Ideas That Will Make Your Patio Awesome This Summer
We moved into a new home last fall and we are SO excited to spend lots of time in our new patio space this summer! We have been working on our backyard patio. Last weekend we installed a Hanging Garden!
This was our space in our home in Daybreak and we loved the covered porch that was right off of the patio in our home there. I wrote a post about how easy it is to create an Outdoor Room.
Striking The Diy Concrete Patio
Move a strikeoff across the form to level the concrete. On large jobs, do this batch-by-batch, rather than after all the cement is placed. Move the board slowly along the form, using a side-to-side, sawing motion be sure to make two passes. Even on narrow forms, two people will make the work faster and more efficient. If necessary, a third person can shovel extra concrete into any corners to save time.
Smoothing concrete patio surface
If you’re working on a very small walkway leading to your patio, you can skip this step.) After striking off, use a darby or bull float-depending on the size of your project-for the initial finishing, to smooth down high spots and fill small hollows left after striking off.
Use the darby on small DIY concrete projects. Move it in overlapping arcs, then repeat with overlapping straight, side-to-side strokes. Keep the tool flat, don’t let it dig in. For larger jobs, use a bull float . Push it away from you with its leading edge raised slightly. Pull it back nearly flat overlap your passes.
Edging concrete
Giving your Do It Yourself concrete slab or sidewalk a curved edge will help it resist chipping and prevent stub-toes or tripping accidents. To edge the cement, begin by running a mason’s trowel between the concrete and the outer edges of the slab form . Follow with an edger . Run it back and forth to smooth and compact the concrete. Unless the tool has a toboggan end, raise the leading edge slightly as you move it.
Snap A Base Line And 2 Perpendicular Lines
Snapping chalk lines directly in the sand is the best way to keep your bricks running straight. For the running bond pattern, youll only need a baseline and two lines perpendicular to the baseline, offset by half the width of a brick. Mark the rough center and snap a line at right angles using this method:
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Select The Patio Space
Confirm that the patio location will work for gravel. Steep places will not do well with this project. Because pea gravel is rounded and smooth, its angle of repose can be as low as 20 degrees at steeper pitches, it will begin to shift. Heavy foot traffic can disturb gravel and create a mess. If an unusual amount of water is coursing through the area, the water can easily wash away the gravel.
How To Complete The Base For Your Patio
Remove the guides and fill in the remaining space with sand.
Finish the Base
With the gravel base compacted, install galvanized steel edging around the perimeter of the base . This edging marks the outside of the 11-foot square to be filled by the pavers. Edging is also available in plastic or aluminum.
The final base material is a one-inch layer of sand.
Spread the sand over the gravel base to a depth of one inch. Screed the sand with a 2×4 using a pair of 1-inch PVC pipe and a depth guide . You can create similar guides by sawing wood into long, 1-inch thick strips. Then remove the guides and fill in the remaining sand.
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Ways To Take The Edge Off Your Patio
If you are not a green thumb, have little time for plant care, or simply are not in love with growing plants, you may well wonder, “Should I even bother incorporating plants into my patio plans?” Here is one argument that may sway you: Plants help soften the harsh, straight lines of a rectilinear patio. But if you are dead set against growing plants, there is another way to “take the edge off”: Build a patio with a rounded edge, as in this photo.
Patio And Pathway Inspiration
Update your patio, build a new walkway, or install a fire pit for yard thats perfect for summer shindigs.
A long-lasting patio is a lot like a smooth paint jobits all about the prep work. Rush to put pavers down on a faulty base, and it might take only a few seasons for the stones to shift and become a tripping hazard.
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Select The Right Tree To Grow Near Your Patio
It is a real treat to be able to appreciate a dazzling fall-foliage display from your own patio. Just be careful in your plant selection if you will be growing the tree right near your patio, since, as mentioned earlier, tree roots can damage hard-surface patios. Japanese maple trees double as great fall-color trees and relatively safe trees to grow around patios.
There are also shrubs that you can grow for fall color. Being smaller than trees, shrubs also are generally less threatening to hardscape structures.
How To Compact Gravel For Your Patio Base
Use a plate compactor to compact the gravel, creating a firm and long-lasting base for the patio.
Lay the Base
Once the patio layout is done, you’re ready to excavate the area. Dig deep enough to allow for the base material under the pavers.
Pavers vary in thickness. The rule of thumb is to dig to the thickness of the paver, plus another six inches for a solid base.
Our pavers are 2-1/2″ thick and we want them to be level with the ground. We need six inches of base material plus 2-1/2″ for the paver height, so we are digging 8-½” deep.
It’s a good idea to create a slight slope away from the house to encourage water runoff a 3″ slope over a 12′ patio should be fine.
Now it’s time to add the base material. First, fill the excavation with compactable gravel, to a depth of five inches, tamping it down as you go. Rake the top surface smooth and level with a steel rake . To check for high and low points and to make sure your area is level, place a long, straight 2×4 on edge across the area then place three-foot level on the 2×4, adjust the gravel as necessary .Use a plate compactor to compact the gravel, which will create a firm and long-lasting base for the patio . You can rent a plate compactor for as little as $50 a day. For best results work the compactor in a circular motion and go over all areas at least twice.
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Create A Pebble Mosaic
With myriad options for stone colors and sizesnot to mention endless variations in layoutthe design of a pebble mosaic for your yard or garden is limited only by your imagination. If this outdoor project is on your to-do list this summer but you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few fun examples of pebble patterns to get you started. We hope the hardest part of the project is picking your favorite.
