Stone Patio Reveal

As promised I have part two of our Zen Garden patio project to share with you today. I am really sorry it took me so long, time has just flown right by and the next thing I know another week is gone.  There are projects of all kinds going on around here and I just don’t seem to be able to keep up with all the projects and blog about them too.  Anyway…. In part one I shared how we took a barren dog run and created a peaceful Zen Garden, in part two I am sharing how we turned our garden into our new Zen dining patio.  Here’s what we did.

First thing we did was to pull back all the red bark/mulch to each side of the area where we wanted to lay out our patio. We did a dry fit to check measurements and decide where the patio frame would go.  Rot resistant timbers were cut to size and hammered in place using metal spikes through the lumber, nice and secure. 

The ground was leveled and the base sand was added, we used special sand which was very clean to avoid future weeds and moss growing under the stones.  Every stone was carefully placed using a level and extra sand to ensure proper runoff and no low spots.

Once all the stones were in place some Polymeric Jointing Sand was swept into every crack and crevice then wet down and left to dry, the process had to be repeated several more times so the stones would remain locked together and not slide around when stepped on.  My husband did a fantastic job on our new stone patio; I am a very proud wife.

Our finish work required us to haul out a ton of red mulch and distribute it all around our backyard and front yard giving the whole area a little color lift after a messy winter. We had to do a lot of raking to get rid of all the dead leaves and plants before adding the mulch to our bedding plants, which created a whole other project, but I can say the entire yard and both side yards look fresh, pretty and ready to enjoy.  I believe our yard work projects are complete for this year, unless….. we decide to sand and re-stain our wooden pergola which sits on our cement patio…maybe not, I think my husband would go on strike if I suggested it right now with all the other projects we have going on.  He is getting ready to build a large family size outdoor dining table and benches to put on the new stone patio.  I will be away while he is working on it so I won’t have before photos to show you but I will try to sneak in the finished project when I get back. 

Thanks for letting me share our patio building adventures with you; I hope you enjoyed this peek into some of our outdoor spaces. Time to get back to more of my projects.

See you soon.

Laurette