DIY Paver Patio

So we are so excited to FINALLY have our front patio done (well everything but the final landscaping touches).  Hopefully by the end of this month I will finally be able to put the before and after pictures of our finished front yard.

So after 2 weeks of internet searching and shopping around for the best prices we finally got started.  This project has been the longest and most difficult project yet.   

These are the things we needed for our project:

-15 bags of Paver Sand 

-Paver Set Polymeric Sand 

(this is the finishing touch that we actually haven't done yet...whoops)

-Wood framing

-Metal Stakes to hold the frame

-Pounder

-Pea gravel

-Landscape Fabric to keep the weeds out

-2 x 4 and 2 ten foot PVC pipes for leveling

So this is the area we started with

The first thing we had to do was dig down so that each of the three frames were level with the concrete.  We also had to measure out the frame EXACTLY to the pavers we had since they were going to be fitting hopefully snuggly inside the wood frame.  It took a lot of work and a lot of mess ups but this is what we ended up with:

The landscape fabric has been awesome.  We bought a huge 100 foot roll at a local nursery for $40 and have used it for everything.

Next step is to lay a 2" layer of pea gravel over the landscape fabric.

After leveling all the gravel out we placed our two PVC pipes towards the edge like this:

Then we started pouring the paver sand in excess in between the PVC pipes.  I just tried to level it the best I could just by looking at it before we really leveled it.

The leveling part was actually pretty easy.  You just need the small 2x4 and you run it on the top of the PVC pipes.

Then you take out the first PVC pipe and use a small shovel to add sand to the line that it left in the sand.  As you can see it isn't perfect but it worked.

Then you start laying your pavers in whatever pattern you want.

Then you move the PVC pipes and repeat the process until you have the whole thing filled in.  

The LAST paver...

It took us about 4 hours just to do the paver sand and laying the bricks.  Total time to do the digging, framing, and everything else was probably 10 hours.  We spread it out over about 2 weeks though so it wasn't too bad.

The one thing we still have to do is sweep the polymeric sand into the cracks and lightly mist it so that the pavers set and hold really nicely.  It was so late that we decided to wait on that.  Unfortunately it has been 2 weeks since we finished it and that step still isn't done.

Here is the finished product in the daylight...

Hopefully by the end of this month we will have all the landscaping done around the patio.  I'm crossing my fingers.