New Paver Patio

We have a new patio! It's beautiful. Seth has been working hard the last two weeks on getting this done. Last Saturday he and Justin and Frank dug out the base. Digging is not easy work! Here's a picture of the hole they dug: (Seth is covering up the drainpipe in the pic)



And here is the patio framed in. Seth chose to frame it with 4x4s.



Side note: When the contractors were here redoing our driveway, they also redid our top basement step because they saw that it was all cracked (we were out of the state, and they just did it for us without asking). When Seth and Justin and Frank dug out the back, they exposed the bottom it. I see that it's just a bunch of bricks piled, then cement poured on top. Is this how it's supposed to be? I feel like this looks wrong, but I don't know how cementing works.

Anyway, back to the patio:

During the week Seth used Frank's truck (thank you Frank!!!) to haul gravel, then sand, then the pavers. He's been working on it in the mornings before work (he works 3-11 right now, which works out well with building the patio). That truck was seriously loaded down - we're grateful that Frank let us borrow it. Seth must be super sore from all the shoveling all week.

After shoveling the sand onto it, Seth used a 2x4 to even it out.


Home Depot was supposed to deliver the pavers last Wednesday, but the guy who was our contact didn't show up to work. When Seth talked to him on Thursday, the guy said they couldn't be delivered until Friday. Well, Seth really wanted to get started, so he just used Frank's truck to haul them back. We didn't finish laying them on Thursday, so we stacked the remainder in the driveway before returning Frank's truck. (It was a LOT of pavers! A skid and a half)



And here is Seth putting in the first corner:

Finished!

Well, finished, round 1. After looking at it the next day, Seth decided that it was too wavy and uneven. So he took every stone out and relaid the whole thing, this time using EMT rails and a 2x4 to level the sand.


Here is finished, round 2:

We still have to sweep sand over the whole thing to lock the pavers in place. But it's wonderful! I'm looking forward to grilling on it. (we'll also be fixing the rest of the yard, but one step at a time).

Check out the kayak rack Seth built

He's awesome. I was so impressed when this was finished. We bought a couple of pressure treated 6x6s, some 2x4s, huge bolts, and fence post holders from Home Depot. He cut the pieces with his reciprocating saw, which didn't make the most accurate cuts, but it works (and we have a circular saw now). At first, he wanted to use metal L brackets to hold the "shelves" up, but the guy at Home Depot thought they would rust (although their picnic tables use metal brackets, but the wood braces work).



In his planning, he kind of wanted the shelves to be on the front and back, so we could fit three kayaks. I think that he and Justin actually started building it that way, then changed and did this. If Seth gets a fishing kayak, we'll figure something out then. (the red one is his kayak, the yellow one is mine). I just hope we have more time this summer to use them!

Right now the rack is buried (not cemented) in the back of the yard, but Seth wants to move them to the side, where water doesn't run down and collect. Once it's in its final position, we'll probably cement the posts in.