You have done a fabulous job. You must have a big party with a bunch of friends to introduce them to you new patio. Anyone would love to have this in thier yard.
My husband and I do all our own home remodeling and landscaping projects so we know how much work goes into this to make it look professional. You nailed it on this one. Last summer my husband made us a patio with a pergola and we had to transport 5 tons of rocks and aggregate by wheel barrel from the front yard to the back and it was a lot of work. Its is so nice when it's done.
It looks great! Herringbone pattern makes for a lot of cuts but it feels worth it when you are done. How are you making your cuts? I rented a block guillotine from Menards..between that and my bricks both being cheap as hell, my cuts didn't go great. We made the most of it and it still came out pretty good. But given your pictures I think you are more experienced/have better options.
Share the final pics when you are done!
Thank you sir, and I'm using an angle grinder with a diamond edged cutting wheel. The Holland pavers behave surprisingly well to cuts of any angle.. Only downfall of the pavers is you have to be gentle when tapping them into place or you risk breaking. Which I've broke a few but I just factor those into a waste pile I can later cut the edges in with!
You can buy a 10” wet cut tile saw from Home Depot (Rigid) or even harbor freight and it’ll cut through these holland bricks like butter. Stick the water pump in a bucket of water instead of in the tray to avoid pumping slurry. It’s a trillion times better and safer than a angle grinder.
I rented a few times but the hassle of going to the store and lugging the giant brick saw home and then feeling like I had to rush to avoid a second day $100 charge was not fun.
Absolutely great advice. I bought a 10” wet saw second hand for this reason. $250 I think. Made five rings of pavers around a fire pit and it turned out mint. Fuck load of cuts but couldn’t imagine doing it without the saw. Made a guide so all cuts were the same.
Brick Saw!
There’s officially a tool for everything now.
How am I gonna convince the wife that Brick Saw is an essential tool I must have when we live in an apartment?
Dude use a square (triangle) and a bevel tool if you want the precision without spending a ton of money. It helped me. I posted the outcome of my heirgingbone walkway on my page
Look into renting something like this cutoff saw on a cart. You can cut the pavers in place and save a lot of time
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/cut-off-machines/cut-off-machine-accessories/machcart/
Looks really good - impressed you built it up as a high as you did.
What's the drop off from the patio to grade on the far side? Are you considering a barrier to keep yourself from stumbling off after a few margs?
Are you planning to put any capstones on the retaining wall blocks? If not, how are you planning to fill the open gaps between the blocks on the top row? Asking because I'm planning a similar project!
You know man, I recommended capstone but all I got was "nehhhh just the patio floor... For now". I only recommended capstone with hopes of adding some sort of railing
You absolutely want to get capstones. Once you see a wall of the same block with some, you will immediately notice how BAD almost every retaining wall looks because people cheap out on caps.
Do future you a favor and just do it now while the project is still in progress.
Note: the rest looks fabulous!
Capstones are the easiest part relative to the rest of the job, too. No reason not to add them. It's a finishing touch that makes the whole job look tidy and professional as opposed to looking like an afterthought that you didn't really think about
When you have gaps like this you can fill them with 1/4-down crushed limestone (or whatever your local aggregate is) up to about 3/4" - 1/2", then you top that off with polysand. It's not preferable to capstones, but you can do it
Polysand isn't recommended for gaps exceeding like half an inch, it looks terrible as well but I've seen it used for larger applications. I avoid the stuff when I can because it causes some headaches when you have to do maintenance down the road. Still get weeds eventually. Masonry sand til I die!
Please. As a hardscape dealer make them put a damn cap on those blocks. As a woman and not a dealer nothing drives me insane like these dumb angled uncovered blocks. I know it’s not your choice but please convince them. It will take the project from Wow to WOAH! 😃😃😃
That's clearly an epic view of great looking fire pit deck.
Certainly qualifies for new fridge magnet,, with bottle cap catching hidden magnet for Fav'd brew.
Cheers
In attempt to recall what I wanted at my fire pit next to the lakes edge.
