Monday, January 20, 2014

Patio Part 4: The End



It is finished!  YAY!  After a long day Saturday,  and yet more trips to Lowes for additional supplies, we were able to sand the joints, and lock the pavers in place, using the polymeric sand.  Then began the task of back filling dirt around the whole patio, to hold the edges in place (along with the paver edge strips), and to ease the transition from paver to ground.

We may have to trench in a French drain between the patio and the storm shelter, to ensure water doesn't pool up there.  Plus we have some stepping stones to set to cross between patio and shelter than need to be placed.

We still need more dirt to finish the patio transition, but that will have to wait until either next weekend, or the next payday.  Overall, though, we both like how it came out, and despite what we see as glaring errors, it really is fine.  The few spare pavers will be stored in the garage, and the polymeric sand and extra unused supplies will go back to Lowes for a refund. 

We learned a lot during this project, and it went more smoothly than I thought it would.  There are things we would do differently, were we to start over.  But on the whole, I am pleased.

Lessons learned:
First:  Don't believe the coverage area listed for the paver base.  It isn't 2 cu.ft. but is much more like 1 cu.ft.
Second:  Set your stakes and string lines first.  Then measure your depth necessary and do your volume calculations.
Third:  Think about which way you want to run your scree-pipes.  It's doubly important if you are covering a slab as we did, since it is your main reference height and sets your slope, especially if your patio will be larger than the slab.
Fourth:  The Gorilla Cart is totally worth the money!  It easily saved us a full day's labor just in moving materials from the van to the patio.
Fifth:  A Lesche digging tool is really helpful.  It's thinner and flatter and stronger than the usual garden trowel.  It costs a lot more, too.

7 comments:

  1. It turned out great! I'm impressed. And I like how you're got lessons learned to help others. :-)

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  2. It looks great and I know you will enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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  3. We have a similar project slated for this year but with 18 x 18 pavers/patio blocks because we want to expand the existing 10 x 10 to the size of the house..oh happy day!!

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  4. It really looks nice. no doubt you will put it to good use!

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  5. That looks amazing MW! You guys do some good work. Thank you for all the great info and advice. I do so love DIYers. Makes my life sooo much easier. Plus I got not one but two tips on new tools. Hurray!!

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  6. Thanks for the kind words, folks. We did decide earlier this week, to redo the sand in the joints, so I spend a day digging out all the old sand, and then DH blew it clear with the Stihl blower. I spent the next day resanding the joints properly with the polymeric sand.

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  7. I love it Vic! I can't believe how beautifully it turned out. We are in the process of doing essentially the same thing at our house, but being unhandy wimps we hired it out.

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