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Landscape patio project! (Pics Updated 4/14/13)


jsarro

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The past several months my wife and I under took a large yard expansion, patio construction, and additional landscaping. We are moving into the final stages and should have everything completed including new back yard lawn and landscaping within the next month.This expansion led to us needing to buy a garden tractor as the yard has outgrown the push mower.

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Guys, thanks for all the great compliments on the yard and patio.

The tractor pictures will be up soon. I have to fix a deflating tire. I should be able to get some up in the next few days.

If members want to see it, I'll post some progression photos of the yard, patio, and gardens as it all comes together.

I'll be tying in the tractor work.

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quote:Originally posted by jsarro

If members want to see it, I'll post some progression photos of the yard, patio, and gardens as it all comes together. . . . I'll be tying in the tractor work.


id="quote">
id="quote">Everybody loves pics, especially those showing a tractor in action.
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quote:If members want to see it, I'll post some progression photos of the yard, patio, and gardens as it all comes together.


id="quote">
id="quote">

If members want to see it? Of course we do! Post 'em!

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I am jealous of the paver work! I don't have the patience for that.

Tractors doing work are always popular pictures in this forum.

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Great thanks for the enthusiasm, I will try to keep this post current with progress pictures as it all comes together. There will be tractor photos!:)

Deezay, this project has been a test of patience and perseverance. It is one step at a time. If you try to force it too fast, it will be an eye sore for a long time. This was my first experience laying pavers, and I went for the whole nine yards.

1500 sq feet of block, yards and yards of gravel base and sand,compacting, building steps, planned planter, possible fire pit, outdoor kitchen etc, all round cut edge with soldiers course border. I have been wanting to do something like this for years. Last fall we finally went for it, broke ground, removed the deck. I had in mind, that this would be a year long project. We have to see it through to the end.

Tomorrow we should finish the soldiers course and put on the plastic edging. Then I have a few days to repair the sprinkler system. Then I will be ready for the Bobcat to come back and grade in the loom to the patio edge.:)

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jsarro . . . in the bottom two pics, what is the big round-looking thing in the middle of the patio where you haven't finished out the pavers? Is that the "possible fire pit" you mentioned, or is it something else?

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Imagine the cost of this if you had it contracted! By the way, a lot of us get the tractors with a lot less excuse needed and then invent uses for them.

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quote:Originally posted by huffy

jsarro . . . in the bottom two pics, what is the big round-looking thing in the middle of the patio where you haven't finished out the pavers? Is that the "possible fire pit" you mentioned, or is it something else?


id="quote">
id="quote">Good question! That is my sewer system grinder pump. I am going to build a round planter around it. Fill it with loom, mulch, and plants. It should look really nice. The pump pushes the waste up the hill to the main street in town where everything flows from. Each of the 6 houses on my street has a pump. It was cheaper for each house to have a small pump than the town to build a pump station at the bottom of the street.
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quote:Originally posted by PGL

Imagine the cost of this if you had it contracted! By the way, a lot of us get the tractors with a lot less excuse needed and then invent uses for them.


id="quote">
id="quote">Your right, I am sure I saved a bundle which is really nice. What I am most pleased about is the skills I developed on this project. The pride in the finished product will be nice, sense of accomplishment, and having it turn out exactly how you wanted. Contractors do not like it when home owners adjust the project on the fly.When you do it yourself you can tweak it as you go.I also did not need such a big reason to get a tractor, it just kind of happened that way!:)Thanks for the input.
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quote:What I am most pleased about is the skills I developed on this project.id="quote">
id="quote">

That's always the best part. There's no feeling quite like the satisfaction that comes from proving to yourself that you can handle a tough project.

Plus, think how fun it'll be when you have all your friends over for a cookout this summer and they swoon about how beautiful your new patio is, and then you get to see how impressed they are that you did it yourself.

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Huffy your right.

It is that sense of hard work and feeling capable of taking on the challenge and succeeding. It is that same feeling you get from managing your tractor.

Building the patio has also been great because it has gotten us outside so much!

I can not lie, it will be great to show it off to friends! Not in an arrogant way but I guess it is a sense of the pride of putting in the hard work. Realizing you've grown physically and mentally from it.

That is what I look forward to getting out of taking care of these tractors.

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Here is an update. Finishing up Soldiers course, broad view, and steps into slider.

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Here is the garden and the hen house I built two years ago.

