Last spring, I finally decided to do something about the sad patch of dirt along my back fence. It had been an eyesore for three years. My wife wanted vegetables. I wanted something that didn’t look like a construction site….
Last spring, I tore out a 280-square-foot flagstone patio that had become an embarrassment. Weeds had pushed through every joint. Ants had colonized the entire border. The original polymeric sand — whatever bargain-brand stuff the previous owner used — had…
Last spring, I finished the last phase of a patio project I’d been dragging out for three years. Twelve hundred square feet of dry-laid bluestone, a built-in grill station, and a cedar pergola I framed myself. The hardscape was done….
Last spring, I was 400 square feet into a paver patio installation and already exhausted. Getting a solid plate compactor paver base is the most critical step in any hardscape job. Do it wrong and your pavers shift, crack, and…
Last October, I finished what I’d call my best backyard project yet — a 1420 foot paver patio with a built-in dining area, complete with a six-person table and four padded chairs I’d spent way too much money on. I…
Last spring, I tackled a 320-square-foot patio extension behind my house. The project involved laying roughly 400 concrete pavers — each one needing to be seated firmly into a compacted sand base. I’d done rubber mallet paver installation dozens of…
Last fall, I finished repaving a 42-foot flagstone walkway along the front of my house. The project took three weekends, two bags of polymeric sand, and more knee pain than I care to admit. But when the sun went down,…
Last fall, I finished a 400-square-foot flagstone patio behind my house. Fifteen years of outdoor builds, and this one finally came together exactly how I pictured it. The problem? Once the sun dropped below the tree line, everyone went inside….
Three years ago, I tore out a crumbling concrete patio and replaced it with about 480 square feet of tumbled travertine pavers. It was a six-weekend project, roughly $2,800 in materials, and more lower-back pain than I care to admit….
Last spring, I finally hit my breaking point with my patio pavers. After six years of Minnesota winters, spring runoff, and general neglect, the 380-square-foot travertine patio behind my house looked like the surface of the moon. Moss had crept…