{"id":3968,"date":"2011-08-02T18:03:49","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T23:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=3968"},"modified":"2011-08-02T18:05:02","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T23:05:02","slug":"patio-and-back-yard-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=3968","title":{"rendered":"Patio and Back Yard Reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: \u00a0Spring<\/em><\/h3>\n

Yippee!! It is finally finished. \u00a0The major back yard facelift that Mr. Spring and I started in March is finally complete. You can read about the start of the facelift here<\/a><\/span> and here<\/a>.<\/span> \u00a0 We have plenty of blisters and aching muscles to prove it. \u00a0Was it a lot of work? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Did we know what we were doing at first? \u00a0Thanks to lots of research, yes. \u00a0Would we do it again? \u00a0Yes! \u00a0Are we proud of it and of ourselves? \u00a0Yes, yes, yes!!!<\/h3>\n

When we bought our first home, it was important for us to live in an established neighborhood in an urban rather than suburban setting. \u00a0We knew that we would have to tackle projects, but if it meant we could increase our home’s value by applying some muscle, then we were all for it. \u00a0Our little charmer had all of the major updates completed, thankfully, so that we can just add our tastes through cosmetic overhauls. \u00a0That’s what this project was all about.<\/h3>\n

In a nutshell, we removed all of the previous owners’ gravel, rocks, decking and patio in order to build our own new and larger patio and lay sod. \u00a0He didn’t have a lawn – at all. \u00a0He didn’t want any maintenance – at all. \u00a0We wanted grass for Gracie, and since my husband grew up in an apartment in New York City, it was only right that he should have the opportunity in his life to do mowing and lawn maintenance.<\/h3>\n

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Because our winter in Syracuse was sooooooo long last year, we didn’t want to wait for the snow to melt to get started. \u00a0The first thing we did was to remove all of the previous owner’s DIY projects. \u00a0Based on all of the rocks, bricks, gravel and wood we hauled out, he probably had some sore muscles and blisters once upon a time, too.<\/h3>\n

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Thanks to Mr. Spring’s research and calculations, we knew exactly how much materials we would need for our project.<\/h3>\n

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We had to give up the use of our garage and driveway for a while, but it was worth it in order to stock pile our sand, top soil, and paving bricks.<\/h3>\n

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After all of the things we didn’t want were removed, we carefully laid out the patio’s dimensions and then added sand and runner crush to provide a solid foundation.<\/h3>\n

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We rented a machine to help pack it down. \u00a0That was so worth it.<\/h3>\n

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Next came the barrier and then….<\/h3>\n

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more \u00a0packing down the ground.<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0We selected a herringbone pattern for the brick layout. \u00a0It required lots of careful measuring and cutting.<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0It was also very important to keep the surface level.<\/h3>\n

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\u00a0Doesn’t it look professional? \u00a0Not bad for two newlyweds learning as we go. \u00a0When it was finished, we added a type of sand in the cracks that will firm and hold the bricks together when water is added.<\/h3>\n

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I enjoyed cutting the bricks, while Mr. Spring was putting down the main pattern of the patio.<\/h3>\n

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We worked after the sun went down many evenings, but we just couldn’t wait to get the majority of it finished.<\/h3>\n

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Shortly after we finished the patio, we laid the sod, bought a new outdoor table and chairs, a fire pit, and of course, tiki torches.<\/h3>\n

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We L.O.V.E. it. \u00a0We use it when we sit out with the neighbors…..<\/h3>\n

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And for dinners for two.<\/h3>\n

The painters are coming next week to paint our house’s exterior which means the total backyard facelift for this year will be complete. \u00a0I will be sure to share the new look with you.<\/h3>\n

We are planning a movie night for our first major outdoor entertaining event. \u00a0Stay tuned for the upcoming details.<\/h3>\n

Cheers!<\/h3>\n

Linking to\u00a0\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: \u00a0Spring Yippee!! It is finally finished. \u00a0The major back yard facelift that Mr. Spring and I started in March is finally complete. You can read about the start of the facelift here and here. \u00a0 We have plenty of blisters and aching muscles to prove it. \u00a0Was it a lot of work? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3968"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4052,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3968\/revisions\/4052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}