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How To Build A Patio Wall

Add Stenciled Wood Planks

How to Build Strong Patio Walls

What an awesome idea to spice up your basic lattice privacy fence. Apply stenciled designs to wood boards and then attach boards to the fence.

The creator of this cool and original idea decided to cross the design over two boards, to unify the boards. The result is an artsy privacy wall. See how she did it here.

Ideas For Seating Around Fire Pits And Hot Tubs

This is a creative idea for a stand alone paver patio. ;The fire pit is located on the edge of the circular patio while the seating wall was installed on the perimeter.The seating wall was constructed with tumbled 4″ x 8″ x 12″ patio block and the fire pit is a kit. The circular patio was built with non-tumbled cobble pavers.

This beautiful hot tub is surrounded by a tumbled 4″ x 8″ x 12″ patio block seating wall and cobble;pavers. ;This patio is connected to a larger paver patio that features an outdoor dining area and grill station for a roll around grill.;


Use Wine Bottles To Build A Privacy Wall

Just because you are adding a wall for more privacy doesnt mean it has to be boring. Look at these varying colored bottles twinkle in the sunlight.

This is a more artistic way to efficiently construct a privacy wall that only adds more intrigue into the space. Better yet, you can use your own bottles so start saving them now! Building this maybe cheap but is not easy. You would need to figure out how to drill holes in the glass bottles, and drill a lot of them. So;check out this funky DIY Bottle Wall tutorial;for any help.

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Creative Ideas Using Retaining Walls

Adding a short retaining wall around your paver patio is a creative way to provide overflow seating for guests.This retaining wall serves as a beautiful seating wall and eventually evolves into block steps to access the upper yard. ;Built with Allan Block Classic retaining wall block and the paver patio was constructed using non-tumbled cobble;pavers.

How Easy Is Building A Raised Patio

How to Build a Kidney Shaped Patio and Sitting Wall

Some might say decks are easier to build than a raised patio. However, depending on how its constructed, building a raised patio with retaining walls can be just as much work as building a deck, if not less! Well get into more about that below.


Today, well share the story of how we got to building a raised patio with retaining wall along with answers to these popular questions about raised patios:

  • What did your raised patio cost?
  • How did you build your raised stone patio?
  • Can you tell me how to build a raised patio on a slope?
  • Do you have photos of building a raised patio with retaining wall?
  • How can you help me decide on the best raised patio design for my situation?
  • What are the best raised patio ideas, designs and materials?
  • How do you edge a raised patio?

BONUS: Im also going to share a secret with you about what wed do differently now, so that you dont make the same mistake!

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Use Old Shutters For A Privacy Screen

What a great idea ;turn your old shutters into a patio privacy screen. This is a great way to get total privacy and being able to refurbish or recycle some old wood items, too. As you can see on the image above, you can paint the shutters to create a truly adorable outdoor patio area.

Dont have any old shutters laying around in your backyard? No worries. You could probably purchase inexpensive raw wood shutters from an antique store or even a neighbor to execute this design.


Fill In The Porch Gable Ends

Cover the triangular opening in the truss above the house wall by building a 2×2 frame and nailing 1×6 tongue-and-groove boards to the back. Then slide the frame into the opening and screw it into place. Fill the triangular space above the outside wall with a 2×4 frame .

Then staple screening to it and cover the screens with stops, just as you do with the walls below. Practice on scraps to make accurate patterns for the steep angles. Then transfer the angles to the actual framing members. You may have to cut these angles with a handsaw; theyre too steep for a miter saw unless you build a special jig.

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Install The First Course

A course is simply a row of blocks. Depending on the height of your wall, you will have several courses. The first course is the most critical because it sets the stage for the rest of the blocks. Spend extra time making sure that this course is absolutely level.


Use a rubber mallet to tamp down each block into the sand, continuing to check for level as you go. In addition to checking the level of the blocks, ensure that they are flush with each other. Again, take the extra time at this stage to make sure it is perfect before moving on.

Does Adding A Sunroom Increase Taxes

How to Build a Patio Enclosure with Seating Walls

So Does a sunroom addition raise my property tax? Long story short yes, adding any square footage onto your home will increase property taxes, but it will also increase resale value. At the completion of the project, the county may send a tax assessor out to determine the additional value of the home.

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How To Screen In A Porch

With this screen on your porch, you can be sure of keeping away bugs, flies, and mosquitoes. Youre going to start off with these materials; rip-resistant screen, paint, lath material, screws, 2×2 pressure-treated boards, 2×4 pressure-treated boards, nails, screen door kit, and primer.


