September 2020 - D Day for "Project patio". I've hated this mess since the day we moved in here but put off tackling it for 8 long years!
From the day we moved into this house in 2012 I've hated the back garden.
The entire area was laid to awful slabs, as you can see from the picture above. As if that wasn't bad enough they were terribly laid, just sat on a massive blob of mortar at each corner. There was no pointing between the slabs and due to their being raised up on the aforementioned blobs of mortar, it was impossible to point between then. On top of all that, the mortar blobs were in each corner and the slabs had a weak point across the middle so constantly cracked.
Oh, and did I mention that it was impossible to sweep or keep clean due to the brick pattern running in opposite directions and the fact that the lack of pointing and big gaps underneath made it a slug and snail heaven!
There was no doubt that it was going to have to go at some point, but I'd always known that it was a massive job and I'd been putting it off until the time was right. I'm not getting any younger, there's limited access and I'd rather be out running or cycling than laying bricks, but towards the end of 2020 I'd finally had enough and decided to bite the bullet and make a start on what became known as "Project patio".
Obviously to minimise the loss of the garden during the best weather and maximise cycling and running fun, I decided to do it over the winter, which I'm sure anyone who's ever done any building work will tell you is not the ideal time to be doing anything, let alone building!
Pretty much 6 months to the day from starting (marked by the washing line coming down) I was able to sit back with a satisfied grin and watch the washing blowing in the wind again, wrap the cement mixer back up and sit down for long enough to drink a cup of tea without it going cold. It was a hell of a job in the worst of the weather but I hope you'll agree it's a job well done.
I'm happy with that. It took 6 months of graft in the worst of the winter weather but I hope you'll agree that it's come out Ok for someone who's certainly not a builder. It just needs a bit of sun and a few plants now!
Update August 2021
Well, project patio's been finished for a few months now and the summer suns had a chance to do it's thing. As you can see from the couple of pictures below, it's turned out to be all I hoped it would be and more. There's no doubt that we have spent more time sat out in the garden this year than any other, despite the great British weather doing it's best to discourage us.
The fact that the paving now drains and dries and is level and feet friendly, means you don't mind popping out there in your socks. "The Emma" seems to have found a favorite spot, sitting on the wall, soaking up the sun like a lizard, which pleases me immensely as she rarely ventured out there before. And there's nothing better than sitting down among the flowers with a brew at the the end of the day, breathing in the intoxicating scent of the Lilies and Lavenders whilst admiring the Petunias and Lupins, absolute heaven!
And it's not only us that's been making best use of the new facilities either. We've had 2 or 3 broods of sparrows nesting under the house gutter, all of whom have been regular visitors, picking seeds and grubs from among the foliage to nurture their young. The Bumble Bees loved the foxgloves in the late spring too, their busy buzzing providing a comforting backdrop as they went about their business.
There's no doubt about it, that was certainly worth the effort!