Unfortunately, in our eagerness to get this project started, we neglected to take some before pictures. There may be a few lying around which we'll scrounge up...or perhaps reconstruct images of what it looked like.
Here's a closeup of the i-pavers. The patio measures 30 ft. x 40 ft. with an unpaved 2-3 ft. perimeter around the property line. This was to reduce the possibility of having to dig portions of the patio up should work be required on the bordering fences.
4000 i-pavers were used, and 6 tons of sand were used as a base. After the sand was screeded and pavers layed, we used a vibrating plate compactor to set the pavers in the sand. Fine play sand was spread over the patio and swept into the joints. Two more passes with the plate compactor locked everything in place.
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Here's a picture taken from the middle of the patio facing toward the Sunroom. This is the main entrance into the patio.
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This picture is taken slightly to the left (from the camera perspective) of the previous one. The white vinyl privacy lattice partitions the dog run from the rest of the yard. Vinyl terra cotta-colored planters house arborvites. The fountain sits atop a column pedestal to give it more substance and make it appear larger to fit within the scale of the patio. The pedestal sits in a flower tray which will eventually be completely covered by the spreading plants. A vine of ivy is wrapped around the column.
The arch is secured to the lattice and covered with vines, flowers, and grapes. The arch is traced out in white mini Christmas lights for nighttime illumination.
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This is a close-up of the fountain.
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Moving left again, Kevin and Cindy's cedar fence borders this side of the yard. We thought about putting up our own fencing, lattice, or something else that would fit in with the look that we were going for. After a bit of discussion, we decided to try and use the wood look to our advantage.
Using planter hangers, we hung 3 antique faux window frames on the fence. We then discovered that the frames just disappeared into the wood fence because they were similar in color and tone. We then took canvas (painting drop cloths) and mounted them to the fence behind the window frames. As you can see, they really standout now.
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Here's a close-up. It was windy the day that this picture was taken which pushed the canvas against the fence. Normally, the canvas hangs naturally and gives the impression of stucco'ed wall.
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Moving left once more, there's the patio furniture. The chairs are the Victorian collection from K-Mart, the swing, from Costco, and the tables from Ross.
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Here's another view of the seating area. In the current configuration, it can seat 7...an 8th can be accomodated by pulling over the seat near the fountain. On the few occasions that we've had to entertain in this area since finishing the patio, we've found that this is a great conversation area. Eventually, a fire pit will be place in the center of this area.
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Here's a close-up of the arborvites. Above it is a solar light. These lights are fully self-contained and have a small solar panel on top. During the day they collect sunlight to charge up the rechargeable batteries...at night they automatically light up. No fuss, no maintenance. We have 5 lamps to start out with...just to see how well they work. Depending upon how well they work and how we use the area, we may add more.
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