My patio is finally done (well, mostly)! This has been quite a little process. It started in early-May when I tore off my sorry excuse for a deck. I built it almost five years ago out of left-over fence panels. It was intended to be temporary until I built my real deck, but as these things often are, temporary turned into semi-permanent. I had thought I was going to build a new deck, but decided to go with a patio with concrete slab instead. Funny thing: When I tore out the tile in my kitchen and dining room, I took up some panels in the deck and discarded all that tile under the deck. I presumed it wouldn’t matter because when I built the new deck I could just go over it. But with the slab, I had to move all that tile. It was in hundreds and hundreds of pieces. It was much fun.
Then it rained for a while, so it pushed back my concrete. And then it rained some more. And some more. Finally it had been dry for a couple of weeks but I still hadn’t heard from my concrete guy. So I called him, only to find out he had “forgot about me.” But a few days later he was out there and I got concrete laid. Thank goodness. By the end of May I had the slab poured and cured and got my furniture assembled and on the patio. All that’s missing was everything else. I was lucky to have a “do-it-all” guy around who had just finished repainting my house, and he agreed to help me with the patio as well. By mid-June we were pretty much finished. I added a little “side-deck” on the side of the patio and raised up my fence a little for privacy. I still have two things yet to complete: laying tile and a little bit of landscaping around the patio. I can’t wait until it’s completely done! But it’s been nice so far. I love hanging out there, lounging in the chaise, surfing the web or eating dinner.
If you want to check out the patio, head over to Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624553525094/
