Patio Update

We are Done! (...well almost)

Anticipating the last snowstorm we worked pretty much non-stop from Friday through Tuesday, finishing just in time for the snow. During the weekend though the weather was beautiful, so we couldn't ask for more.

Here are some pictures of the progress: 

Getting the road base compacted and level. 

The stone cutter we borrowed (up front) made cutting and fitting the stone a breeze.

Lucy making sure that the patio is aligned correctly for sun bathing.

We are now ready for sand and then we can finally start laying the brick.

Leveling and laying the brick. 

Getting the colors to flow how we wanted was half the battle.

Finished!

We still need to add the step and finish the corners, but other than that we are done. What a wonderful feeling. It was definitely worth the work! 

(May this last a very, very long time so that we don't have to do it again anytime soon.)

Backyard Hobby Farm: Spring 2013 - Patio

Colorado has seen a very warm spring this year, which has made it hard to stay indoors. We are antsy to start playing with plants and get to work on the backyard.

 Here is a current picture of what we have to work with:

 

As you can see, we have a lot of clay. It may not look like it from this picture, but we actually did quite a bit of work in the last year. We now have the framework set and are ready to see the visual transformations occur this year. 

The next big project on our list is getting the patio laid. 

Three weeks ago we were finally ready to start. We made sure we had time in our schedules, calculated what we needed, and ordered the brick. It was delivered a few days later and were ready to go. Until the bad weather set in. So we waited.

After a few sunny days, the snow melted and the mud dried. We were ready again! Two weekends ago we finally go our start. That Friday, Donnie dug the trench and completed the prep work. Saturday we worked all morning, took a break for lunch with family, and worked again all afternoon until after the sun went down. We were making progress! Sunday we woke up to chilly weather and up to 34mph winds. It was not a fun day to be working outside, but we kept at it. By that afternoon the retaining wall was finished and we were ready to add the layer of sand and lay the bricks. Then came the snow! So we waited, again.

This time the snow kept up for four days. There was no way we were going to work on the patio this weekend. It has now been warm for a couple of days, but it is still solid mud out back and we are expecting more snow tomorrow. So we continue to wait.

Here is what it looks as of last Sunday:

 

Hopefully we will be able to finish it next weekend, but mother nature may have other plans.