Re-doing our backyard has been quite the process. We started with a pretty blank slate, there was grass in about half of the yard, 4 sick azalea bushes, an ugly tree, and a tilled up mud pit from the old owners. We wanted a yard to hang out in and enjoy and knew it'd be quite the process getting there! Coming up with a plan and finding the stone we wanted for the patio was a feat in itself. We've been working on it since mid-March (when I say "WE" I mean that it's been a group effort. Our family and friends have been so helpful pitching in to get the seemingly endless job done! THANK YOU, YOU ROCK!). Jason and his dad Dale laid the patio about a month ago over an exhausting weekend, we've been working on the other bits and pieces since then.
Here's how it's all gone down: The sod and 5" of dirt were removed, gravel wheel-barrowed in and compacted, 1" of sand laid over the top, pavers placed and leveled after that. Edging placed to keep it all nice & square and tight. Raised beds constructed and put in place, beds filled & we started planting, arbor made for the entry to the yard, tree removed & hauled away, arbor #2 made for the end of one of the raised beds (kiwi plant to be shared with the neighbor coming soon!), rain barrels moved to the non-visible side of our house, mini-drainage swale made for the garage to drain into, garage gutters fixed, and more garden planted! Whoa baby it's been a busy time!
We still have about 3 yards of dirt to move from the unfinished half of our yard. We are hoping to plant grass there once the massive dirt pile is gone, but we aren't quite sure how we're going to go about that. We thought about paying someone to come and haul it away, but they all know how much work that will be and charge accordingly! There's still work to be done but it's been an amazing transformation already! We even ate dinner outside a couple times this week (thank you sunny days!), what a joy it was to finally get to enjoy our new patio & ever changing yard. Ella LOVED it too!
Hopefully more changes coming soon!
Here's how it's all gone down: The sod and 5" of dirt were removed, gravel wheel-barrowed in and compacted, 1" of sand laid over the top, pavers placed and leveled after that. Edging placed to keep it all nice & square and tight. Raised beds constructed and put in place, beds filled & we started planting, arbor made for the entry to the yard, tree removed & hauled away, arbor #2 made for the end of one of the raised beds (kiwi plant to be shared with the neighbor coming soon!), rain barrels moved to the non-visible side of our house, mini-drainage swale made for the garage to drain into, garage gutters fixed, and more garden planted! Whoa baby it's been a busy time!
We still have about 3 yards of dirt to move from the unfinished half of our yard. We are hoping to plant grass there once the massive dirt pile is gone, but we aren't quite sure how we're going to go about that. We thought about paying someone to come and haul it away, but they all know how much work that will be and charge accordingly! There's still work to be done but it's been an amazing transformation already! We even ate dinner outside a couple times this week (thank you sunny days!), what a joy it was to finally get to enjoy our new patio & ever changing yard. Ella LOVED it too!
Hopefully more changes coming soon!
Just after the bushes along the garage were cut down
Laying out the patio plan with stakes...we wondered, "is it big enough?"
Jason digging out the sod, he then dug out 5-6" of the soil to make way for the patio
We had Mt. Scott Fuel Co deliver a yard of sand and 3 yards of gravel to put as a base under the patio
Gravel is down and compacted (pictures sure made that look like a quick easy job!), we rented a plate compactor from a local stone place, well worth the $40 rental fee!
The two pallets of blue stone pavers just waiting their turn
What a tedious job! Jason made a specific layout of all the pavers and where they went, it was like a big jigsaw puzzle. Dale and Jason worked hard to make sure each stone was level and sloping away from the house so it drains well.
Getting there...waiting for the path to be compacted then laid
Ella helping sweep the sand into the cracks between the pavers
Placing and filling the raised beds
2 comments:
This is fabulous you guys! Love the raised planting beds. You do great work.
Lots of work but worth every minute! Great job! Love you guys and miss you much!
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