Monday, February 16, 2015

Pavers, Pavers and Yep, More Pavers!

 
Spring is coming, time to start planning for any larger projects you'll be taking on this season.  If a paver patio or walkway is in your future, don't skip the prepwork, it truly is the most important part of your project.  On this one, I lucked out, my husband and the boys did nearly all the prepwork and then I swooped in to lay the pavers.  I really got the easy job. 
 
For the prepwork, dig out your area, roughly 8" deep.  You'll be needing about 5" of rock for a base layer, compacted good.  Add your border pieces and then a 1" layer of sand on top of that for your pavers to set in.  Level it out good, a few pictures down you can see we screeded ours with a piece of wood. 

Now you're ready for the fun to begin!
Hubby has already compacted and is now putting in the edging.  
 
Our makeshift screed to help pull and level out the sand base layer.
 
Me, figuring out the pattern.  Took me nearly this entire first pass before I could put the picture of the pattern away.  I'm a little slow, but I got it!

Now we're getting somewhere.  It took me a weekend and then some to get it completed.  The boys were with me bringing pavers and keeping me supplied (well, most of the time, you know how boys are).
 
Ready for the border to go in. 

This was a huge patio, turned out beautifully.  Can you imagine what it'd look like now if the prepwork had not been so good!  It'd be a mess!
 
Compacting.
 
 This is how we ended that season.  They had us come back the following year and complete the circle around the tree and add a small retaining wall off the back of the patio.

 
 Hubby working on the retaining wall.
 
 Almost done, still have some finishing touches to take care of.

Almost ready for planting.
 
 
Time to get the grass seeded and our part is done.  They are going to plant it themselves.  Turned out beautifully.
 
Do you have any hardscape projects planned for this season?  Any retaining walls, patios or other structural pieces to your master plan?  I do, of course.  Not sure how far I'll get this year but planning is part of the fun.
 
 
 

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