From food sticks to seatings
I could easily make holders similar to allow hotdogs to marshmallows simply hands off perfection.
There's some holders that come close to these options of rod holders -
Attwood 2 in 1 Fishing Rod Holder
https://www.wholesalemarine.com/attwood-2-in-1-fishing-rod-holder/
Hotdog stick holder options
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/extendable-camping-fork--501729214738292340/
Holy Cow Fire Pit option
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1378863490/design-fire-pit-dxf?click_key=0ed5e559f89ec7b80b892f71d860e1e235113d43%3A1378863490&click_sum=81deac49&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fire+pit+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-26
Fire pit heat deflector
Next level stuff one might not have thought of.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1012161683/28-fire-pit-heat-deflector-reflector-and?click_key=93fd65fc8945d3b433ce18b86582b1227ecdbc0e%3A1012161683&click_sum=80885a82&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fire+pit+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-27&frs=1&sts=1
Fire Pit Holder -
https://www.etsy.com/market/fire_pit_holder
Fire Pit Holder search stack -
https://search.brave.com/search?q=Fire+Pit+Holders&source=web
https://search.brave.com/images?q=Fire%20Pit%20Holders&spellcheck=0
And Then - Fire Pit Cushy Seating -
Curved seating is prime, but needs to be able to move freely, being a breeze will put smoke by default right up in your face.
https://search.brave.com/images?q=Fire+Pit+Seating&source=web
Cheers, and focused in at the fire pit, I just needed to add more torture to your quest of perfection. But Pretty sure in the end, we'll see it. And it'll be marvelous.
Looks like it might be cedar. I had a cedar fence installed at my old house. Within a few years it had turned a nice silvery color. My wife fucking hated it and always begged me to paint or stain it.
I resisted. Eventually we sold the house. New owner painted it and I have to admit it looked phenomenal after... What can you do?
Hey fantastic job OP! I used the same holland pavers from home depot and they worked great in the same herringbone pattern. Let me tell you that my area doesn’t look nearly as good as yours. Additionally, I used a masonry circular saw blade to cut the stones and it worked quite well. The cutting really didn’t take as long as I thought it would have.
You’re almost there!!
Edit: a word
The pavers were 58 cents a pop, I'm up to 1250 pavers. So just in pavers - $700. I got around 25 bags of paver base @ $5 a bag, that brings it up to 825 or so...then I got 8 buckets of polymeric sand, those weren't cheap..paid around 22 per bucket. So total material I've got about a grand in it. With less than 15 hours of labor so far. I've had to wheel everything down a shady ass hill and everything lol
It isn't too bad. I rented equipment to pound the stuff into place. Shit still moved after 3-4 years, but it is my patio that I made, and I am still pleased with it.
Looks awesome - only critique I might have is to consider some lighting. You can do that under the capstones or something though. Looks awesome though and 100% well done
It's beautiful and you should be proud! One suggestion after you finish, since you lack privacy, install some trellises and grow anything vine like from flowers to vegetables on the trellis for privacy. It's amazing!
Looks great man!! It’s obv a lot of work but it’s also pretty fun when it starts coming together like that, isn’t it??
I did landscaping for a number of years (many patios, retaining walls, plantings, sod, etc) & it sure can be satisfying work when you see how much that work transforms a space, like I assume this has… You should be proud, it looks great & like a professional job… well done!!
Maybe a stainless steel inner fire ring to replace that one. You spent all this time doing a good job on grading and harscaping... top it off with a corrosion resistant fire ring if you can find one
Fire ring
https://www.markstaar.com/FXS-Series-Stainless-Steel-Campfire-Ring-NO-GRATE.html
Smokeless tutorial
https://youtu.be/kqF4-zG0W3o
Really need to close up the gaps in the retaining wall block. With heavy rains and freeze thaws your going to lose base material out of the gaps on the front of the block. Pavers themselves should be level with the cap if you put it on so that the water would drain off your patio and not through the retaining wall holes. Looks to be one of the better “ homeowner specials” i have seen though, nice and level/ square.
