Patio Part 1

It started with a question almost as soon as we bought the house, 2 years ago: “So… what should we do with that corner or the yard?” So for two years I turned over lots of ideas in my head and in 3D programs. At one point I was drawing up plans for a detached garage with an apartment over it. That got scratched after cost and permitting considerations. A fountain with benches around it came up, and even a subterranean trampoline was given some thought.

After a few back and forths, and with the practice of the front walkway and a small patio in front of the arbor under our project belts, we decided to build a raised patio. A few hours on Google SketchUp and the vision emerged:

Prototype for the back yard corner

I dug into all the details I could get my hands on. Materials, how-2’s, basic construction theory, cost, timeline, local vendors, etc. and came up with a plan of attack. My enthusiasm level was high, but I knew very well that I wouldn’t be doing the grunt work. I’ve joked that I am procurement, and Joey is operations for this kind of thing, but it’s an arrangement that seems to be working, so we’re going with that. So, I decided to wait until the brawn was onboard. Surprisingly, Joey green-lighted buying all the masonry during our windfall from the new job, so we went with cash (no debt, yay!) and bought 6 palettes of a combination of retaining wall, patio pavers and steps which were delivered a week later, and I picked up over a ton of crushed limestone for the base of the walls (took two trips with the pickup). Yay, we were excited!

That was July 7th. July 8th it rained. And the 9th. And the 10th, 11th… good grief! It rained every day until the 19th! So, progress came to a halt, and toadstools took over significant parts of the yard. We had Ivy’s birthday party on Bolivar Peninsula that weekend, so nothing then either, but once we returned, Joey went to work, with Arturo’s help.