Pavers, pavers everywhere

The backyard is starting to come together...dirt piles notwithstanding.  All the prep work last weekend paid off in the form of patio progress this weekend.  We had a few other things going on this weekend and got rained out on Sunday afternoon but still managed to lay most of the patio and, since Brian had the day off from work today, built the second, bigger retaining wall.  Each wall block weighs about 60 pounds and the wall took 14 blocks per row, times 4 rows, equaling about 3300 pounds or a ton and half.  We should have called this an outdoor P90X workout and charged people to come over and lift the blocks!  Ultimately, we got all the blocks moved from the pallet in the front yard over to the back wall but this job is one that we're glad to have done.  And we're really happy with the way the walls are turning out.  We'll finish laying the patio, plant some bamboo and flowers around the retaining walls, install the fire pit, get a grill ordered and installed, and be ready to enjoy the patio - not quite in time for summer but hopefully in time for the fall.

End of a Long Weekend

We worked rather hard this weekend for not much visible progress but we're learning that sometimes that's how it goes.  Brian's friend Tim was in town on Saturday and was a huge help in moving the heavy pavers and wall blocks into the backyard - the pavers are just under 20 pounds each and the wall blocks are about 60 pounds so there's a lot of lifting involved!  And Adam came back today (thanks, Adam!) so we had plenty of help over two days but there was even more prep work to be done than expected.  It didn't help that we had a false start on Saturday afternoon with the patio layout and wall.  At first, we thought we wouldn't need a retaining wall at all on the right side of the patio but then it became clear that there was too much slope to just taper the landscape as planned.  Then we figured we would install a retaining wall flush against the patio and spent a fair amount of time laying string lines, measuring it out, and digging a trench for a straight wall (see the first picture).  And then...we reconsidered.  Putting the wall flush against the patio would mean that the wall caps would look like a border on the patio - but only on that one side.  We decided to sleep on it and this morning came up with a new and better plan but one that required basically starting over.  We've now installed a curved retaining wall a few feet off the patio and will have landscaping between the wall and the patio to give the patio some more green space and shape.  So, we had to fill in the original trench, dig a new one, and install each 60 pound wall block - not an easy task but we got it done!

Then we had a rain delay when the storm hit so we moved inside and grouted the kitchen backsplash.  We continue to creep towards completion in the kitchen.  We still need to install the crown molding over the cabinets but it's all starting to shape up now.  Once the rain cleared, we want back out and moved the gravel around (because what better time to move gravel than after it has rained and is extra heavy?) and compacted it down to create a level patio.  I'm glad we did the parking pad first to get some experience because there's very little room for error on the patio - it needs to be straight from side to side but sloped slightly away from the house so we need to lay string lines with the gravel, sand, and the pavers to keep everything straight and level.  It's a much more involved process and likely to be a lot slower but we're ready now to get started on laying the stone next weekend.

Garage framing... Slowly

And I mean sllllllooooowwwwwlllllyyyy. Framing guys got the LVL's up and looks to be ready for the joists and 2nd floor. Hopefully they'll make some good progress tomorrow and Friday.

Parking Pad Completed

We spent another long day in the backyard but it paid off in a finished parking pad!  As usual, the finish work took nearly as much time as the bulk of the project as we had to lay the outside rows, cut the angles into the pad, and install the edging.  We used a masonry blade on the circular saw to cut through the pavers and it worked really well - but was incredibly dusty as you can see!  We'll still have to do a bit more work on the pad when we install the driveway strips but for now, we're calling this project done and moving next weekend to the patio installation.  Current paver count - three pallets down, nine to go.

Paver party

We spent a long day in the backyard but made a huge amount of very visible progress, laying nearly all of the parking pad in one day.  We owe a huge thank you to our friend Adam, who gave up his entire Saturday to come and haul concrete pavers and sand around our backyard - the extra set of hands was a tremendous help!  The pavers are CST Contempra in Hickory - a nice mix of gray and brown - and we have two sizes, 9 x 9 and 6 x 9, that we're laying in a 3 by 1 pattern.  We finished prepping the pad yesterday and went over it another time this morning with the vibrating compactor, then laid in and smoothed a base of sand (every grain of which had to be shoveled into a wheelbarrow and then trucked to the back - thanks again, Adam!).  Then it was time to lay the pavers - all 350 sq ft of them.  I have to say, I was surprised at how much we got done in a single day - it's much faster than tiling once you get going.  Tomorrow will be less sheer effort and more skill as we need to install the edging, add the outside rows, and then cut the pavers on an angle to finish up the pad.  More pictures to follow!    

 

 

   

Landscape project day three

Not a lot got done visually on my last day off Wednesday, but I did get a lot done. The concrete contractor came to cut a straight line at the garage door. Don't ask why this wasn't done when they poured the pad! It ended up taking us a couple hours of hard labor to cut and smash through 10 inches of concrete in some parts, but the pad is now straight and ready for pavers tomorrow if the weather holds up. We also got a jump start on seeding part of the backyard. Another few weeks and hopefully we will have a beautiful outdoor space! And no the framing contractors haven't worked all week... I think I could have built the garage faster by myself.

Landscape project day two

Lots more progress today on the yard. I moved around all the dirt piles and smoothed everything out as best I could. The pavers and sand were delivered so as you can see there's a ton of work to do in the coming weeks! We'll plant some grass in the back tonight to get the lawn established to finish off the day. Still no framing contractors today so the garage is still just a few walls.