Project Patio Part II

Part two of the patio project.  It turns out that pouring the concrete is only half of the work!

 

 

Clyde scrubbing the concrete with a vinegar mixture to wash off the salt and minerals from the concrete.

 

Pressure washing...and by the way, isn't Clyde making quite the fashion statement?

First coat of sealer

I sealed all the joints...please feel free to admire my handiwork...

Second coat of sealer, by then the fumes were starting to bother Clyde so he looks like a bank robber with a bandana over his face

I wanted to put river rock on my wisteria planters for drainage.  We had a pile of it left over from another project that Clyde had stored way out in the back of our property. 

Loading river rock with an excavator is much easier than a shovel.

But there was some shoveling involved.

I washed the rock and it turned out perfect!

Then we placed some river rock where the concrete meets the rock edging of my gardens.

Washed and pretty.

Next we had to get the patio furniture out of the shop.  Clyde pressured washed our massive fourteen foot long picnic table.  He made this a few years ago out of reclaimed old growth wood that he salvaged from a huge mud slide and then had cut at a local saw mill.

So, when we get the "patio furniture" out for the summer it involves heavy machinery.

It can seat a crowd!

Our neighbor, Colin, sanded down the edges of the picnic table for us (we have the BEST neighbor)

 

The day of the concrete pour Clyde and Colin cut up some corrugated pipe to use as forms for stepping stones to make use of the excess concrete.

The stepping stones were HEAVY even for Clyde.

We had one little corner that we are going to change in the future so for now we just used the stepping stones and crushed rock.

Clyde did a little rock work to marry the concrete walkway to the steps leading down to the fire pit...turned out fabulous!

When I was taking the picture of the walkway I didn't even notice there were two deer on the hillside keeping an eye on me.

The rest of the patio furniture was a whole lot easier to put in place.

The patio project is officially DONE...time for a party!