Note: For those reading this post during happy hour, feel free to turn it into a drinking game and take a sip every time you read the word liriope. Or maybe just a half-sip. Don’t want things to get crazy.
Woot. We’ve officially started to attack the side patio (previously mentioned here and here) that we want to bang out in time for Clara’s big b-day bash in two short weeks.
That’s right, in the words of Cee Lo we said “forget you” (yes, we prudes sing the PG version) to the insane ten-ish rows of liriope. And John only had to dig about half of it up thanks to two friends of ours who came over to help / steal some for their own homes in the liriope digging party to end all parties (we were happy to repay them with all the free liriope they could grab). Everyone used the shove-the-shovel-under-each-clump-and-step-on-it-to-pop-it-out method, and it worked like a charm. I think with three people the whole thing took a total of around 2.5 to 3 hours. And I got to hang out inside with Clara, except when we were making various patio-digging appearances to boost morale and bring ice water to the crew.
After the dirt settled we were left with a nice bare area that will soon become about two-thirds of our patio (the brick path still needs to be removed before we can begin digging out and leveling the soil for the next phase of the project which involves tamping, gravel, and sand).
So although we have a lot ahead of us, we’re just happy to finally be getting started after lots of talk. And there’s something about looking at a newly bare area that enables you to envision things so much more easily (like, say, a patio) that you couldn’t quite picture as well with all that dastardly liriope around.
We already shared this odd little photoshopped sketch to give you a vague idea of what we’re envisioning…
… and when it comes to the materials, we’re planning to use cobblestone pavers very similar to the ones in our driveway…
… but in order to get the best deal we priced some out at Home Depot, Lowe’s, and a local place called Southside Building Supply. The local guys won out with the best price per square foot by around 40 cents (and happily had just a two day delivery turnaround), but we’ll share more info, photos, and prices of the actual pavers once they arrive and we (hopefully) get ’em laid (that’s what she said). And you know we like to overshare when it comes to the deets, so here’s the boring stuff that we did first for anyone at home who’d like to play along with us patio-fy with us:
- talked for way too long about possible dimensions and even used a garden hose to map out possible shapes
- schlepped around to those paver places that we mentioned above to find the best deal (more on that when the pavers arrive)
- called Miss Utility to confirm that there’s nothing buried under that area that we could dig into and somehow ruin (Miss Utility might be the local name, but they’re a public service group who contacts gas and water and electrical companies who then come out to mark things that are underground)
- dug out that pesky liriope (but we still have to remove the brick path, dig out more dirt, level things, add gravel, add sand, etc)
- made sure our bank account could support a pretty pricey project (well at least to us – the stone and other supplies like gravel, sand, & tools along with delivery costs may be around 1K, but considering we paid nearly 3K for our last patio, which was smaller, to be put in by the pros just weeks before our backyard wedding, we’re psyched to hopefully save a lot by doing it ourselves this time)
Thankfully we got confirmation that there’s nothing lurking under that side of the house from Miss Utility and we think we’ve even finalized a plan when it comes to cobblestone paver type as well as patio shape. More info/pics/sweating/rambling as we go. In the meantime, have any of you guys laid your own patios complete with digging, leveling, tamping, and lots of gravel and sand? We’re obnoxiously excited about it. Seriously, we need to get a life.
Psst- We announced this week’s contest winners, so click here to see if you’re one of them.
Psssst- Liriope, liriope, liriope. Just kidding.
Sarah says
Oh man. This is the project at my house that I have just been terrified to conquer. You guys always give me the confidence boost to just dive in. I have painted cabinets, changed light fixtures, refinished furniture, etc. etc. But being a single lady (no cats, thanks) the patio seems overwhelming. But I want one so, so badly. Here’s hoping this pushes me over the edge. The scariest part for me is all this talk about needing it to slope away from the house for drainage. I just don’t know if my compaction skills can make it happen.
Paige says
This is kind of unrelated, but did you guys watch the royal wedding this morning? They decorated the inside of Westminster Abbey with live trees! I’ve never seen anything like it, but in a good way.
Can’t to see how the completed patio looks! I totally fave faith that you’ll get it done in time.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! It was beautiful! John thought the ten minute commentary on fascinators (a type of hat I guess) was a bit much though. Boys! Haha.
xo,
s
Jordan G says
I shared the patio that we did last weekend on your facebook page. Man was that a lot of work! My muscles were so sore from lifting the pavers and then squatting down to place the pavers! Anyway, we saved a lot of money by finding our sand and such at a local place. We felt ridiculous because our order was so small compared to the huge orders they usually fill, but it was 50% of the cost of the sand/gravel stuff at Home Depot and Lowes for the patio base. Just wanted to share in case that helps!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We too discovered how much more affordable patio supplies from local places can be! Thank goodness because it’s a pretty expensive process to get all that stone, gravel, and sand!
xo,
s
Mary says
I love that yall have turned it into a drinking game, am i the only one that participated? Now, all i am doing at work is blogging.. Wait, thats all i ever do! Happy Weekend
Amanda says
My counts were 6 drinks, plus the three in the “pssst” section at the end. Hehe. Though I did not play, but I did expect more. ;)
Allison says
Ooo I’ve always wanted a big cobblestone patio for tons of BBQs and fun. So I’m looking forward to see you guys work your way through this. And in time for the party too. You can do it!
Jenny @ DIY Newlyweds says
Good luck with your patio! We installed a patio 2 summers ago and it was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (literally), but it was well worth it! Digging a base for the patio was the most grueling part, but since you’ve already removed the liriope and don’t have grass to cut out, you should be in good shape. And with 2 DIY pros like yourselves, I’m sure you can be done before Clara’s birthday!
You can check out a little slideshow of my patio installation process here: http://www.diynewlyweds.com/2009/11/backyard-makeover-reveal.html
Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- yours came out so well! Congrats!
xo,
s
Sara @ Russet Street Reno says
Well, you’ve posted our DIY patio as a Reader Redesign. It was backbreaking work. I recommend getting a sod cutter machine (not the manual one) if you are going through grass. That part was the worst. Well, maybe the digging down 9 inches in a 300 sq feet space was the worst…or the wheel-barrowing 11 tons of crushed limestone…or the 2 tons of sand…or trying to position the pavers perfectly…or maybe, it was getting rid of all the extra dirt? Well, you get the idea! HAHA
https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/12/reader-redesign-patio-perfection/
and here is a more detailed how-to I posted later:
http://www.russetstreetreno.com/2009/12/diy-or-die-patio.html
Can’t wait to see what you do!
YoungHouseLove says
You guys did such an amazing job with that! And the estimate for a professional job (over 8K!!!) blows me away. Congrats on saving a ton of money with good ol’ sweat equity!
xo,
s
Bethany Annechino says
Psssssssssssst…
http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2011/04/map-room.html
The pickled beams reminded me of the wash you did on yours. And, HELLO, maps!
YoungHouseLove says
AMAZING. I am in love.
xo,
s
Bethany Annechino says
Also, I really do think the potted plants on those old steps would be kinda cute. Perhaps at least until you can hack them off? I am excited to see all your plans come to life!
Alli says
I had a freaky weird dream last night that we co-hosted a birthday party for Clara and my three year old. The dream even had a discussion about the color scheme (lime and blue based on the Clara fabric). I woke up and realized maybe I spend too much time looking at your blog
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s awesome. At least we didn’t go with something crazy like navy and black for the scheme in your dream!
xo,
s
Monika says
lol@”that’s what she said”!!! :) Happy Friday guys, enjoy the weekend.
s leigh says
based on your drawing, i dont see any grass. As a parent I love sitting on my patio and watching the kids play out back!
YoungHouseLove says
Check out yesterday’s post (the one right before this) – we have tons of grass just beyond the patio (that gate on the left leads out to it) and we envision the patio for more kid friendly activities like playing with chalk and blowing bubbles.
xo,
s
Laura says
We put in our patio this time last year and planned to save the bucks of renting a sand compactor and had the bright idea to compact it by hand. DO NOT make the same mistake! It is completely worth the $50-$75 to rent one, because not only is it faster and less work on your part, it does a much better job! We have had no “sinkage” on any of our pavers. You still might need to get the hand packer (if you do not already have one) if you have any corners or edges against the house or tree or anything that would get in the way of the ‘machine.’ Have fun! It’s a lot of work but totally worth the moolah you will save!
Lauren S says
My husband & I put in a 800sf paver patio last summer. It wasn’t too bad, he started it and I came in about halfway through. After doing some tree rings out of wall block this year I wish I had been there in the beginning because I am a stickler for detail and I think it would look even better (he got a little lazy with the level). It definitely doesn’t look diy’ed but I think we could do an even better job now. All in all I love the feeling of accomplishment when I look at it.
Val says
That little enclosure is going to be a wonderful respite from the Virginia sun. I can’t wait to follow along with the patio construction, as I hope to do some “hardscaping” in my backyard eventually–once I can get rid of the cracked concrete.
It looks like you have some great plants to start with–I am currently obsessed with shade plants. White and fragrant flowers are great for areas you will hang out at night. Here are a few I’m planning for my shade garden:
http://dinkydoover.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-native-shady-garden.html
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
We’re currently in the same stage as you guys, but we’re doing stamped concrete. Well, someone else is pouring and stamping our concrete :) Creepy thing is, we live in a new neighborhood with no powerlines so everything is underground. I swear I didn’t realize this until I learned of the ‘call before you dig’ policy. So they marked our yard and strangely, our cable and powerlines cut right through one of our front gardens. That was some poor planning on the builder’s behalf!
Speaking of that’s what she said, did you catch Michael Scott’s last episode last night?!?! Ahh!
YoungHouseLove says
Not yet! It’s on the agenda for tonight. So sad about it though!
xo,
s
Wom-mom Ethne says
Ah, yardwork in shorts. Can’t wait. First item of business: planting blueberry bushes at my mom’s. :)
Molly says
Wow! Are things generally cheaper in Richmond? I wanted to get a paved driveway with similar cobblestones and *drumroll* it came out to $14k for just a 200 sq. ft driveway. Yes, it is madness here in the bay area (CA). I hate to say this, but I would happily pay $2500 for your old patio. I am so jealous!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We heard from the realtor that our driveway was “a 15K driveway” and we believe it! Thankfully the previous owners installed it a few years back so we just get to enjoy it without emptying the bank account!
xo,
s
Barb says
Your “talked for way too long about possible dimensions and even used a garden hose to map out possible shapes” made me laugh. We spent ALL of last summer deciding what our new deck was going to look like. Hopefully this summer we’ll actually get it built!
Melissa Arlena says
I’m anxious to hear all the details because we are on a sprucing up spree on the outside of our house this year. First was a new paved driveway, next month new siding and that just leaves me with a large planting bed to figure out and a gravel path that we want to update. I will be sending the hubby out to your post when it goes up to show him how easy it would be to do it ourselves ;) I know with everything else getting updated it is going to be the one spot that will bug me until we do some thing about it!!!
Amanda says
We’ve been trying to get rid of the liriope in our yard for years. My hubby and his brother had a similar liriope digging-up party last spring, but the darn stuff is still coming back, even if it is just in little bits here and there. Please keep us updated on this and if you see it starting to come back . . . I would love to hear how you get rid of it completely!! For your sake, I am hoping John and his crew were better diggers than my husband and bro-in-law!
