good luck on the weather front!
LindseyR says
ah-mazing! and with almost a week to spare before the big party! awesome job! and go easy on yourselves with the budget. for $1,200 you just increased the value of your home by what…$8 or $10K? before and after pics are so great…so much more function now to that space! Cheers for the hard work-
Stephanie says
AMAZING!!! All your hard work payed off for sure! It’s a little oasis back there! So envious right now.
Mindy M. says
The patio looks awesome. Okay, now that John has rested for a hot second, would you like to come build one of those at my house? :)
I hope you guys have good weather for Clara’s party Saturday. I don’t think your unscientific reasoning works out though. We had snow flurries both on the day my daughter was born & the day of her first b-day (not completely unlikely for TN in late February, but we still thought it was kind of neat).
Andrea says
Wow, the patio looks amazing! I’m dying for something like that in our not-so-attractive backyard… Just have to convince the hubs that it’s worth the money. I may have to show him this post!
Also, a question: Out of curiosity, what is the flooring surface on your deck (above the paver patio)? It looks like something other than your typical wood planks.
YoungHouseLove says
It looks like it was concrete that they covered with small pea gravel before it dried (so they’re stuck into it). Not the best but also not the worst. And it ties into the color of the fence so it’s not too bad.
xo,
s
Jen A says
JOHN! You’re a patio building SUPERHERO! Sherry, sew him a cape.
What a fantastic job you did. I’ve been there myself and moved earth, gravel, sand pavers and know first hand that it’s SO MUCH more work than anyone could imagine.
Time to celebrate with a birtday partay and a BEvERage or two.
Melissa @ A Place to Nest says
Yes- Thor definately needs a cape! “Oh-brother” should not deny John the honor of a cape!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it could happen.
xo,
s
lisa says
We have a very similar patio at our house. Granted, we live in a very weed-y area, but even with the weed barrier, we have gobs of weeds the come through the sand between the stones. Hope you guys have better luck with that!
Looks great!
Robin O says
Wow. So impressed! Looks AH-MAZING!
Paige says
That looks amazing! I got tired just reading all of the steps, so a big high-five to John for doing it himself!
Carolyn says
Is that a lemon or orange tree I see on your upper patio? I just bought my mom a little lemon tree for Mother’s Day and am hoping it produces fruit someday. I think it might take a year or two …
Love the patio! Cracked up with the whole Sherry-playing-scrabble-by-herself part. You totally fooled me up until that point. I was thinking, oh how cute, they were out there playing scrabble. Sneaky sneaky.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, but get this- it’s fake. Haha. It’s just faux branches from Pier 1 that I got ten years ago (yes, I was in college) and “planted” in a pot with real dirt. It fools everyone and totally cracks me up.
xo,
s
ashley says
Looks awesome!
And Sherry, you should play the word “gentle” against Sherry :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, but then Sherry will win!
xo,
s
Tina says
oh WOW! that is an amazing transformation!! gorgeous!! and i love the fake scrabble game set up, sherry is good. :)
neglegb says
beautiful!
Ruth says
Congrats, guys! It looks splendid!
John, I also had to chuckle at your saw woes. As a geologist, let’s just say I’m on familiar terms with wet saws of all sizes. And I have some *sweet* photos of myself decked out in a weird shorts, flip flops, disposable lab coat, goggles, face mask, and ear muffs get-up in order to avoid the after pic you posted. I’m afraid to report that it only helps so much. Oh and I’m basically Sherry’s height, just to add to the imagined visual hilarity.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man that does sound pretty hilarious.
-John
Barbara says
Wow! What a great space that will be used for yrs. to come. Also love the GNL(gym,nap, laundry) reference in your scrabble game.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha. You crack me up.
xo,
s
Emma says
Wow! That loods great. All this time I thought pavers were held in place with mortar. I had no idea that sand alone would hold the pavers. So the fancy concrete-like sand isn’t necessary for structural integrity – just weed control. Who knew? Well done!!
