So when we bought our house last year, the previous owner had these stones piled up in a circle as if it was some sort of bonfire area. I took those stones and piled them in the corner ever since. That is where they lay until last weekend. I decided to take apart the stairs and install a new stone patio in the backyard.
Well I then proceeded to take the stairs apart and found that that was worth the whole project right there. I found the stringers to be in shambles and you could literally pull the corners of the stringers off. They were in bad shape so I threw the wood away and would build new stairs as well.
This is the only decent picture of our backyard before the whole deck and patio project. This is from when we bought the house.
So that's where I started. And these are the pictures of the process. I didn't take one during the digging, but you get the point. Here is the timeline:
Finished the gravel laying:
...not yet... ...not yet...
Then laid the sand down for the stone to sink into.... You probably can't see it too well, but I laid dirt down where the wood was and then just used two boards to keep the structure.
Then lay the stones. This looks like a quick step, but it was a pain in the butt trying to make the jigsaw puzzle fit together. It was far less fun than I thought it would be. Also, as I was laying the stones I noticed they all would shift left, right, up, and down if I stepped on them. This was very concerning but I kept going trusting that they would settle and solidify with some crushed stone.
The finished patio with new soil laid around it and sand swept into the cracks of the stones. The last two steps now is to pour the crushed stone in and rebuild the stairs.
Cut the stringers... this was a bit more complicated than I thought it would be. You have to get the stair angle just right so that the stairs are level and also calculate the number of stairs based on the height from the ground.
Install the stringers... Also not as easy as it looks. They have to be braced at the top by the deck (obviously), but I also wanted them to be braced together at the bottom by a 2x4 so that they remain parallel and to add to the stability. You can barely see the 2x4, but it's there at the bottom.
Then install the steps on top.
Daisy's first attempt at the stairs.
This is Daisy's look of "Hey Come On! Let's Go! Chase me!" As you can see the stone has changed color, that's because right before putting the stairs in, I laid down the crushed stone. It was so dusty that it turned all the rocks grey. Once it rains, the crushed stone will harden in the cracks and the patio will go back to it's natural color.
I finished the project on Sunday and now it's Tuesday and it is about to storm outside so this picture is kind of crappy, but I thought I would show the finished product. Here it is:
Now the only thing left to do is put in the railings.
3 comments:
Wow! That looks awesome. You did a great job. I can't believe you cut the stringer yourself...with a jigsaw?? I'm a big fan of flagstone patios. I like how rustic and natural they are. Not great for kids (hence Brynn's scarred knee), but beautiful!
By: Hillary on March 5, 2008 at 12:07 AM
Great Job Michael!! You have really worked hard since I have been there. Looks great. I know you will enjoy the added space with the new patio.
By: Anonymous on March 5, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Wow! I never knew you were such a handy-man!
By: Mike Brody on June 24, 2008 at 12:32 PM
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