Previously, in the patio saga...
Sometime last year I had the bright idea of overhauling my 10 ft x 15 ft patio. The previous owner had dumped a bunch of bright white marble chips over the area. Weeds were poking through the plastic sheeting underneath. It looked meh at best, so I pondered what I could do myself that would look good and I could afford.
I set my sights on creating a part paved, part grass patio along the lines of this. All I had to do was rake up the marble chips, rip up the plastic, rake the ground smooth, and lay a bunch of pavers or bricks in a pattern that left space for soil and grass seed, spread soil, seed the area, and voila! Right?
Mostly. I knew it would be a lot of work, but it's been more than that. Here's how it's gone in a nutshell:
1. Six months ago: received about 120 leftover bricks from a neighbor. I know they won't hold up as well as pavers would, but this is an experiment and they're free. :)
2. Four months ago: raked up marble chips and tore up plastic to discover a layer of pebbles. Under that was a layer of rounded gravel. Beneath that was hardware cloth! Over the course of two weekends I raked up the marble chips and pebbles -- 10 cubic feet worth! Thanks to the ever wonderful Freecycle peeps hauled the mini-mountain of rock away for me. :)
3. Today: raked up the gravel/soil mixture to tear out the hardware cloth. Once that was done I raked the area smooth, then started laying the bricks. I figured I did at least 200 squats to rip up the hardware cloth and lay 120 bricks. To say I'm sore is an understatement. :)
Unfortunately I ran out of bricks. I think I need another 120 to finish paving the area. Time to hit up Freecycle. Once that's done I'll fill in the gaps with soil. Then, when it's warm enough, I'll spread buffalo grass seed. Green patio, here I come!
I set my sights on creating a part paved, part grass patio along the lines of this. All I had to do was rake up the marble chips, rip up the plastic, rake the ground smooth, and lay a bunch of pavers or bricks in a pattern that left space for soil and grass seed, spread soil, seed the area, and voila! Right?
Mostly. I knew it would be a lot of work, but it's been more than that. Here's how it's gone in a nutshell:
1. Six months ago: received about 120 leftover bricks from a neighbor. I know they won't hold up as well as pavers would, but this is an experiment and they're free. :)
2. Four months ago: raked up marble chips and tore up plastic to discover a layer of pebbles. Under that was a layer of rounded gravel. Beneath that was hardware cloth! Over the course of two weekends I raked up the marble chips and pebbles -- 10 cubic feet worth! Thanks to the ever wonderful Freecycle peeps hauled the mini-mountain of rock away for me. :)
3. Today: raked up the gravel/soil mixture to tear out the hardware cloth. Once that was done I raked the area smooth, then started laying the bricks. I figured I did at least 200 squats to rip up the hardware cloth and lay 120 bricks. To say I'm sore is an understatement. :)
Unfortunately I ran out of bricks. I think I need another 120 to finish paving the area. Time to hit up Freecycle. Once that's done I'll fill in the gaps with soil. Then, when it's warm enough, I'll spread buffalo grass seed. Green patio, here I come!