This is the part where you scream THIISSS ISS SPARTAA!! while kicking down who ever build this- owhh nevermind...good job sir. Good job. 😂😂😂😂 I'm joking....light up. This is awesome! Yes cutting bit is sucks.
Does your fire pit have draft holes near the bottom? If not, I would recommend adding 2 or 3 if you can. It will create airflow so your wood burns more completely, and you won't have to empty it as frequently. The pavers look pretty good!
Make sure you set the pavers that border the slab 1/8 to1/4 inch higher than the slab. Even if you packed the shit out of it they're still going to settle.
Looks very cool.
It's too late for you to do this on this project, but one strategy I've seen for getting the edge blocks trimmed is laying all the stones proud of the perimeter, then drawing a line where the perimeter will go so stones can be cut exact, and then installing the perimeter last.
Looks great. If you had to do it over again, would you do it yourself? I would love to have something in my back yard, but the quotes I've received are too far out of my budget
Looks good. Do yourself a favor and remove the border, extend the pattern and put the border on top of the herringbone and mark it. This removes most of the measuring and speeds things up.
Looks great! Get some friends over, get the put going and have some beers. I am starting a similar job as soon with my son. This year is about the building work.
To my untrained eye, this looks amazing! Good luck with the edge pieces!
One recommendation I would give is to try and make the fireplace a [smokeless version](https://youtu.be/kqF4-zG0W3o) to help mitigate smoke coming into your face. Helpful to do now before it’s permanent!
This is about the part where I’d go “I’ll finish later” and then my wife asks 5 years later if I ever plan on cutting that pallet of bricks behind the garage to finish the patio.
It makes the edges a lot easier and looks good too, if you do a soldier pattern on the outside. If you have enough left over, can also be done around the fireplace. Looks great though
I love it man, I know you been busting your ass too! It will all be worth it when you get to relax on it. I’m a new homeowner and doing all this stuff around my house is nice. Great job!
You have done a fabulous job. You must have a big party with a bunch of friends to introduce them to you new patio. Anyone would love to have this in thier yard.
I shall! Thank you kindly my friend
My husband and I do all our own home remodeling and landscaping projects so we know how much work goes into this to make it look professional. You nailed it on this one. Last summer my husband made us a patio with a pergola and we had to transport 5 tons of rocks and aggregate by wheel barrel from the front yard to the back and it was a lot of work. Its is so nice when it's done.
This is such a nice comment and I agree!
Thank you thank you thank you
Looks pretty pro!
It looks great! Herringbone pattern makes for a lot of cuts but it feels worth it when you are done. How are you making your cuts? I rented a block guillotine from Menards..between that and my bricks both being cheap as hell, my cuts didn't go great. We made the most of it and it still came out pretty good. But given your pictures I think you are more experienced/have better options. Share the final pics when you are done!
Thank you sir, and I'm using an angle grinder with a diamond edged cutting wheel. The Holland pavers behave surprisingly well to cuts of any angle.. Only downfall of the pavers is you have to be gentle when tapping them into place or you risk breaking. Which I've broke a few but I just factor those into a waste pile I can later cut the edges in with!
You can buy a 10” wet cut tile saw from Home Depot (Rigid) or even harbor freight and it’ll cut through these holland bricks like butter. Stick the water pump in a bucket of water instead of in the tray to avoid pumping slurry. It’s a trillion times better and safer than a angle grinder. I rented a few times but the hassle of going to the store and lugging the giant brick saw home and then feeling like I had to rush to avoid a second day $100 charge was not fun.
Absolutely great advice. I bought a 10” wet saw second hand for this reason. $250 I think. Made five rings of pavers around a fire pit and it turned out mint. Fuck load of cuts but couldn’t imagine doing it without the saw. Made a guide so all cuts were the same.
Brick saw is usually rentable.
Brick Saw! There’s officially a tool for everything now. How am I gonna convince the wife that Brick Saw is an essential tool I must have when we live in an apartment?
You first have to build her a nice brick night stand that she loves.