Val says
Amanda, look for the “tuber”like root structure–you have to get that part out or it will resprout. It is sort of almond shaped, but sometimes larger (depending on the age of the plant), and light brown. Those strays should be able to be dug out individually with a spade. Good luck!
There are clump forming and spreading types of liriope, some more aggressive than others.
Kay says
I suppose this would not be the optimum time to tell you that I love liriope (sip). It likes Florida sun, semi and deep shade, Florida heat, uncharacteristic cold, floods, drought – and it doesn’t require mowing. You have been reported to and removed from the mailing list of Save the Liriope. Sip ;-) Gulp –> :-D
YoungHouseLove says
We love liriope! Check out yesterday’s post (the one right before this one) – we just have it everywhere! So making room for a family friendly patio still leaves plenty of the green grassy stuff nearly everywhere else on our property works for us!
xo,
s
Lola says
First off, you are awesome! I just love all of your funky designs and your wall-o-frames. But the question I am dying to know is, how are you able to do it with an adorable munchkin in tow?? Hubs and I are parents to an equally adorable 7 month old and cannot seem to even fold a basket of laundry or wash enough bottles in a day more or less revamp my entire home into a magazine spread! How do you do it?! Thanks:)
YoungHouseLove says
We usually can only work on projects together when Clara is napping or asleep for the night, so a lot of our projects (like the frame wall, etc) were done an hour at a time over naps or in the evening after 7:30 (her bedtime). And the rest of the time, one of us is on Clara duty and the other one is on blog duty (writing posts, answering comments, etc). It’s kind of crazy but it seems to work!
xo,
s
Michele says
Hey, are you hiding some liriope by the rain barrel now? Sneaky. You say you want to purge it, but you just can’t give it up, right?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s just waiting for one of our friends to come pick up the rest of her pile. We have more than enough around the rest of the house!
xo,
s
Jordan@the2seasons says
Good luck this will be fun to watch. We are putting in our patio this weekend after weekends of hauling out stone. Plus we will have two sunny days keeping my fingers crossed. Have a great weekend!
Emily says
Cant wait to see what you guys will create! My husband and I laid our walk way with the help of my parents and a friend and it looks amazing compared to the old concrete walkway and we saved tons of money! Will you be giving away/selling the rest of your monkey grass??!
Emily says
By the way, we’re in the Richmond are and used Southside Builders too :)
YoungHouseLove says
That small pile near the rain barrel is just waiting for our friend to return to get the rest of it (since she helped dig it up we promised her the rest). As for some of the other monkey grass on our property that we need to thin out, we definitely plan to list some of it on craigslist to get some free labor in exchange for the extra grass we don’t need!
xo,
s
Jael says
Reminds me of the How I Met Your Mother episode about Robin saying “but um” so often during her newscasts that college students turn them into drinking events. This link contains a clip of Ted and Barney testing the game:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/01/how_i_met_your_mother_recap_no.html
Love love love Ted!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, never seen that show but it looks hilarious. We’ll have to add it to the must-watch list.
xo,
s
Katrina says
You haven’t seen How I Met Your Mother yet? If you like Modern Family I’ll bet you’ll enjoy HIMYM.
YoungHouseLove says
I know we’re so behind on that bandwagon, but I bet we’ll get on it someday! Maybe we’ll Netflix all the old seasons…
xo,
s
gk says
ha. love HIMYM and the “but uhm” episode :)
good luck with the patio!
Funnelcloud Rachel says
Wow, I’m already impressed! I can’t believe you guys are tackling this yourselves -my back hurts just thinking about it!
[email protected] says
yay for yard work!!! Soooo fun!!! Can’t wait to see the paver patio! We’re going to do a mini-paver seating area on our front porch soon. :) Can’t wait to see the inspiration from you guys!
