I wanted to create a little backyard getaway, with a side of junk. A fun gathering place that was comfortable and blessed with a fun kind of strangeness.
Some before pictures.
These are of the garage and a weird little nook area. It is a very small yard with wood fencing all around. This was the starting point. We decided to address the nook/ patio area off the side off the house.
First we decided that we wanted a little shade and it need some character. An attached pergola, seemed to be the best choice. Settled on a simple design. Attached header to the house and posts. There was already a paver patio there in need of leveling and it had been extended with some extra stone brick. It looked a little redneck. I’m not going to get into the how to on a pergola. I am no expert and google will put better resources at your fingertips than I will be able to provide.
Next we decided to freshen up the wall on that part of house. Make it a little more interesting than painted siding. We love the corrugated metal and went with that.
There are also several good internet how to on this and I will try to provide a link. The basics: attach the horizontal wood closure strips to the wall. Cut your panels to fit. (metal shears-hard work, hard to keep straight, grinder with metal cutting disc-noisy, takes practice but easily cuts through the metal). We then cut a wood board for the base board trim. We notched the top half. So when attached to the wall it would hold the bottom of the panels and trim them out. Attach panels with self driving metal screws. They are usually located by the corrugated metal. Make sure you get ones for attaching to wood. We learned the hard way that it’s best to attach screws to wall in the lowest part of the wave. This is not only easier it looks better and doesn’t stick out. We also used a drill bit to pre drill. The self driving wasn’t the best and tended to jump around a bit on the metal. Overlap the corrugated panels. We overlapped about two waves. Then we trimmed out the edges. We used the same notched board technique on the top trim. The side trim didn’t require notching.
Our next step was to address the patio bricks. Over the years the ants and lack of proper drain had taken its toll. The mishmash of different pavers looked rough and disruptive to the eye.
This became my pandemic project. The interlocking bricks went all the way back along the house including into the nook with the window. I decided if I took those up. I could use those pavers and do something different back there. Then I could address the drainage issue and use those bricks to extend the patio in place of the hodgepodge mess of other bricks. So that where I started to the chagrin of my partner who came home and looked at me and said ‘oh shit you really started that.” To address the drainage I graded the area sloping it higher at the house and then put down a pond liner. Then off to Home Depot. Where I bought some stepping pavers 12 x 12 and some river rock. We also decided to buy a small storage shed that we could put cushions and such into. We got lucky and found one that fits the area fairly well and still let in plenty of light through the window.
Next the arduous task of resetting the bricks. I did it one section at a time. Starting at the house and working out. Grading slightly so the water would flow away. I was able to use the existing sand. Extricate the unwelcome ants and gradually it started taken shape. At this point my partner relinquished and join me in the rebuild. I did use some of the odd bricks as a gray edge border. We then irritated the neighbor one Saturday morning with a compactor. (Rental).
Tools used on patio: I used a grinder in a couple areas where I needed to make cuts with a mason disc, Rubber mallet, a weed puller to separate the bricks to pull them up and apart. ( Worked surprisingly well. ). Knee pads, Compactor, Advil and beer.
Then we used poly metric sand to fill between the interlocking pavers. This in my opinion is extremely important. The other sand just allows the critters in and the water doesn’t flow off near as well. Buy this at your Home Depot or Lowe’s. Your gonna need an old broom, water hose and a nice day. Follow the directions on the container. Basically sweep into all the joints, this is going to take several sweepings. Your then will sweep the excess off. There is a warning that failure to do this might stain your pavers. Then spray the patio down. Pressure should be light. It took some time, longer than I expected. You are wanting the sand to soak in the water but not stand on the bricks. Then let dry. If I remember right no traffic for 3 days.
I did use rolled edging around the outside edge. Doggy safe no sharp edges. Had to leave the doggy butt in there. Then add personality and lights.
Added some outdoor curtains and a sun shade on the pergola. We wanted more shade.
Still want to make a shallow lean to cabinet to hide the sprinkler and the house and garage need painting desperately. That is a job for fall weather!
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