mason jar champagne: landscape

With the pavers installed, we needed to lay the grass between the pavers to help hold the pavers in place. I wasn't sure if seeding or sod would be the best way to go. I was concerned that sod would dry out against the cement pavers. But I was worried that seeds may not grow in fully enough in time for the shower in a few weeks. I couldn't have guests tripping around on the pavers.

[ta-da! the new patio]

So I decided on sod. I was torn between grass types. Bermuda or Fescue or Zoysia? Well, the area is too sunny for fescue. And Cricket isn't crazy about Bermuda. Zoysia it is!

Unfortunately, NO ONE SELLS ZOYSIA IN GEORGIA. Unless you need an entire pallet, that is. Which, we certainly didn't. Ugh. Cricket called his contracting buddy, who was apparently having zoysia installed at a project soon. We hoped the landscaper would add a few pieces to the order for us. Turns out, the landscaper was installing that week--and he had extra! FOR FREE!! SCORE!!!!! We'd just need to pick it up on the day he installed it....whenever that may be.

We just didn't know when we'd get "the call" to come pick it up. But on April 27, "the call" came. In case we needed any motivation, this was right on our heels:

[weather radar of the tornadoes in AL, heading our way]

We were already worried about getting the sod in before the rain came so our sand wouldn't wash away...but this storm was SERIOUS. When I got home from work, we switched into super-fast mode. Cricket was cutting the sod pieces as I laid them. He used a rusty machete, but honestly, scissors would've worked too.

Luckily, the whole pieces of sod were perfectly sized for the larger gaps between the pavers. That wasn't planned, but I encourage it for anyone planning something similar.


[almost done...here come the storms]

we finished just before dark. the rains came shortly after to give the sod it's first good soak.

before:

after:

[to do: build the bench, find a few accessories, grab a cocktail!]

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linking up to Kate's summer outdoor party so check out the other great ideas!

Paver Prep

The tiered planter was just the beginning phase of the patio transformation. The overall plan includes:

tiered planter
built-in bench seating
creating a lower patio, to serve as a seating/lounge area
improving drainage; reducing water flow into the crawl space
installing a french drain
creating a "flow" from the backdoor, through the upper patio, through the lower patio, into the lawn

With the tiered planter complete, we prepared the grassy area for its transformation into a patio.

We rented a tiller and tilled up all of the grass & dirt between the house and fenceline. Once tilled, we moved the dirt around to level out the area as much as we could. At this point, we installed the french drain.

[cricket moving dirt]

We wanted to maintain some slope away from the house, to avoid standing water or water in the crawl space, so it isn't 100% level. We also ran into a ground wire that we had to work around.

Then we laid landscape fabric to help with weed prevention.

[after about 15 bags...plenty more work to be done]

We spread about 40 bags of sand throughout the area to help fill in major holes and provide a paver base. We tamped the sand to compact it and [hopefully] reduce future settling.

[this was the 2nd batch of sand we bought. so. much. sand.]

I called ahead to pre-purchase the pavers and extra sand, and they had it ready to load with a forklift. We rented a flatbed truck to bring these suckers home from The Home Depot, and found a few friends to unload the suckers into the yard. We were able to rent the truck, load the pavers, unload the pavers, and return the truck within the basic rental timeframe [75 minutes], so it was a minimal expense.

Getting the pavers (37 pounds each) from here:

...to here:

...cost us $50 and 2 bottles of water. We probably also owe the neighboring churches a sincere apology for the truck's backup "beep-beep-beep" during their Easter service.

Once the sand was in, it was time for the pavers. Cricket had some studying to do, so it was up to me to put the paver puzzle together. I'd mapped out the design using a combination of 16"x16" concrete pavers and 8"x16" concrete pavers, all being 2" thick.

The pattern was designed to allow 3" of grass to grow between each row of pavers, and the pavers would start to thin out as the patio opened into the lawn.

I used a 2x4 to help level the sand. Dragging the 2x4 across the sand helped to fill in & level the area I was working with. It's much easier to work a small section at a time. I use 2x4 scraps as spacers, too. Then, I just followed my pattern and laid the pavers one by one.

The pavers are each about 37 pounds, so it was like doing squats with 40-pound weights. I paid for that the next day. And the next. And the next.

French Drain

As part of the landscaping patio project, we installed a French drain. We had some issues with water in our crawl space, so we were convinced the existing drain wasn't working.