Vanessa says
One quick thing to be aware of: digging up a few inches of soil for a patio means you end up with A LOT of leftover dirt. Since your property is so big, you probably have some space to dump it, but otherwise, you’re going to need to think about how to get rid of all the extra dirt. People on craigslist will sometimes come and take it, but disposal is expensive otherwise. We learned the hard way going our tiny 9 x 12 foot patio.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! We’re planning to just shove it into a hidden corner in the back of our lot for now, but if any neighbors or friends wanna take some off our hands we’d be down with that too!
xo,
s
Mel says
I LOVE doing outside projects. We installed a 12′ by 12′ flagstone patio 2 years ago. We started with a bare surface, threw down some sand, laid the stone and filled in the joints with polymeric sand which hardens after being sprayed with water. It took us 1.5 months working only in the evenings and on weekends. It’s definitely important to have your level on hand and stay hydrated! Good luck guys, can’t wait to see the results!
kelsey says
two things: 1. i just learned how to spell liriope (i would have put an a after the l, i have never been able to spell!) and 2. i wish we lived near you to be one of those people to come and help you dig it up and take it away! we are harvesting from one place and re planting in another in our yard…i used to hate it, but my husband loves it so i have grown to love it too!
i can’t wait to see all the awesome cute and wonderful things that your creative minds come up with for Clara’s birthday party!
Tiffany says
It’s going to be very nice.
Kristin H. says
Is this ‘Burger’s Bathroom’ area? If so, did John & Co. run into any fun little surprises burried in all that liriope?! Hehe. Looks great :)
YoungHouseLove says
John cutely went through it all with a plastic bag over his hand to scoop out any presents. Haha. Best dog daddy ever.
xo,
s
Steve says
Hi, I have not read all the responses so this may have been suggested, but could you somehow use the brick you pull up to turn those old brick steps into a raised planter?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s totally a possibility!
xo,
s
Michelle B says
How many square feet is your patio addition? Just curious… we are going to be putting in a patio this spring and would love to follow along with you on cost as well as amount of time it’s taking you to complete various steps. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We think it’ll be around 300 square feet and already have learned that our 1K budget guess was too low. It might be $1,400 or so, but it still beats the $2,900 that we paid experts to make our smaller patio at the old house, so I guess we can’t be too mad about it, haha.
xo,
s
Kat says
My parents did their own patio a few years back.
They did all the tamping by hand and used the filler sand – and it looks great!
Another tip – they got used bricks too. They cleaned them all with the hose and a wire brush to get them clean-ish.
I am hoping to do a patio in our yard later this summer, so I will look forward to seeing how the progress goes for you guys!
Donna Huebsch says
This is going to be a great project! Looking forward to more photos as you go.
Your comment about laying out possible shapes with a garden hose brings back memories – we’ve done that more times than I can count! And the schlepping around looking for materials…I was doing that today, only it was for 8″ cedar lap planks, and also for siding. Woohoo – wild and crazy times, right?
Georgia says
Ooooh its going to look A-mazing~!
im so glad you got rid of that Grassy stuff, me no likey..
What does Burger think of the grass leaving his Yard? does he like the new sniffy areas or is he peeved he has to make new pee spots.. lol
YoungHouseLove says
Sometimes the long grass spooks him by tickling his leg and he jumps a million feet in the air. It’s hilarious. So he probably won’t miss the tall grass too much – especially since we’re keeping some garden areas all around the patio and he loved lounging on our patio furniture at the old house.
xo,
s
sistakt says
i am actually sipping a mimosa right now. thanks!
isabel says
this is not related to your post at all. but i was very surprised to not find your blog on here. http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/moms-with-style#_
i think sherry is definitely a very stylish mom.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re sweet to say that. Sadly, I hardly think black t-shirts and a ponytail with paint in it is stylish. Haha. But most days I do take a shower! Score.
