slim indie.

Building a Paver Patio Part 3: Digging Out

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:01:00 -0400

After getting two-thirds of the way dug out on Thursday, my friend Alex came over on Friday and the two of us were able to dig out almost all the rest of the patio area. Unfortunately, when I went on Saturday morning in the better daylight it became apparent that while we had dug the pit level with the yard, the yard was not level and thus our pit was woefully sloped to the side.

My friends Nic and Josh came on Saturday and we dug out more than a dozen more wheelbarrowfuls of dirt to get the ground close to level, leaving a slight slope toward the side of the house for drainage. It rained on and off for most of the day so we were really moving mud rather than dirt, which very well highlighted any low spots and problem areas. Nic had the idea of using one of the old deck boards as a tamper for a larger area than could be done with the hand tamper, and he and Josh spent a fair amount of time jumping up and down on it to make sure everything was firmly in place. It was pretty effective, though they looked completely ridiculous doing it.

After lots of tamping and raking, the pit was ready to build into.

We laid a fabric barrier on top of the dirt to keep the sand from egressing into the soil. This helps to keep everything in place and will reduce the amount of sinking the final pavers will do over time. I used the same weed-blocking barrier we used in all of our mulched gardens and picked up a second roll when the last of the first ran out, which is why it has a two-tone look. The fabric is held temporarily in place by some of the rocks that came out of the ground during digging.

With the fabric barrier in place, it was time to start pouring and spreading sand. This turned out to be trickier than it sounds since the sand was damp from the rain and we needed to put down about 3/4” of level, evenly-placed sand. Josh did a lot of the heavy lifting here, filling and carrying loads of sand from the driveway to the pit while I raked, flattened, and tamped the sand in the pit.

At long last, it was finally time to start putting the paver base boards down and place the pavers on top. I had already started laying the boards and pavers when I though to take a picture of the sand, but this still gives a good impression of how much sand we went through.

Next up is finishing laying the paver base boards and placing all the pavers, which is the biggest step left toward finishing the project. After that we still need to cut stones for gaps, fill the patio edges, spread and cure the polymeric sand, and build and attach the stairs. I’ve actually already placed most of the pavers, but I think it makes more sense to put that whole project phase into its own post.

Building a Paver Patio Part 2: The Teardown

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:33:00 -0400

I did not take any pictures of the partially torn-down deck because I was worried that it would start raining before I could make good progress, but I did get some of the area after the deck was down.

My future brother-in-law came to help, and we had just started digging the pit for the paver base when I took this. The bush and the three plants on the side were within the boundaries of the new patio (marked by the stakes and string) so we had to transplant them to a new home next to the patio.

The decking came up more easily than it probably should have, owing to the fact that the wood was over 20 years old and starting to rot in many places. The most concerning thing was that the support posts, which were set into concrete, were only set into a few inches of concrete that literally fell off the posts as we started trying to take them out. The pile of wood left after pulling everything out is pretty impressive.

After everything was torn down and moved out of the way, we started digging. We don’t need to dig down more than a couple inches since we’re using the previously mentioned paver base boards, but it still resulted in an impressive amount of dirt. There is a pile of approximately equal size in the backyard that didn’t photograph well since it’s back under some trees.

By the end of the evening, we had finished digging out about two-thirds of the total patio area, raking and tamping along the way to try to keep it as level as possible before we actually go back and do the leveling to put sand down. While digging, we discovered a giant ball of concrete smack in the middle of the patio area that was in the way, so rather than trying to dig out three cubic feet of concrete by hand we chipped away at it with the claw of a hammer until it was low enough to cover with dirt and move on.

Another friend is coming over tonight to help me finish digging the pit so that we’ll be ready to lay fabric, sand, and pavers tomorrow morning when it arrives from the stone yard. All in all, everything is progressing really well and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be finished by end of day Saturday.

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Fri, 17 May 2013 09:14:20 -0400

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Thu, 16 May 2013 10:42:58 -0400

Building a Paver Patio Part 1: The Starting Point

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:41:00 -0400

My wife and I have been wanting to tear down the old, somewhat dangerous deck that was on our house when we bought it, and we’re finally taking the plunge and replacing it with a paver stone patio. Quotes for having someone come out to install one were exorbitant, so we decided to do it ourselves. Since pregnant women aren’t really supposed to do construction work, my wife and I have been working on the planning and I’ll be doing the actual work with help from some friends.

I forgot to take any pictures before I started pulling out the safety rails in the railing, but these are otherwise pretty representative of the deck before I started any demolition. You can probably tell from the pictures that it’s not in very good shape, and the stairs are particularly loose and treacherous. I started tearing down the deck last night and broke the hammer I was using to pry the boards up in the process, so I’ll be stopping by the hardware store this afternoon to get a replacement and finish the demo today. I’m hoping that the demo will be finished in time to make some significant progress toward digging out this evening.