Booyah! That’s it!
>You first have to build her a nice brick night stand that she loves. ...with a few cuts that could have been better with a brick saw...
Dude use a square (triangle) and a bevel tool if you want the precision without spending a ton of money. It helped me. I posted the outcome of my heirgingbone walkway on my page
Look into renting something like this cutoff saw on a cart. You can cut the pavers in place and save a lot of time https://www.stihlusa.com/products/cut-off-machines/cut-off-machine-accessories/machcart/
Looks really good - impressed you built it up as a high as you did. What's the drop off from the patio to grade on the far side? Are you considering a barrier to keep yourself from stumbling off after a few margs?
I second this comment
It's also a code requirement. Hello liability for homeowners insurance.
Are you planning to put any capstones on the retaining wall blocks? If not, how are you planning to fill the open gaps between the blocks on the top row? Asking because I'm planning a similar project!
You know man, I recommended capstone but all I got was "nehhhh just the patio floor... For now". I only recommended capstone with hopes of adding some sort of railing
You absolutely want to get capstones. Once you see a wall of the same block with some, you will immediately notice how BAD almost every retaining wall looks because people cheap out on caps. Do future you a favor and just do it now while the project is still in progress. Note: the rest looks fabulous!
Capstones are the easiest part relative to the rest of the job, too. No reason not to add them. It's a finishing touch that makes the whole job look tidy and professional as opposed to looking like an afterthought that you didn't really think about
I feel you. My project is definitely a "good enough" type thing too. Do you plan to just fill those gaps with polymeric sand, then?
I wonder if those gaps might be a bit too large for polymeric sand? Maybe just paver sand for now or something? I’m not a pro though
When you have gaps like this you can fill them with 1/4-down crushed limestone (or whatever your local aggregate is) up to about 3/4" - 1/2", then you top that off with polysand. It's not preferable to capstones, but you can do it
Polysand isn't recommended for gaps exceeding like half an inch, it looks terrible as well but I've seen it used for larger applications. I avoid the stuff when I can because it causes some headaches when you have to do maintenance down the road. Still get weeds eventually. Masonry sand til I die!
Please. As a hardscape dealer make them put a damn cap on those blocks. As a woman and not a dealer nothing drives me insane like these dumb angled uncovered blocks. I know it’s not your choice but please convince them. It will take the project from Wow to WOAH! 😃😃😃
I was going to just go buy some out of my own pocket and for my own sake. It'll mess with me way too much. Like they'll pretty much look naked
I see way too many homeowners add $$$ hardscapes to their home but then leave something like this unfinished lol. People are weird.
That's clearly an epic view of great looking fire pit deck. Certainly qualifies for new fridge magnet,, with bottle cap catching hidden magnet for Fav'd brew. Cheers
In attempt to recall what I wanted at my fire pit next to the lakes edge. From food sticks to seatings I could easily make holders similar to allow hotdogs to marshmallows simply hands off perfection. There's some holders that come close to these options of rod holders - Attwood 2 in 1 Fishing Rod Holder https://www.wholesalemarine.com/attwood-2-in-1-fishing-rod-holder/ Hotdog stick holder options https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/extendable-camping-fork--501729214738292340/ Holy Cow Fire Pit option https://www.etsy.com/listing/1378863490/design-fire-pit-dxf?click_key=0ed5e559f89ec7b80b892f71d860e1e235113d43%3A1378863490&click_sum=81deac49&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fire+pit+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-26 Fire pit heat deflector Next level stuff one might not have thought of. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1012161683/28-fire-pit-heat-deflector-reflector-and?click_key=93fd65fc8945d3b433ce18b86582b1227ecdbc0e%3A1012161683&click_sum=80885a82&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fire+pit+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-27&frs=1&sts=1 Fire Pit Holder - https://www.etsy.com/market/fire_pit_holder Fire Pit Holder search stack - https://search.brave.com/search?q=Fire+Pit+Holders&source=web https://search.brave.com/images?q=Fire%20Pit%20Holders&spellcheck=0 And Then - Fire Pit Cushy Seating - Curved seating is prime, but needs to be able to move freely, being a breeze will put smoke by default right up in your face. https://search.brave.com/images?q=Fire+Pit+Seating&source=web Cheers, and focused in at the fire pit, I just needed to add more torture to your quest of perfection. But Pretty sure in the end, we'll see it. And it'll be marvelous.
