Deck to Patio
We were excited at the prospect of owning our first fixer type home, but we knew some of the projects would have large learning curves. Neither my husband nor I have construction experience. We love dreaming up an idea (or, taking it from Pinterest), envisioning it in a space, and making it a reality with our limited know-how.
In this particular case, the idea was "let's replace an old, partially rotten deck with a herringbone brick patio". The deck was "fine" but we were eager to add some character to our little backyard. Our backyard is pretty small and the existing deck was a bit of an eyesore and made the functionality of the backyard choppy. One limitation for this project was budget. We wanted to the herringbone patio on a small budget since we were in the midst of finishing our kitchen renovation.
Before:
We were told by the home inspector that our deck would either need to be re-secured or replaced. Since we would be putting in work to keep the deck or remove it, we thought we'd go ahead and remove it and carry out our idea.
Process:
Clean up the area.
This guy is a total champ with us doing projects. He likes to dig in and help.
Before we Polysanded the patio we made sure it was stable and pleasing to the eye.
After:
Patio Budget Breakdown:
Bricks- FREE
Leveling Sand- $30
Foam Base- $120
Tamper- $25
-------------------------
Total Patio Cost-$175
In this particular case, the idea was "let's replace an old, partially rotten deck with a herringbone brick patio". The deck was "fine" but we were eager to add some character to our little backyard. Our backyard is pretty small and the existing deck was a bit of an eyesore and made the functionality of the backyard choppy. One limitation for this project was budget. We wanted to the herringbone patio on a small budget since we were in the midst of finishing our kitchen renovation.
Before:
We were told by the home inspector that our deck would either need to be re-secured or replaced. Since we would be putting in work to keep the deck or remove it, we thought we'd go ahead and remove it and carry out our idea.
 |
| While removing the boards we realized we could simply pull the deck away from the house with a little tug. This was very unsettling and made us relieved to be taking it down. |
 |
| Me sweating over the demo. I love demo. |
 |
| After much demo by hand (with a little help from the circular saw), we moved the deck to our alleyway. We posted the broken-up deck on craigslist and most of it was gone within hours of posting which saved us a trip to the dump and it was reused by someone else. Yes!!! |
Process:
Clean up the area.
 |
| Our dog is slightly confused. |
Tamp and level out the ground with slight grading away from the building 
Weed barrier to keep your patio from being broken up by plant growth.
Instead of a sand base that would have required many back breaking sand bags we decided to go with the alternative base which is cheaper and serves the same purpose. 
We began placing bricks and mixing the brick texture and size to really give it character.
Retrieve FREE bricks from neighbor who took out an old fireplace.
After:
 |
| The final product is stunning. I love the space we created and feels much more suitable to the size yard and style house we have. The rest of the backyard really flows well with this space and makes the backyard feel bigger. If you have a vision, be brave and make it happen. A little blood, sweat and tears and you'll get there ;-) |
Bricks- FREE
Leveling Sand- $30
Foam Base- $120
Tamper- $25
-------------------------
Total Patio Cost-$175
Comments
Post a Comment