Grass and Block Patio (minus the grass)

I wanted to do something a little different for my front yard so I scrapped my plan to do a large raised planter in front of the window and, instead, I'm going to create a seating area and pergola.

Genius, right? Please...hold your applause.

I measured off the area for my patio. I will have a 3' planting bed between the house and the patio, and the patio itself will be 103" x 123" (about 8' x 10').

I dug down the area of the patio so it was a total of 5 1/2" below the grade of the yard. This will allow for a 2" layer of gravel, a 2" layer of sand, and the thickness of my patio block. My yard has a steep grade so I had to build a frame from pressure treated lumber. Not the most desireable option, but I can eventually diguise it with landscaping so it ended up being no biggie.

I layed down my base, then my sand and had Mr. Mel tamp both down nice and tight. These two layers create the base for your patio so it doesn't settle and become unlevel.

I started laying my patio blocks. My blocks are 18" x 18" and, based on the size of my patio I decided to have 3" spaces running between them.

By now, my sunburn had reached epic proportions...so much for SPF 30.

To fill the spaces between the blocks, I mixed up topsoil, compost, and CIL Grass Seed and packed it in the spaces.

Then I gave it all a good watering and crossed my fingers that it'll grow grass. I'll be sure to post photos when it's all green!

Backyard Gazebo - Part 1

One item I was determined to get in the backyard somehow was a gazebo. Not huge. Big enough to accommodate a few friends and our bevies if we were unfortunate enough to be caught in an evening rain. Or big enough for Mr. Mel and I to veg out in with a couple of books to escape the hot afternoon sun. Although Mr. Mel insists that it's sole purpose is to host his weekly poker game! Men...ugh.

I had a wish list:

• built in benches
• electricity for lighting
• privacy screens

We're lucky enough to have a couple of friends who are journeyman electricians, so one came to help me along to get the power pulled from the house, trenched, and connected to the gazebo.

I found a free plan for a square gazebo online (I am all about the freebies). I found this one at Treated Wood.

I called on my cousin to help me out with this project. He's built a gazebo for himself, and is pretty much an ace at anything carpentry, so I knew he was the right man for the job!

Our gazebo will sit on grade, instead of on piles or footings. We created a base at each corner, filled and tamped, and used concrete blocks that the corner posts will rest on. We have really stable, sandy soil so this base will work well.

All our supplies have arrived, and we set up shop. I was in power tool heaven!

We followed the building plan and, slowly, the gazebo started taking shape. We did end up making some modifications to beef up the structure as the wind out here can gust at 80 km/hr (that's about 49 mph for my American friends).

 

 

 

Installing the roof and shingles was definitely not something I wanted to do as I am totally, absolutely terrified of heights. Mr. Mel was excited to participate in this build, so took this on and he and my cousin did  a great job! 

I decided to switch up the railing design a bit to allow a bit more privacy. This involved using many wicked awesome power tools. It made me a happy girl!

It took a full weekend and a week of evenings to get this built, which was much longer than I thought it would take. But it's finally done! I can't wait to get to work decorating this space and use it as our little backyard hideaway. (P.S. those are, indeed, my deck stairs in the background...more on that later)

Lots of activity going on here lately. I'll post an update soon!

Thoughts on the Backyard

Wowzers...I hadn't realized just how many ideas I'd collected for the yard. I went through them all (a glass of wine helped) and managed to whittle them down...a bit.

Mr. Mel and I are not "deck people". We definitely want a paved patio of some kind. Inside the house, I am all about the 90 degree angle. Outside, however, I want things to be a little more fluid and freeform.

We also really want some kind of a fire pit/fireplace. Right now we have a propane fueled "fire pit" which worked really well in our condo but I want something more substantial for the yard.

Axel Landscape

Axel Landscape

I have always wanted a pergola. They are great for providing shade and privacy, even moreso if you are lucky enough to have it covered with vines.

Source

Mr. Mel would absolutely love it if we could accomodate a man shack for his weekly poker games, cigar smoking, and nerd games (think Dungeons and Dragons...yeesh). My answer to this has always been "no way", but I am actually hoping to have this done as a surprise to him. Am I not the bestest wifey ever?! I am leaning towards a prefab pool cabana instead of building something from a plan.

Source

Source

I am not a big fan of hot tubs. A good friend of mine likens it to making "people stew"...gross. I would be happy with a small tub, for no more than 4 people. Mr. Mel wants the 12 seater with the retractable t.v. and surround sound! Good lord! While I may lose this battle, I am adamant that the tub be, at least partially, below grade. Am I the only one who thinks these things are ridiculously ugly?! Am I?!

Source

Here are a couple of images that caught my eye...they look like the perfect places to relax.

And a few front yards that I liked. We really would like to have a raised planter in the front of the house, sod, and maybe a small stacked stone wall at the front near the road. Our development will not have sidewalks, instead there will be a small culvert between the yard and the road, so I'd like something to define our front yard space.

Thankfully, I have an appointment next week with a landscape architect to put some of these *many* ideas into a cohesive plan. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!