Home Improvement

We decided to add a little pebble patio to our back "yard" to make it a bit nicer and to have a place to sit and enjoy the "outdoors"! We began the project sometime in mid-March and it was (of course) more labor intensive and complicated than I thought. Still, we got it done (Nathan did the majority of the work!) and now, we have a great little spot. So here's how we did it:
First, we found a landscape supplier up north and made a morning out of picking out pea gravel and river rock for stepping stones. Then, Nathan and Amos dug out the dirt to lay the gravel and pea gravel. The rocks were soon delivered and we continued to dig! While Himanshu and I finished digging, Nathan went and rented a tamper to push the dirt and gravel down and keep it compacted. When he returned, they would lay down a layer of gravel then would tamp it. They did that about four times. Then it was time to put down the stepping stones. They were so pretty! And then the finishing touch: the pea gravel.
Now when it was all done, we all wanted to love it. But we didn't. The pea gravel was too brown looking from a distance, which was disappointing because up close, there seemed to be alot of greys, blues and silvers. So we decided to continue the stepping stone pattern idea, buying more rock and making an actual surface area using the rock that we bought, which were mostly flat. That took awhile to do, as we had to dig out the pea gravel and then play tetris with 70 oddly shapped river rock for a few hours while Amos napped. Then Nathan had to go through and make each one sturdy, because they weren't completely flat on the bottom. He had to use gravel to secure each part and yes, that took awhile! Finally, Nathan was finished and he poured the last of the gravel in around the cracks. The result was something we could love and we have loved it ever since!
Now we're waiting to get our fence put up so we can leave our chairs, table and firepit out there all the time!


Before...





After...

Here's how it all went down: