A Little Patio

Hubby and I knew when we built the back porch that the gas grill would never be housed there. We've seen first hand the grease mess that splatters all over the place.  The deck at our old house had grease spots and stains all over.  And a friend of ours melted their vinyl siding from the extreme heat of their gas grill.  We purchased these pavers and set to work preparing to make a little patio.  We've never had any experience with installing pavers but thanks to the great internet, there are hundreds of tutorials out there.  I settled with this one from Better Homes and Gardens.  

 Here's a before.  I know your diggin' the 5 gallon bucket on the porch.  And the crammed up furniture.  I keep moving it back where it belongs but two little boys I know keep rearranging.  

A view from the top of the stairs.

Nearly ready for the pavers.  

We used cap blocks for the border.  

And the finished project.  We used a polymeric sand to fill the cracks.  This sand combines with polymers to make a solid but flexible filler.  It's supposed to keep the insects out and keep the pavers intact.  But it rained for a week straight after we installed this patio.  I've noticed that the sand didn't set properly. We may have to scrape and vacuum out what we can and redo later this summer.  We'll have to see. 

 See the baby grass starting to sprout around?  

Don't be jealous of my gorgeous flowers in those pots! 

 Just use your imagination!  That's what I do!  ;-)