The first step was to remove the existing French drain. It was improperly installed and didn't have a filter sock. As a result, the pipe had collapsed, and--much to the pleasure of Lula & visiting Abby--there was a dog toy stuck in the pipe. [i would be lying if Abby + i didn't take a little fetch break while cricket dug away at the trench. but it was a short break. i promise. the old girl needs her kicks!]

Deepen the trench to at least 12", so that it slopes away from the house. We extended the length of the drain so it would empty near a future flower bed instead of the middle of the lawn.

Fill the bottom of the trench with drainage rock:

Lay the perforated pipe into the trench:

We also tied in the downspout to the trench, to move that water away from the house, too. This was done by cutting a length of perforated pipe to the length where the downspout would join the trench. Both the downspout pipe and the perforated pipe were fed into the top of the "Y" and placed into the trench. Then, a piece of perforated drainpipe was inserted into the opposite end of the "Y" and laid into the remaining length of the trench.

The end of the perforated pipe should come to the surface of the ground, following a slight incline if necessary for the slope.

Once the drainpipe is in the trench, cover with drainage rock.

Cover the drainage rock with sand and topsoil and sod. Or, you could continue the project and cover with sod, pavers, and a fancy new patio!

Voila.

The hardest part is the digging. And the digging. Did I mention the digging? Since this was part of a larger patio makeover, we rented a tiller--which definitely helped the process along. Removing the existing trench's gravel was painful. I felt like we spent 5 hours moving dirt from one pile to another. But, so far, despite the crazy tornadoes and thunderstorms of the past week, we haven't seen much water in the crawlspace. It's definitely an improvement. SUCCESS!!

project costs:
25 foot flex perforated drainpipe with filter sock: $20
5 bags of sand: $16
7 bags of drainage rock: $24
tiller (though rented for another project too): $34

this was also a great excuse to purchase:
a wheelbarrow (for hauling the sand + rock)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

need your help with landscape design!

greetings blogland! i call on you today for helping with a critical decision. you've seen the tiered garden here, here, and here. the original plans call for a bench in front of the box, but we can't get started on the bench until we figure out what we want to do with the patio area.

we'd like to extend the living space into the lawn, and just can't decide what types of pavers we want to use. the space in front of the tiered planter measures 12' across and we'd like to extend about 18' towards the back yard.

the upper patio is the old parking pad, thus concrete. it's been painted & we're currently pressure washing to remove the chipping paint. i'm thinking of staining it afterward. i tell you this because whatever we lay in the current grass area below will need to be cohesive with the upper patio and "flow" aesthetically.

from the original listing photo

then the lower area we're working on. the bench will go in front of the planter. the new patio area will extend from the base of the planter & stairs for about 15-18 feet, running along the house on the right and the fence on the left.

at the edge of the house, the backyard opens up like this:

we plan to put some beds around the edges of the yard, maybe a new [read: taller] privacy fence.

requirements:

provide extra seating/entertaining space for 2 club chairs, 1 chaise, and a side table (plus the bench). we've already bought the furniture.
help with water run-off into the basement
be a clean design
use inexpensive materials that will live up to full afternoon sun elements & all-season weather (i knew folks once who used some fancy slate in their outdoor walkways THAT COULD NOT GET WET WITHOUT DISCOLORING. luckily, they had a staff who would literally wipe it down anytime it rained. did i mention this was on the gulf coast, ocean front? beautiful, yes. sensible, not so much.) i don't have a wipe-down staff, so this is not an option.

here are some ideas we like...

via

i like the larger square pavers, at least 20" square. i'm thinking of a tighter pattern nearest the bench, slowly expanding as the lawn opens up.

are we nuts to want grass between the pavers? is that a maintenance nightmare? anyone have any experience with this?

do you like tighter spaces, or larger spaces between the pavers?

also, what should we grow between the pavers? i've heard dwarf mondo grass as used here, but it seems kinda bushy.

or blue star creeper like this, which according to the Pike's Nursery sales flyer "spreads to form a low, dense mat. Tiny sky blue flowers emerge in late spring and last until early fall." that sounds nice, right?

or this scotch moss as suggested when i used the handy tool at stepables.com

or this miniature brass button groundcover from stepables.com?

decisions, decisions, decisions.

please help!!!

we need to figure out the pattern AND the materials, so all input very very very welcomed.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I thought it was Labor Day

Monday, June 13, 2011

fruits of the raised garden labor

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Grassy Pavers

Paver Prep

French Drain

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

need your help with landscape design!