Then Install the Plate, Install the Top Plate, Install the Wall Studs, Install the Top Rail and Balusters, Frame the Door, Prime, and Paint, Attach the Screen, Hang the Screen Door.

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Notch Supports And Add Header

Use the Speed Square to measure your desired pitch of the porch roof, measuring down from the roof ledger board. A standard is 1:6, or dropping 4 inches for every 24 inches of horizontal run. With the circular saw, cut down and then notch the tops of the two-by-twelves to accept a two-by-ten header board . Screw the header beam in place with lag screws.

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Sourcing Water Wall Building Materials

Pen and paper in hand, we drew out the plans for our backyard water fountain and went on a mission to source building materials. What lumber to use was easy but what material we used for the water to trickle down was another thing.


The process of finding reclaimed tempered glass started with Mr. Frugalista searching for a sheet of copper. By happenstance, he came across two sheets of reed tempered glass at a local salvage yard for only $15 each. The direction for our water wall build suddenly took a new direction.

Lay The First Course Of Blocks

Build a Flagstone and Stone Block Patio

Its time to start laying the retaining blocks on the sturdy base you just created.

  • Center the first course of blocks in the middle of the trench.;
  • Position your first block and use a standard level to make sure its even. If needed, reposition it using additional gravel and a rubber mallet to tap it into place.;
  • Continue laying your first course of blocks, while checking that every block is level. Lift low blocks with more gravel and tap down high blocks with the rubber mallet.;
  • After you finish the first course, fill the space between your retaining wall and landscape with gravel.;
  • Tamp the gravel to increase the walls stability and durability against soil erosion.;

Tip: If your retaining blocks have flanges, use a hammer and masonry chisel to knock off the flanges on the first course blocks to ensure they sit level.;

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Relocate The Spike That Marks The Wall Center Point

Relocate the spike that marks the wall center point; it may take a little trial and error. Spray-paint a new arc 6 in. shorter than the radius of the face of the wall. Then spread a 2-ft. wide swath of base material from this line to the back of the excavation. Start with two 2-in. thick layers, compacting each. Spread about 2 in. more and use your straight 10-ft. 2×4 and 4-ft. level to make it roughly level. Compact again.


Install the gravel footing

A wall is only as sturdy as the base you build it on-in this case, crushed gravel that ranges in size from 3/4 in. down to a powder. Suppliers may refer to this material as crushed Class II or any of a number of other names. Build a 6-in. deep layer by spreading 2 in. of base, dampening it, compacting it, and then repeating the process.

Compact the gravel at least four times. The compactors tone will change from a dull thud to a sharp whack and the machine will start to hop when the surface is hard enough. If youre unsure if its packed well enough, pass over it a few extra times. The gravel layer should be 3 in. or more below the sod on the ends of the arc and be within an inch of level all the way around.

Build A Patio Sitting Wall In 10 Steps

  • Written by Justin Stewart on Sep 16, 2009To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience.Reviewed by

If you’re looking to dress up your patio, consider installing a sitting wall along the perimeter. Not only does it create additional seating, but it will make a small patio seem larger because there isn’t a need for as many chairs. For example purposes, this article discusses the use of natural stone versus other material such as cast concrete block.

Step 1 Determine the Location

Choosing where to put a patio sitting wall is the first step. You have the option of creating one or more walls placed along the perimeter of the patio.

Step 2 – Stone Selection

Choose the type of stone for the wall. Visit a center that specializes in natural stone to see the types of stones that are available.

Step 3 – Capstone Selection

An important part of a sitting wall is the part you sit onthe capstone. Visit a masons yard to find a capstone that is attractive and blends with the type of stone you’ve chosen for the sitting wall.

Step 4 – Clean the Surrounding Area

Whether the patio is tiled or has a cement base, thoroughly clean the area of any mold, mildew, dirt, and debris. You may want to use a pressure washer for this.

Step 5 – Outline

Step 6 – Mortar

Mix mortar in a wheelbarrow or on a piece of plywood to a stiff consistency.