How To Create A Patio
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Most people think of a patio as just a small area of garden covered with paving stones rather than grass or flower beds. However, a patio deserves to be much more than that. A patio can serve as a place for many daily activities, from a child’s play area when the grass is too wet to an entertainment area for barbecues on long summer evenings. And it can serve as an ideal place to relax in. When creating a patio, the main focus is on the paving and the wall texture, both of which are covered as distinct topics within this article.
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A Challenging Project Thats Well Worth The Effort
If youre already familiar with what it takes to install a paver pathway then you should be able to use that knowledge when installing a patio as well, provided youre using the same technique. The project would be challenging but also rewarding. You can check out thediyvillage if youre curious to see how everything progresses and how the new pathway starts to take shape, little by little.
Using large paver bricks can be a practical decision as it means youll probably be able to install all of them quicker and that youll have an easier time creating a flat surface. Of course, that will influence the design and the structure of your new paver patio so be sure to take all the details into account before you make a purchase. Keep in mind that every DIY project is different. For example, the project featured on jhalvorson had to take into account the lack of grass in the shady areas of the patio and that meant a whole lot of mulch was needed.
How To Lay Out & Excavate A Patio Site
1. Lay out a rough project outline with a rope or hose. Use a carpenterâs square to set perpendicular lines. To create the actual layout, begin by driving wood stakes near each corner of the rough layout. The goal is to arrange the stakes so they are outside the actual project area, but in alignment with the borders of the project. Where possible, use two stakes set back 1 ft. from each corner, so strings intersect to mark each corner . Note: In projects built next to permanent structures, the structure will define one project side.
2. Connect the stakes with masonâs strings. The strings should follow the actual project outlines. To make sure the strings are square, use the 3-4-5 triangle method: measure and mark points 3 ft. out from one corner along one string, and 4 ft. out along the intersecting string at the corner. Measure between the points, and adjust the positions of the strings until the distance between the points is exactly 5 ft. A helper will make this easier.
3. Reset the stakes, if necessary, to conform to the positions of the squared strings. Check all corners with the 3-4-5 method, and adjust until the entire project area is exactly square. This can be a lengthy process with plenty of trial and error, but it is very important to the success of the project, especially if you plan to build on the concrete surface.
8. Lay a subbase for the project . Pour a 5″-thick layer of gravel, and tamp until the gravel is even and compressed to 4″ in depth.
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How To Build A Diy Patio For Less Than $300
Wondering how to build a large patio that looks amazing for less than $300? Keep reading!
I am immensely proud of this project. I sit in my garden every morning drinking my coffee grinning from ear to ear looking at my patio. Ive dreamt about this day for years. When I bought my house four years ago, there were two trees, an unsightly shed, and a basic concrete patio off the back door. I immediately put in a faux flagstone patio and replaced the falling down shed with my fire pit patio.
I have since added a large vegetable garden, an herb garden, tons of roses, trees, and flowers, and I redesigned my courtyard last spring. I always intended to finish out the back with another patio but Im on a budget and my yard had to be done piece by piece. If you want a private oasis but dont know where to begin: just begin! Transform your yard piece by piece, plant by plant. Thats what I did with my first yard too. Now, heres how to build a DIY patio for less than $300. For your reference, heres how bare the yard was before this project:
Compared to now:
And thats before the grass totally died under the shade of the tree. Trust me it did NOT look this cute the year before I did this project. It was a mud pit. So ugly that I dont have a single photo of it and sadly, I didnt think to take a true before.
Prep
Gravel
Stone Edge
Weed Cover
Shovel, shovel, shovel
Edging
Finish it off
I hope this article inspired you to DIY a patio. Get outside and enjoy!
Happy gardening,
Plan Out The Order In Which Youll Lay The Pavers
Once you have the 4 of base layer, double check that you have a little more than 1½ from the top of that to the top of the marked paver line.
Take the two black pipes and lie them on top. Set them just in the base layer enough that they dont roll, but not so much that they are recessed. You can add a little paver dust to help lodge them into place.
Use a level to double check the slope angle that you set up based on your string lines.
Before putting down the concrete pavers, plan how you are going to place the paver stones. Typically you want to start from an outside edge or corner.
Be sure not to box yourself in because you cant walk on the paver dust one youve screeded it.
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Lay Bricks Along Layout Lines
Lay a row of bricks along the baseline, aligning the end of the first brick with the perpendicular layout line. Butt them tightly together. Lay another row, aligning the end of the first brick with the second line. Continue laying bricks until one section is complete. Then work out from this section to complete the patio.
A Small Backyard Patio: The Simple Design Steps
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Working With A Larger Space
The bigger the patio is, the more time-consuming and costly the project gets. Theres a detailed description of all the steps and requirements which you can find on younghouselove. It teaches you how to create your own DIY paver patio from scratch and it reveals some of the less-known things related to such a big project. Sure, its all pretty easy when you simplify everything but that leaves you with plenty of details to figure out on the way.
How Do I Make My Patio Uneven Ground
Careful compaction of the ground and base material is the key to leveling uneven terrain to make a flat surface.
How to Install Pavers on Unlevel Ground
Additionally, how much slope should a paver patio have? Determine the amount of slope needed for the size of the paver patio. The slope should be at least 1 inch for each 8 feet of patio. For example a 12-foot patio will need 1½ inches of slope a 16-foot patio will need 2 inches of slope.
Keeping this in view, how do you level the ground for a paver walkway?
Dig 6 inches into the ground along the area where the pavers will rest. Place a carpenter’s level on the ground where you dug, and check the instrument to see whether or not the spot is level. If the location is not level, then remove the carpenter’s level and move soil to create a more level base.
How do you level uneven pavers?
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