Good morning, sweet friends! Welcome to Saturday Morning Coffee Talk. Hope you have your cup of coffee in hand (tea or Favorite beverage).
Here on Saturday, I talk about random things going on over at White Lilac Farmhouse or little something about myself. What a whirl wind of a week! Over here at White Lilac Farmhouse, there have been projects going on left and right. I have been on the ball getting things lined up!
On Monday, my father and I installed an automatic drip irrigation system into the flower and herb gardens. I have a post on How To Install An Automatic Drip Irrigation System. You will be surprised how easy it is to install. I was very surprised.
We had two in the ground pool estimates. One could be installed in August, but it was WAY out of my price range for our budget. I just could not see spending that kind of money. They other is more realistic for a great quality pool but I am on a waiting list for next year. Ugh! Hopefully, we will make the cut and it will be installed in 2022.
This week, biggest project was the installation of a paver patio. We have been saving up since last year to get a few projects done including this patio.
Let me show you a before photo of the ugly spot.
With this eye sore here, it takes away from the beautiful house and landscaping. And, right off the porch and so ugly with the lack of grass and the dead grass. This area of the yard is very sandy.
I love DIY projects. I also know my limitations. Neither my husband or I felt comfortable tackling this large project ourselves. So we decided to leave this project to the pros. Boy are we glad to have hired an awesome contractor for the project that took two full days.
They dug out the yard with a piece of equipment and used another machine to press the soil down. I did not take step by step photos of the entire process. I wanted to stay out of their way but did manage to get a few good ones to show you the progress.
Here is a full view. It looks better already just removing the ugly dead grass.
After the area was leveled, they added a thick layer of gray gravel over the patio area. Next, a layer of sand was added, pressed down and again leveled out. Then, the contractor began to lay the pavers.
Here is a close up of the pavers. Right now they are dirty and will look amazing once rinsed off with water.
We went with the Bristol Stone® with Color Tech™ in the Sonoran color. There are six different colors and various sizes to select. We wanted colors to match the stone on the front of our home.
After the pavers where laid and made sure everything was leveled, a polymer sand was brushed into the cracks of the pavers. Then the contractor rinsed off the pavers. The water will make the polymer sand bond and harden.
I can now see all of the color variations coming through on the pavers. We love it!
In the fall, I want to have them install a border wall for the flower and herb gardens in the back of the house. It will help to keep the soil and the mulch from washing down onto the patio during a bad storm.
Now hopefully, we can get some grass to grow back in this area.
We were told to wait 48 hours before walking on it. However, it rained for two straight days after the patio was installed. Therefore, we are going to wait for another 48 hours since it will hit in the 90s this weekend.
Here are a couple of close ups so you can see the colors. It’s still drying from the rain we had the previous day. I am so happy how the project turned out.
As soon as my furniture, end tables, pillows, rugs, etc. arrives, I will be doing a post on the finished look of the patio styled. So stay tune for more on this patio styling reveal!
On the project list tomorrow, I will be staining this porch that leads down to the patio. It should dry out today.
This week I talked about getting back to my weight loss journey. You can read it here.
Another project around White Lilac Farmhouse was installation of an automatic drip irrigation system. You can see the how to here.
Have an absolutely amazing weekend, friends!
Sweetie says
It looks great!
Tammy says
Thank you so much, Sweetie. We have been enjoying it right now with some folding chairs. I cannot wait to get my new furniture in.
Juliet says
The patio looks fabulous … I love the different stone sizes and color variations and the border. Can’t wait to see it with new furniture, etc. Fingers crossed you move up quickly on pool company’s wait list. I reached out to a pool company today … we’ll see if they return my call. Everyone is so busy these days. Your lot is so spacious. It’s interesting to me to see the differences in lots sizes, etc. based on where one lives in the country. I notice that on the East Coast (and mid-West) that fences between houses are not common. And, I wonder how do you deal with doggies with so much open space? My little hooligans would run off the second I opened the door … we even have our front yard enclosed so they are free to come and go but no pester the neighbors. Of course, they’d be thrilled with all that wonderful open space to frolic. xo
Tammy says
Thank you so much, Juliet. A fence is being installed very soon. We have been on a waiting list. The fence company told us it would be 7-9 weeks. All of the contractors seem to be in demand with everyone working from home. We have to always take Piper, the Frenchie out on a leash. If she hears children or my friends across the street or next door, she shoots across the yard. The new fence will be pool coded and keep the girls safe from running across the street. It has been my best fear. I have so many plans for this yard. It sure is fun design it out.
Kayla says
What a huge project! It looks beautiful and it will be so nice to enjoy in the early mornings and evenings this summer!
Tammy says
Kayla, thank you so much. We are loving this patio. It’s been so nice sitting out there with some tea and watching the hummingbirds. I will be glad when our furniture arrives. We have been using folding chairs for now.