Our Patio Project

So Mac and I decided that our first project as husband and wife would be to build a patio. OK, it was really my idea, but he quietly agreed. The area we were working with was about 12' x 14' and sat adjacent to our deck. There was no grass growing because of the dogs and plus half of the area was constant shade. It was the perfect spot. I decided to use the slate we had from an existing walkway. We have (had) two slate walkways that the previous owners had built. I figured with the economy the way it is, why not save some money and use some of that slate? So that is what we did.

Now came the big debate... to have a raised patio or one that was flush? The battle begins. He wants raised. I want flush. I won! Yay!

So the project started on the two hottest days of the Spring. Both days averaged 93 degrees. It was indeed more work than I ever thought. I guess I didn't realize how big the space was. We started with a trip to Home Depot to get two shovels (yes two, because he said I was going to feel the same pain as him.. LOL), and a wheel barrow. It took us two days to dig out that dirt and we really didn't have any place to put it. Guess I'll be putting a listing on Craigslist for "Free Fill Dirt". It took us an entire day to fill it back up with stone dust. That was an adventure. Mac had way too much fun tearing up our beautiful yard with that Bobcat machine. We now have to fill the ruts with some of the dirt we have left over. Thankfully I haven't posted that free dirt listing yet.

On Mothers Day my step dad came over and gave me the great news that we needed to make sure that all our stones were level. Ugh, what? You mean I can't just lay them down and I'm done? He just blew my whole plan out of the water. I thought I was almost done. So that leads us to now... phase #3. We've been laying stone and checking the levels as we go along. We have a couple more pieces to lay and then comes the mortar. It should be completed by this weekend.

Here are some photos of the project up until now. Enjoy!