Doing Homework - The Side Yard Project

So it's Friday June 5th 2009 and the project begins. Well we actually started the 4th shoveling up the "Bluestone" that was laid next to the house. The "Bluestone" is commonly used to pave areas when concrete or asphalt might be a little too expensive. It's OK for parking surfaces but we were tired of the uneven surface and appearance. So we decided to use sand and concrete paving 1 foot square paving stones.


The next step was to have sand delivered and the paving stones. The sand came first on the 5th, and after digging out most of the "Bluestone" we spread some of the sand and waited for the pavers. Here is Sharyn getting things ready to start paving.


The 160 pavers arrived June 6th and we were off like a herd of turtles.


Two days later here is where we had gotten 41 down 109 to go...


... and here is the 109. Under the tarp is the sand waiting to be used.


Looking at this shot it looks like most of the job is done but it's only 25.63% of the original estimate of 160.


We also got 7 concrete building blocks to put around the York Air Conditioner since it was lower than the new surface.


Then came the odd row that was not synced with the first three rows.


So on we went laying pavers and praying it would all work out in the end.


It was looking pretty bad but we were too tired to care this day...


... so on we went relentlessly. Not really, we stopped and took the trip to Maryhill and the Wallowa Lake and Mountains. When we got to Hells Canyon I couldn't help but think of our canyon of concrete,


When we got home the project was still waiting and had expanded to go beyond the sheds and to the edge of the back yard.


We bought 11 more pavers and had 13 that were next to the concrete pad already in place and did you notice the out of sync blocks at the middle of the project are still not lined up.


the decision to add more blocks came when we only had two left.


The bluestone we had dug up looked nice along the fence line and makes a better border than a main surface.


It's not perfect but it's a much better surface for the mower and wheelbarrow.


Then we solved the off sync problem by adding red regular sized bricks on the house side and ...

... wow, they look great and all lined up...


and a gently sloping ramp down toward the back yard. As an added bonus the slope allowed us to not have to raise the sheds and yet we can still open the doors.


We liked the red trim next to the house so much we bought 15 more to finish the back yard end of the new walkway/side patio.

The dark soil is a slight slope to back yard level and is soil and grass seed that's already coming up.


So it's all over but the shouting and a little dusting of QUIKRETE® (a concrete powder) between the pavers in a few spots that get more rain than others...


... like under the awning...

...that will get drips between the first three large concrete pavers. The QUIKRETE® once dry is concrete and will eliminate loss of sand in a rainstorm when they start in the fall.


Now the final job is to get rid of the extra sand and that's tough. The new red garbage can is full holding our emergency supply and Mount Sandy has dwindled a little with our neighbors Sharon taking a little and Gail having taken a bunch. I may have to put a sign out or maybe just put it in my drop fertilizer and raise the yard a little.


All the hard work was worth it and we really like the appearance ...

... when we finished. Sharyn even created a little rock and broken paver garden between the shed and the back garden. It all is just too special for these two senior citizens to have completed. Now if we can only get two one hour complementary massage treatments everything would be perfect.

Scrabble Score Scrabble Queen 379 - the Contender 358

Quote of the Day

"I think that anything that you do, any accomplishment that you make, you have to work for. And I've worked very hard in the last ten years of my life, definitely, and I can tell you that hard work pays off. It's not just a cliche." ~ Cameron Diaz