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Building A Wooden Patio Cover

  • 1Measure your patio and determine how high the patio cover will be. Use a tape measure to check the length and width of the patio you want to cover. Decide if you will create a free-standing cover or if you will attach it to your home at one side. Measure the height of the edge of the roof of your home if you will attach it there.XResearch source
  • The patio cover can be any height you want if you are going to make a free-standing structure, but at least 7 ft is a good standard height. If you are going to attach it to the edge of the roof of your home, then it will need to be lower than the gutters of the homeâs roof.
  • 2Install post mounts in each corner of the patio. Get 1 post mount for each corner, such as 6×6 post mounts, from a home improvement center or hardware store. Bolt them squarely into each corner of the patio where you will install a post.XResearch source
  • Depending how big your patio cover will be, you can use smaller or larger posts. Ask at your local lumber yard what size of posts you should be using based on your patio dimensions to support the load of the cover.
  • 3Cut the corner posts to the height of the patio cover that you want. Use a saw to cut the ends of the posts off to make them the height that you determined for your patio cover. Get the posts pre-cut to the size you need at a lumber yard or home improvement center if you donât want to cut them yourself.XResearch source
  • How To Build A Raised Stone Patio

    How to Build Patio Walls with Posts

    If youre wondering how to build a raised stone patio, follow the steps above but stick with all stone materials.

    Material #1: Surface stone

    To build a raised stone patio, your first job is to select the flagstone surface material for the patio.

    Something to keep in mind with a flagstone patio is that it has bigger gaps between the stones and requires sand to even out the surface . The gaps will need to be filled either with concrete, or even possibly some low growing groundcover plants.

    Materials #2: Retaining wall stone

    To build your stone retaining wall for the patio, you can select either a real stacked stone material or you can build a concrete block wall and cover it with a stone veneer.

    Above you can see not only our raised patio retaining walls in the distance, but the rest of the retaining walls around the pool area that we were doing with all the same style stone veneer.

    If you decide to do a real stacked stone, this can be flat flagstone pieces or stacked round stones to your desired height. Either option can use mortar to hold all the stone together for the patio, or can be dry stacked for an even simpler install.

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    How To Build A Small Retaining Wall With Pavers

    Interlocking pavers can make beautiful retaining walls that enhance your landscapes looks and function. However, its easy to make mistakes when building the wall. You need to carefully plan and execute the build, or you could end up with a wall that crumbles and fails in a year or so. Heres how to build a small retaining wall with pavers properly.;

    Patio Ideas To Light Up Your Paver Patio

    This column is home to a low voltage post light that will illuminate this are perfectly at night. The seating wall and columns were constructed with Allan Block Old Country Courtyard block.Notice the paver light at the bottom of the column.

    Adding low voltage down lighting fixtures to this patio’s columns and seating walls will be a nice accent to these features at night.The seating wall and columns on this paver patio were constructed from Allan Block Old Country Courtyard block and the patio with non-tumbled cobble pavers.

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    Build Seating Walls For Concrete Patios

    Concrete patios make an excellent addition to a house, but they can be further improved with seating walls. Seating walls make the patio space even more welcoming and allows more people to relax during periods of warm weather. Theyre easy to build and in just a few days, you can have some fantastic extra seating for your patio.

    Step 1 – Preparing the Area

    The first thing is to decide on how much seating you want around your patio. You might choose to have seating along one side or alternatively, around two sides of the concrete patio. When youve made that decision, you need to mark out the seating area.

    Your seating will sit on a cement foundation. Using landscape spray paint, mark the area for seating on the grass, working from the edges of the patio. As the seats will be 12 inches wide, your foundation doesnt need to be too broad.

    Step 2 – The Foundation

    You dont need a deep foundation for the seating. Digging down between 4 and 6 inches into the area youve marked should be ample for your needs. Mix up the concrete for the foundation. Use a mix of 1 part concrete, 2 parts sand, and 3 parts aggregate with just enough water to bind everything together.

    Step 3 – The Seat

    Youll need to mix up more concrete and use this to fill the hollows in the concrete blocks. This will make them strong enough to use as seating and bond them to the foundation.

    Step 4 – Finishing the Seat

    Planning And Excavating A Raised Patio Construction Project

    How to Build a Raised Patio with Retaining Wall Blocks

    If you are unable to build a patio following the existing grade, then you are likely looking at building a raised patio so that you can have a usable space. Planning the space for your raised patio involves first deciding the approximate measurements that you want your patio to be and what products you want to use to build that patio. By defining the measurements including the height from grade to top of patio, you can then narrow down decisions especially when it comes to retaining walls.

    Essentially a raised patio is a patio encapsulated by a retaining wall. The height of your raised patio may have to be taken into consideration as certain areas may have different building codes on having to build a railing if the patio is a certain height above finished grade. Knowing the height of your raised patio from grade depends on the slope of the yard and is essential to the build of the patio.

    Calculate the dimensions of your patio, add another minimum of 6 to each side, and spray paint your area that will be the area of excavation. Call your local utility marker which is generally free for them to come out and locate underground obstructions if any in your excavation area. From these, as well as the access available to the space, you can decide which equipment you can use to complete your excavation, what equipment you will need to rent, and if you need to have bins on site for excavated soil.

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