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Thanks for viewing!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Really nice work!!dOd I did a small sidewalk using pavers like that 2 years ago. It takes alot of patience to get everything perfect. Great job again.

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quote:Originally posted by rs07

Really nice work!!dOd I did a small sidewalk using pavers like that 2 years ago. It takes alot of patience to get everything perfect. Great job again.


id="quote">
id="quote">Thank You Robert! Having done some of this work yourself, you understand what it takes to have it come out right.I will be updating the photos when I progress to some of the next steps.
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  • 1 month later...

We have been busy working on our landscape patio yard project since I last posted to this thread. Pretty much all our free time is spent in our yard these days.When we decided to redesign our rear and side yards, part of the deal was to upgrade the swing set for the kids as they were out growing their old one.We found this swing set on Craigslist. I rented a 16 foot moving truck to bring it home. It filled the truck disassembled.Here it is after my wife power washed it in pieces.

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Here it is assembled. My wife stained it prior to assembly.

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It took us a good solid day to put the majority of it back together.The wood roof is a really nice feature.

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It is mostly 4 X 6 construction. It is all redwood and cedar wood, so it is very resistant to rot.

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To give you an idea how large it is, the swing arm is 9 ft high and 15 ft long, the slide is 11 ft long, the upper deck is 5 X 7 ft. I can fully stand up on the upper deck with out hitting my head and I am 6 ft tall. It is huge. The dealer calls it the Monster.It is a Rainbow swing set and new retail is supposed to be over $6,000. We paid a small fraction of that cost. The kids love it, we are thrilled with how it turned out for them.

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That's looking wonderful Jack. Beautiful yard.

Almost as amazing as the patio and swing set is that you've somehow managed to keep your grass green. Mine's been brown for months for want of rain.

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quote:Originally posted by huffy

That's looking wonderful Jack. Beautiful yard.Almost as amazing as the patio and swing set is that you've somehow managed to keep your grass green. Mine's been brown for months for want of rain.


id="quote">
id="quote">Thanks Huffy, things are coming along.I'll be posting some updated pics over the next few days.I nearly rebuilt half the irrigation system this week. It was disrupted during all these projects. We rarely use it, but I will need it this fall when we plant the rear and side lawns.We have not had as much of a drought or heat wave as you have, that is why the grass is green.Sorry you have not been able to mow.
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Man my back hurts just lookin at all those pavers....

Nice tractor and congrats on the outdoor projects. dOddOd

ps...do you have plans for the henhouse or did you wing it?

I like that design & we are fixing to build one.sm01

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quote:Originally posted by GLPointon

Man my back hurts just lookin at all those pavers....Nice tractor and congrats on the outdoor projects. dOddOdps...do you have plans for the henhouse or did you wing it?I like that design & we are fixing to build one.sm01


id="quote">
id="quote">GL thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it.I would be happy to post construction pictures of the hen house if you want. I looked at several designs and examples online for ideas, and then just put it together from my minds eye. The extra effort was worth it. I told my wife if I am going to build it, I don't want it falling down in a year.I'll start another thread on the hen house.
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Very impressive, Jack. dOd

I just found this thread for the first time. I had no idea you were doing all this.

Gotta love that paver meditation, huh. sm01

And the swing monster is really cool.

I have one question, and a probably incorrect shot in the dark guess - about the beautiful RED TREEid="red">. I am probably wrong, cos I think they only turn that red in the fall - I just wondered if it might be an Amur Maple, which is a medium-sized ornamental maple; or is it a maple at all? Can't see it closely from the pix. Anyway, what is it really? Amur Maple is my fav tree; but I can't even find one here in ON. I first saw one when studying Hort in Alberta - I figure if it will grow there, it will grow here. The Amur doesn't have typical maple leaf shape; it's more like a hand. (kinda). Anyway, that's a whole other story. But what is that amazing red tree?

You guys are definitely into colour/color. Kinda wondered if you are into Fung Shui. or maybe that's personal. 8D

Also wondered what kind of magic wand you used to scatter the (looks red) gravel around the swing area. That's a lot of gravel.

Keep those pix coming, Jack. I know where this thread is now - sorry I'm late. :D

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OK here is an update on the patio progress.

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Soldiers course border is complete and required a lot of cuts on the curves.

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I cut nearly every block on both sides to make the curved border around the bottom and top stairs.

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Next I will be building the planter around the grinder pump in the middle of the patio out of the wall block and caps I used on the stairs.

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