Amazing Transformation From Horrible Patio To Beautiful Finished Product
If you’ve ever had the brilliant idea to skip a call to a professional and take on a home project yourself, you’re not alone! Many people have had the urge to try and be their own handyman and take on a DIY project around the house. Some of the results have turned out great, and some not so great.
What really determines the success of a project is its level of difficulty. Some are best left for an experienced professional, and others can be accomplished with some hard work and the right tools. Small construction projects can be simple enough to complete and they can really improve the appearance of a home.
The project of focus is a patio refinishing that only required some moderately skilled hands and effective techniques. For anyone looking to re-pave their own patio, this man’s step-by-step instructions will surely come in handy.
It might be a lack of confidence holding you back from attempting it, but once you’ve seen the project below we’re sure you’ll feel much more ready to try it!
To get you excited about what can be accomplished by following this man’s example, take a look at the beautifully finished product!
The man that refinished the patio lives in a townhouse, and with limited property space, it’s ever important to have everything looking great! The original patio was unsightly, basic tiles that were installed about 10 years ago.
Since the old patio had a lot of useless space (approximately a foot all the way around) surrounding it, the owners really wanted to utilize all of the space effectively with the new patio. They mentioned that they spend a lot of time outside, so every inch counts!
The first step was perhaps the easiest technically speaking but the hardest physically. They had to fully demolish the old patio. The owner and one of his friends removed all the tiles and then dug about 8” deeper than the original height. Since the patio is so small, each shovelful of dirt had to be removed from the backyard in buckets.
After grading and leveling the dirt, the owner then had to plan out a drainage route for any water that built up. Next, he installed ¾ crushed stone and made sure to work in 2” amounts at a time to ensure everything remained level. In the end, he had 5” of crushed stone.
Once the crushed stone was put in place, leveling sand had to be installed on top of it. This ensured that the surface would remain flat so that the larger stones could be installed correctly and drainage could still occur properly.
Once a section of sand had been poured and leveled, the man started to lay the larger stones. He chose to lay them in a random pattern, and the ⅛ spacing between the stones provides some room for error. If you’re looking to have a level patio, then you’ll want to make sure you re-examine the stones after each section with a level and correct any uneven parts. No need to tap the stones into place simply lay the stones in the sand and proceed.
The previous step is repeated until all the space is filled with stones, and then comes the trickiest part. The borders will need to be cut with a miter saw that has a diamond blade. The tool can be rented from a hardware shop if you don’t have one.
Voila! The borders are inserted and the patio is complete!
The finished product looks beautiful, and while it obviously requires getting your hands dirty, doing it this way can save a lot of money while still turning out great!
We hope this gives you the confidence to undertake your own patio project. Share with a friend who could use some handyman advice for their own project!
