Home Improvement on Speed: New Patio

A few years ago, Keith and my Dad built a deck in the backyard. It's a beautiful deck, but it's kinda marooned in the yard. Because of the location of the back porch, plus the air conditioner next to the porch, it wasn't possible to build it right next to the house. So for 2 years, it has been on its own. An island, as it were. The plan was always to add in a patio that connected the back porch to the deck, tying it all together and also giving us a space to put the grill AND get rid of the bare patch of dirt that is Beckett's launching pad into the rest of the yard for his epic squirrel chases.

A few weeks ago, it happened! We decided the project was on, and Keith turned into a machine. We chose some pavers, and Keith ordered them plus all the gravel, sand, etc. that would be needed. It showed up at our house on Saturday morning. Keith and my Dad spent all day Saturday digging out the grass, dirt, etc. so the site was ready on Sunday to start laying the gravel and then pavers down.

On Sunday it was a group effort: Keith, Dad, and brother-in-law Josh worked on the patio while I and my sister Amy worked on the flower/ivy bed nearby, clearing out loose pebbles from the previous deck project, pulling up weeds, and bringing in new dirt and plants. Erin and my Mom watched the babies and helped with some indoor projects. And also fed us, which is very important:)

(Sidenote: Have I ever mentioned how nice it is to live near your family? I highly recommend it for many reasons, and large home improvement projects is definitely high on the list!)

By Sunday evening, nearly everything was finished except for a few pavers that needed to be cut to fit the angled sides. Keith worked on it some Monday night, and my Dad came back over on Wednesday evening and they finished cutting/placing pavers and added the finishing sand to lock everything in place.



Now that the project is over, it's hard to believe it took us so long to get it started. It makes a huge difference, and the deck actually looks like it belongs there and is a natural extension of the house. The main obstacle to us tackling this project wasn't time and effort, but money. Even so, I'm glad we finally bit the bullet and just went ahead and did it. Just in time for gathering around the fire pit on the patio in cool weather!