xo,
s
becky says
We actually laid our own pavers right before our reception last year. It took longer and cost more than expected. But it was well worth it. Our dirt in the yard was, well, HARD AS ROCK. It took a lot of water and muscle to get the dirt at the level we wanted it at..(apprx. 7 inches down). Once we laid the pea gravel and weed fabric the project moved rather quickly. Tips: Tamp the pea gravel really well. Then once you are ready to lay the sand (I would recommend getting the huge bags (100 lbs or so) of sand, rather than a bunch of smaller bags of sand). It’s cheaper and you can shovel the sand into the space, rather than open each bag and dump… Okay-I digress.. So, this is the part where you will make it all pretty and level right before you lay the pavers. Use two PVC pipes about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and however long you want.. Lay both pipes down along your edges and fill in between the pipes with the sand until the level of sand is a little bit over the pipes.. (did I lose you yet??) Once you do that, take a 2×4 or similar straight object and place on top of the two PVC pipes and DRAG it along the pipes, creating a flat surface. Once the surface is completely flat, you will have a level surface to lay pavers. Then remove the pipes carefully and fill the empty spots with sand by hand. and Voila, you have a flat, level surface for pavers…. You’ll also need a metal circular saw blade that cuts bricks…. We got one at HD for about $17. Prepare for lots of brick dust!!! Depending on size of patio, you may need a few blades.
good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- thanks for all those tips! We saw that PVC & 2×4 tip in a how-to video we just watched so it looks awesome and we can’t wait to try it! And we understood what you were talking about. Haha.
xo,
s
alison says
Wow DIY! Can’t wait to see you two take on the patio. We have tons of stone work in our backyard that was (fortunately) put in by previous owners.
And “forget you” is a PG version? I’m so out of the loop on these things.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s really called “F*&% You.” Scandalous!
xo,
s
Melissa @ HOUSEography says
Wow! The results will be great but back-breaking. We watched a neighbor DIY a patio and then hired ours out… After all that work, you better be doing some serious deals with the devil for a sunny birthday party day!
Virginia says
We have a hose marking out a space for a patio in our backyard right now! I am really nervous about this project, especially because there are a lot of tree roots in the area. (And what if I chose the wrong area! I can’t change my mind later!)
I am really excited to see how you guys do with this project!
Allie says
Lookin’ good! I just know y’all are going to love the space once it’s done :)
On a side note, did you see the Nate Show today? The bedroom he designed reminded me sooo much of yours! Ed, the natural rug and the vintage-looking dresser… I kept thinking John and Sherry’s room!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man I would have loved to see that! I’ll have to go to his site for the clip. Sadly Richmond is one of the only markets to not get his show (it’s just not on!) – and they even have it in parts of Canada! So sad. Someday I’ll get to watch my main man Nate on my own tv!
xo,
s
Crystal says
We laid our own patio with the help of my parents and some friends (we also dug a drainage ditch and painted a two story house) in four long days! It was hard work but we had a blast! There are a couple photos here – http://happygroupblog.com/blog/?p=97 and then a couple of shots from two months later – http://happygroupblog.com/blog/?p=109
ps I love your blog! My husband and I are slowly making our first house ‘ours’ and your blog is an awesome resource!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s amazing! Four days is seriously a world record or something for getting that done!
xo,
s
r8chel says
It must be so satisfying to start getting that area cleaned up. We’re hosting a picnic on Sunday, so I’m hoping to get some flower beds cleaned up this weekend too! I have much grander plans for someday down the road, but first things first…
Shannon says
We’re in RVA and my husband and I will gladly join another liriope digging party if you need to get rid of more. We just put a paver patio in our backyard and get real (not WEEDS) grass on Monday. Our yard looked like this http://bit.ly/ks3T4N (ahhhhhhhhh! scary) when we moved in, so I totally know how great it feels to get everything cleaned up and moving in the right direction.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that yard looks like you guys had a lot of work going on! Congrats on the new patio. As for liriope, we’ll definitely share the craigslist ads that we toss up for any interested locals!
xo,
s
margaux says
am i the only one who took you up on the drinking game suggestion…. DErunk. ;-)