Patio Planning

We’ve finally decided on the placement, shape, and materials for our future patio.  As illustrated in this drawing, we are creating a rather large 300 square foot outdoor living space.  It will span across the back of the house and around the deck.  We plan on using gray patio pavers with a gray cement slab at the base of the stairs.

I want a large patio (which is why we went with a small deck) because we wanted to enjoy our backyard utilizing the privacy of the fences.   Being up on the deck is like being up on a stage when everyone is outside.  I also like the openness of a patio - there’s no railing and you can easily sprawl out into the grass.

First we’re starting with the cement slab, which is being poured in two parts.  By the time we finish pouring the both slabs and let it cure twice over, we’ll be into July and very hot outside.  Building a patio is a lot of brutal work - lots of digging, tamping, leveling, rock and stone and sand hauling... not something easy to do in the full heat of summer.  So our patio progress will probably be slow and very weather dependent.