Building a Patio - Part One: Digging it Out

We started a new project over the weekend - we are building a patio.  We are so excited about this one. Our yard has been in desperate need of help and attention since moving in and we are finally at a point to start showing it some.  We are starting with pretty much a clean slate - as far as landscaping goes...well, nothing but weeds.  We have no real sitting area outside so installing a new patio will definitely add so much to our yard.  So let's get started!

Here's the before shot - its a mess and in need of help!

First things first, we determined how big we wanted our patio to be.  So we - and let me stop here and state that when I refer to we I mean Justin and our friend Mark.  I was there for moral support and to bring out drinks and make food.  Ok, so "we" began by measuring out the area in which we wanted our patio and then marked each corner and used spray paint to mark it off.  Simple enough.

Next they determined how far down they were going to need to dig.  It depends on your gravel/sand layers.  You will see as we go but you need several base layers before you begin laying your stone or brick.  By the way - we are going with stone.  We are using 3" of gravel, plus 3" of screening (stone) plus our patio stones which are 2".  So our depth was 8" total.

After that was all calculated and confirmed (measure twice/dig once) - we were ready for the official ground breaking.

Now the fun really hard part began - digging.  Basically now that you have your area and your depth determined you just dig your butt off.  I would like to add here how thankful I am for friends like Mark that will come and help like this.  You also need to make sure as you are digging that you keep the distance fairly even and level as possible.  An un-level base will equal and un-level patio.  The next process will include lots of leveling and tamping.  So, just make sure you are digging a fairly level pit, stopping to measure your depth as you go is a good way to insure that- and sometimes you will need to adjust and spread dirt around to get it right.

The next piece of this process is carrying away or relocating all of the dirt you are digging out (its got to go somewhere).  Since we have pretty much zero landscaping we had the plan of using the dirt we dug out to fill in and create new plant/flower beds around our yard.  This actually ended up working perfectly for us.  The front, sides and back all now have plant beds ready for some pretty landscaping...which will have to wait until we have our patio built.  Mulch will be soon to follow.

So after measuring, calculating, digging (making lunches), lots of sweating, burning arms and hauling dirt you will have this...a big pit.

And what a great pit this is.  Soon this pit will be filled with good things that will lead to a patio - which we can't wait for.

So that was our weekend, we have more work to follow so stay tuned in the next few weeks for part two of our building the patio project.  Tomorrow I'm finally sharing about painting our house.  Woohoo, that's been a long time coming and I'm so ready to share that process and end result with you.

Any other landscaping or outdoor projects going on?  Share with me!!