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.

Landscape project day one

About five hours ago I was thinking the $30k quotes for our landscaping were not so bad. I may have even contemplated calling one of them as the start of the project was a bit overwhelming. I'm off the next few days to get a head start and the first big delivery was this morning. Two dump trucks dropped off 16 cubic yards of crushed gravel base material. Most of the day was spent moving it to the parking pad, spreading it around, and running over it with the plate compactor. This job would be impossible to do without the Bobcat and at one point I thought was impossible to make progress with just one person. However, with the Bobcat it apparently is a one man job! Most of the base is where it needs to be or staged in a convenient location for use later. Tomorrow some of the 14 pallets of pavers are coming as well as the setting sand. Currently I'm taking my siesta, but will probably go drive the Bobcat later and move some of the mountains of dirt I've been growing in the backyard.

Bobcat and Bunnies

We spent the weekend playing in the dirt, getting the turnaround pad and driveway ready for a delivery of gravel this week and pallets of pavers shortly thereafter.  Our framing contractor continues to move at a glacial pace (as you can see, the framing is exactly where it was a few days ago still) so we've stopped waiting for him and are proceeding with the DIY portion of the garage/driveway now.  In order to prep for laying the pavers, we had to dig several inches down for the parking pad and driveway strips - which doesn't sound like much until you multiply several inches by the approximately 90 feet of our driveway.  In short, we were very grateful to own the bobcat this weekend!  It took two days but we're in good shape for the next step, gravel, now.  Then it's sand, tamping and leveling, and eventually pavers and grass.  There's still a ton of work, and a lot of weekends, ahead but this was a good start.

And on a more cuddly note, we discovered a clutch (nest?  brood?  I'm not sure what the technical term is) of teeny, tiny bunnies living in the overgrown grass of the yard.  I was carrying tools across the yard as we were getting ready to start work on Saturday and saw something furry wiggle right as I was about to step on it, leapt to the side, and then came back to investigate.  And there they were, several baby bunnies wiggling around in a little hollow.  Since they were right in the path of the bobcat, we built them a protective cover out of scrap wood so they wouldn't get squished (of course, we removed it when we were done each day so mama bunny could get back to them).  I'm afraid we may have some deaf bunnies after the bobcat trundled right by them for several hours this weekend but at least they are still safe.  It's just a good thing one of them moved at the right time for me to notice them because bobcats and bunnies do not mix!

Backsplash almost done

The backsplash turned out better than expected. The tile isn't something one would pick to exactly match white marble, but the end result is great. It adds an interesting texture and shape to the kitchen. We just have to grout it and it's all done. Our contractor also framed a little more of the garage. They're not the fastest crew on the block, but hopefully they'll get it done. All of our materials for the outdoor hardscaping will be here next week so lots more work ahead... And lots of Bobcat driving!