Since Kim and I love to cookout and have people over for drinks we decided to expand our patio square footage in the backyard. The previous owners had about a 300 SF paver patio installed about 4 years ago. It was still in great shape so I figured I could find something that matched and add on. One thing we really wanted was a fire pit and sitting wall. Here is a picture of a patio that I wish I had and used as inspiration:
Here is a picture of the original patio:
The process:
Step one remove about 5" of grass and soil:
As you can see I used stakes to layout the patio addition. I used a string line to make sure I had removed enough of the soil. I needed enough room to put back about 3" of crushed stone and then 1" of concrete sand. Here is a picture of the crushed stone base after installation.
As you can see I removed the original border. It took about 2 tons of stone base. I also rented a plate compactor for the weekend. It only cost about $40. After the stone base was level and compacted, I placed the 1" of sand. After I compacted the sand, it was time to place the pavers:
It really took only a few hours to place the pavers. The only tools needed were a rubber hammer and a 3 foot level. After the pavers were placed I brushed some sand into the paver gaps.
Here are some of the finished product:
As you can see I also installed a 12' sitting wall. I found wall stone that matched the pavers. I placed the wall on the outside of the patio border. Once the first course of stone was level and straight, I placed a bead of masonry adhesive between it and the second coarse of stone. I continued this process for the next several courses. The final course was placed perpendicular to the base courses. Finally I used a brick chisel to cut the final side stones to size and created a clean edge.
After the wall was complete, I found some cobbles and boulders on my job site and created flower beds to outline the new shape of the patio. Finally I bought 8" wedge stones to create a fire pit near the sitting wall:
It is still standing even after people sat on it!! Thanks for reading!!
