New Patio

New Patio, a photo by BelchSpeak on Flickr.

After two weeks of hard work by an inexperienced do-it-yourselfer, I finally finished my patio.

The flagstones were from the original patio, and they all had to be pulled up and allow for the ground beneath to be regraded. I had some problems with erosion and far too much water was draining toward the house.

But replacing the flagstones weren’t a simple matter of just putting them back where I found them. I removed a large hedge of azaleas from along the far fence and put flagstones where that hedge used to be. This caused the flagstones not to fit easily in their original positions. I cobbled together some other similar stones to fill in the angles and gaps left in the pattern.

The center shows several paver stones left over. This is where my new firepit will be built, atop the 9 sandstone pavers in the center.

In the back where you see leftover scrap is where I will build a three-tier flower box in the corner. It is the only place in the yard that gets reliable sunlight and it will also be a nice feature for the space.