Rather that use the traditional method of 4 inches of gravel, 1 inch of sand, and then pavers, which requires digging 6 inches down, we will be using Brock Paver Base panels. The panels are laid on 1/2 inch of sand, and the pavers are laid right onto the panels, and since there’s a lot less material we’ll only have to dig down 2 inches. The panels are more expensive than using gravel, but the reduction in waste dirt means that I won’t have to rent a dumpster to dispose of it and will make the final project cost lower. The more shallow pit will also be a lot faster and easier to dig out, meaning that the project will be done sooner and with less strain on everyone involved.

I’ll take a few more pictures this afternoon before I continue tearing the deck down, and I’ll try to remember to take some in between each phase.

Wow. I’m watching “The Traitors”, which is the fourth episode of the classic...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:04:00 -0400

Wow. I’m watching “The Traitors”, which is the fourth episode of the classic Doctor Who story “The Daleks’ Master Plan”, and they just straight up ejected a companion out of an airlock into space. That’s pretty hardcore for what was considered a kids show, especially the shot of the body floating lifelessly away.

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Wed, 08 May 2013 16:31:42 -0400

pitchfork: Watch the very amazing new video for the Lonely...

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:01:55 -0400

pitchfork:

Watch the very amazing new video for the Lonely Island’s “Spring Break Anthem” featuring Zach Galifianakis, James Franco, and Ed Norton.

I’m looking for a new EPL team since my original pick was...

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:50:32 -0400

I’m looking for a new EPL team since my original pick was purely random and I’ve narrowed it down to Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham. Any thoughts?

Considering the chronology of the stories, it makes no sense...

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:35:45 -0400

Considering the chronology of the stories, it makes no sense that this aired in between Mission to the Unknown and The Daleks’ Master Plan.

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Mon, 06 May 2013 15:06:08 -0400

doctorwho: squables: waiting-for-the-tardis: i knew u were trouble when u walked in nOW IM LYING...

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:22:40 -0400

doctorwho:

squables:

waiting-for-the-tardis:

i knew u were trouble when u walked in

nOW IM LYING ON T HE //COLD HARD G ROUND

NO GET OUT NOW

Previously: Now I’m Lying On The Cold Hard Ground: Dalek Edition.

Hahahahahaha

pitchfork: Watch the lyric video for Vampire Weekend’s new...

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:53:00 -0400

pitchfork:

Watch the lyric video for Vampire Weekend’s new song, “Ya Hey”, our latest Best New Track.

I pulled the GX-15R apart into its various components for...

Fri, 03 May 2013 08:51:00 -0400

I pulled the GX-15R apart into its various components for placement into the new head and new cabinet. Even though the amplifier section isn’t working right now, building the enclosure for it will be excellent practice for creating the joints I’ll be using for the cabinet.

The amplifier section is attached to the combo enclosure with four screws on top (two screws near the front and the two that hold the handle on). Once these are out, the amp slid right out. Since the speaker was connected with crimp connectors, disconnecting it was a piece of cake. The label strip was stapled to the top of the baffle. The staples came out of the baffle easily enough, but getting them out of the label strip was more difficult and I managed to put one pretty deep into my thumb in the process.

Next task is to start cutting the boards to size for the amplifier enclosure. I also still need to pull the speaker out of the combo enclosure, but that’s a much less onerous task so I’ll probably leave that until I’m ready to mount it somewhere else.

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Wed, 01 May 2013 15:54:28 -0400

I had a random Ikea shelf piece laying around that was a decent...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:18:00 -0400

I had a random Ikea shelf piece laying around that was a decent size and shape, and I think it might work as a baffle for a 2x8 cabinet. The first picture is the backside of the board and the second shows where I measured and marked off 8” squares for the speaker placements.

This is the broken Crate GX-15R that I am using for practice and...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:11:00 -0400

This is the broken Crate GX-15R that I am using for practice and parts. The amp section had a terrible hum that drowned out the signal, so I opened it up to see if it was anything obvious. I noticed that the ring contact on the input jack seemed bent back a bit so I popped it back down into place, but now the amp doesn’t produce any sound whatsoever so something else is clearly wrong.

I’m much less concerned about fixing the amp section than I am interested in using the speaker cone to test the quality of the cabinet I’m building, but I think I have enough wood that I could make the amp section into a standalone head unit if it’s reasonably repairable. I’ll post more photos as I start taking this amp apart and building the new cabinet.

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Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:52:59 -0400

The Evolution of Music medley by Pentatonix. These people are...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:58:53 -0400

The Evolution of Music medley by Pentatonix. These people are ridiculously talented.

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:29:00 -0400