Sunday, October 07, 2007

Flagstone Patio

Home ownership... There's never an end to the challenges or the opportunities for improvement. No sooner than I finished my outdoor kitchen, called The Coop, we decided to cover a 200 sq ft area next to it with flagstone.

Easier said than done.

First of all, the sod has to be removed down about four or five inches in order to be replaced with decomposed granite for a solid foundation that can also be adjusted upward or downward for each individual flagstone piece according to its thickness. All of this is very labor intensive.

As for removing the old sod, that is a real challenge, especially considering the fact that there is a clay-like substance that sticks to everything. A shovel can quickly become heavy with the clay as it accumulates more and more layers. Then you just have to stop and scrape it off.

But finding a place for the old sod is also a problem. I've pretty much decided to put it behind some heavy Pampas Grass to make a sort of levy between our property and the cemetery where a great deal of water flows into our yard during heavy rains.

All of this is taking time, lots of time, primarily because I've been sick with a chest cold for almost two weeks. And the weather, dewpoint mostly, is really dragging me down. But I've got a goal, a pallet of flagstone and a yard of decomposed granite just waiting to happen.

No comments: