I’ll be honest. This is my FAVORITE upgrade. I’ve been talking about doing this for a while now, but had put it on the back burner due to cost and time constraints. However, I recently sold some free furniture that I refurbished so I had some extra cash and this seemed like the best use for it.
So when I bought this house there was a HUGE, rotting doghouse that used to be in this big empty spot that my father graciously helped me tear down. The “mud pit” left behind has been driving me mad for months.
After the last rain storm I’d had enough and decided to try and eye it out and estimate a price. This is what it looked like a couple weeks ago when I decided “it’s time”. I’m visual so I had to use the wood and see what it would look like in size afterwards. I called the dig line just to make sure I wasn’t covering/digging around anything and lucked out in that department (although my plans for the side of the house were crushed once I found out a gas line was there).
I used larger four-in-one pavers since they gave me the look I wanted, but less to carry. I also have a sandbox I’ve been trying to get rid of (what can I say, I think they’re pretty gross) so I repurposed the sand from it for this project. Getting the sand level with the existing concrete pad I was expanding on was the most difficult part. Although, carrying the pavers was pretty cumbersome as well….
Next, I edged with a different paver and then I filled the seems with the Paver Set Polymeric Sand in Brown/Tan (there’s a Gray option as well). My daughters had a blast being little helpers and getting it all in the crevices.
Once we got most of the sand off the blocks we started the wet down/hardening process. I have to say, we love it. It actually turned out better than I hoped. Our 24 hour setting period ended this morning, so I hope to put the table back out here tonight so we can have dinner on our new and improved patio this evening!
I’m so excited to have some real backyard living space now. Life is good!! Please note, I do plan to seal it at some time in the future, but we haven’t done it yet. More pictures to come later!
Did you get any big projects done over Labor Day weekend?
Found your blog from Penny Hoarder. Keep blogging you’re doing a great job! I am also with you on googling before calling a repair man or taking my car in. Can’t believe I used to take my car in to get headlights changed!
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Thank you Jill! lol. What did we do before google and YouTube??
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Did you lay the pavers over top of the existing concrete patio?
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Yes, we just had open grass and the typical contractor grade 10×10 concrete “patio”. I made the base in the grass even with the concrete slab if not slightly higher.
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Interesting. I have a concrete patio that was apparently laid over top of the main sewer line. A couple years ago, I had to replace the sewer line, and they had to bust up some of the concrete. So now, I have a 2 foot wide strip of grass (well, more like weeds) running down the middle of my patio, lol. I was going to try to fill it in, but now I’m wondering if I’d rather do something like this.
I just found your blog and am enjoying it quite a bit.
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Thank you! It’s been a crazy year with all the remodeling, but it’s so nice to see it come together little by little. 🙂
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