stone patio

Now that fall is here and most of the mosquitoes have moved on,

we are really enjoying our new patio.

For the last couple of years, we had been dreaming of tearing down the old

and large wood deck and replacing it with a nice stone patio.

While we like doing a lot of DIY, we felt it was best to contract out this job.

Considering the amount of gravel, sand, concrete and stone that went into this project,

it was totally justified.

To cut down on the cost, we removed the deck ourselves and recycled most

of the wood into a firewood shed and a bike storage area.

Because the summer was wetter than usual, the contractor was a little behind schedule,

so we lived with a very slanted ugly patio for a while, 

but that did not stop us from enjoying the outdoors.

I was able to take a few pictures from the inside (recovering from illness)

while the contractors were working.

Apparently they were very pleased with the amount of shade of the backyard,

obviously they are not the ones pick up the leaves right now!

First they filled in and leveled the area with a very large amount of gravel,

then they covered it with a metal grid and attached rebar to the house.

Finally the cement was mixed and the stones were laid. After a few days of back breaking labor on their part, we had a beautiful patio.

I had to wait a couple of months before painting the wood pieces they installed against the shed,

but now it is done....

And we just love it! The surroundings are still unfinished but not all projects need to be completed at once.  I already have ideas for next summer, and I have all winter to plan it all.