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!