Kim says
Awesome John!!! I’m just in awe of your perseverance for this project. I only laid bricks along the back and one side of our garden bed (along with weed block to block those pesky weeds) and it took me all afternoon (I was also watching 2 young kids) and I was BEAT afterwards! And it didn’t even have to look pretty (although I’m a perfectionist so I did want to fit the bricks together as well as I could) AND I didn’t have to do all those ‘before’ steps with the gravel and sand. So KUDOS to you for sticking with this project thru all of the roadblocks. It really looks beautiful and something you all will use for years to come. How proud you should be!!!
Laura says
The patio looks amazing! We’ve thought about extending our patio with some pavers to create an outdoor living space, but the mosquitoes are insane here in NC.
Are they not that bad where you live or do you have some super secret way of keeping them away?
YoungHouseLove says
We found these all natural incense-stick looking things that you stick into the ground and burn that seem to help (they were from a local bird and wildlife store actually- don’t remember the name at all). Mostly I think the smoky haze they give off annoys bugs in general, so they seem to work. We just light them in the evenings when we’re outside if mosquitoes are bothering us (in the day it’s not as bad).
xo,
s
heather says
We have horrid black flies up here this time of year (before the mosquitoes come out) and up to camp we always like “smudgies”. Little fires with slightly damp wood. It keeps the bugs away outside.
Sure you smell like a campfire, but you don’t have 7,000 little bleeding bites on you.
Rebe says
A nice fan (table fan, free standing, whichever) on the low setting keeps them away. Mosquitoes can’t fly as successfully into wind. Oscillating helps too and if it’s a nice enough night, you don’t even notice the extra breeze.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip! A friend of ours has an outdoor fan and the bugs never mess with us there!
xo,
s
Amy @ Lovely Nest says
The patio looks so good! You guys did an awesome job! Love Sherry’s styling!
Melissa @ A Place to Nest says
Love it! Great work!
Megan says
It looks great!
Adam says
Two day/$500 project? Sherry, you are so funny! Looks amazing, and I can sympathize with the photo of the wet saw spray up your shirt and neck. I have a small wet saw just like that one and, before this post, was wondering how it would hold up to such large material like pavers. Did you purchase a new or special blade for cutting these thicker pavers?
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, I just used the same old 7″ blade that it came with. Surprisingly it worked (to a point of course- but it didn’t break or anything).
-John
cafenoHut says
looks wonderful. Who knows how much fun to spend time in this garden.
Jason says
It really is beautiful – I need a patio out back and this seems daunting even watching you do it – very impressed!
Van says
the bird seeder for me was the perfect addition to a beautiful outdoor space…
Congratz on the completion of the work, by the step by step it looks like the king of task that would make me cry like a baby and want to run away as fast as I could waving my arms in sheer frustration…
as for clara’s big bash: “in bocca al lupo!”
heather says
I really really love the finished project. The pattern is really nice too. That is so much work than I would have anticipated. It’s one thing to know the steps, and another to totally underestimate the hard labor.
This really is quite nice. Your family is going to love it for a long time to come.
Zvezda says
the patio looks phenomenal! but my ears and eyes perked up at the sound of a separate, outdoor dining area…
could it be the (currently awkward) house alley? can’t wait!!
YoungHouseLove says
You never know……
xo,
s
Amanda Wells says
IT LOOKS AMAZING! Seriously, great job guys!
http://www.amandadovewells.com/?p=433
Mindy says
I love this post! Because A)You guys finish your projects in such a timely fashion… so quickly… very inspiring B) the patio looks awesome and will be perfect for Clara’s bday bash, C) Clara is just so cute, and D) I looove the bird feeder. Crown jewel indeed. I have a fantastic recipe for grilled pizza if you’re interested–looks like you’ll be spending lots of time out here! :)
YoungHouseLove says
MMm, yes please! We’d love it!
xo,
s