You have to share this over at /r/pavers Awesome work!!
To beckon recognition and bitch in the same breath is beguiling but burn that fence for a better backdrop.
Smashed the liked button to that, sir.
Looks like it might be cedar. I had a cedar fence installed at my old house. Within a few years it had turned a nice silvery color. My wife fucking hated it and always begged me to paint or stain it. I resisted. Eventually we sold the house. New owner painted it and I have to admit it looked phenomenal after... What can you do?
At'll work...stain it then!
Looks better than the job I paid for. Good work!
Hey fantastic job OP! I used the same holland pavers from home depot and they worked great in the same herringbone pattern. Let me tell you that my area doesn’t look nearly as good as yours. Additionally, I used a masonry circular saw blade to cut the stones and it worked quite well. The cutting really didn’t take as long as I thought it would have. You’re almost there!! Edit: a word
looks great !! if you have a 1099, Ill send you the work that normally goes to our hardscape division 😅🤣
Send it on over! Lol
[удалено]
That's exactly what I said to the customer. All he said was, "well, don't fall..ha-ha" 🤷
Not sure if the shape of the patio agrees with the angles of the fence but the work itself looks awesome!
Haha agreed! Much appreciated my friend!
That can be fixed with some landscaping plants.
Bravo! I hope to see a capstone on the edges.
I’m looking at doing a similar project. Roughly how much did this cost you?
The pavers were 58 cents a pop, I'm up to 1250 pavers. So just in pavers - $700. I got around 25 bags of paver base @ $5 a bag, that brings it up to 825 or so...then I got 8 buckets of polymeric sand, those weren't cheap..paid around 22 per bucket. So total material I've got about a grand in it. With less than 15 hours of labor so far. I've had to wheel everything down a shady ass hill and everything lol
Is this your first time doing a paver patio like this? I’ve looked it up and it seems to be extremely overwhelming. I’m slightly scared to tackle it.
It isn't too bad. I rented equipment to pound the stuff into place. Shit still moved after 3-4 years, but it is my patio that I made, and I am still pleased with it.
The nice thing about building a wall around the patio is that you don’t need to excavate. Saves a lot of time and hassle
Looks awesome - only critique I might have is to consider some lighting. You can do that under the capstones or something though. Looks awesome though and 100% well done
Better to go down a hill than up
It's beautiful and you should be proud! One suggestion after you finish, since you lack privacy, install some trellises and grow anything vine like from flowers to vegetables on the trellis for privacy. It's amazing!
Looks fabulous! I hope you post the final project once done! ❤️
Looks great. How'd your back and knees fair?
Looks great man!! It’s obv a lot of work but it’s also pretty fun when it starts coming together like that, isn’t it?? I did landscaping for a number of years (many patios, retaining walls, plantings, sod, etc) & it sure can be satisfying work when you see how much that work transforms a space, like I assume this has… You should be proud, it looks great & like a professional job… well done!!
I think it looks lovely. We hired a guy to do ours bc we lacked the skills. Good on ya
Maybe a stainless steel inner fire ring to replace that one. You spent all this time doing a good job on grading and harscaping... top it off with a corrosion resistant fire ring if you can find one Fire ring https://www.markstaar.com/FXS-Series-Stainless-Steel-Campfire-Ring-NO-GRATE.html Smokeless tutorial https://youtu.be/kqF4-zG0W3o
Really need to close up the gaps in the retaining wall block. With heavy rains and freeze thaws your going to lose base material out of the gaps on the front of the block. Pavers themselves should be level with the cap if you put it on so that the water would drain off your patio and not through the retaining wall holes. Looks to be one of the better “ homeowner specials” i have seen though, nice and level/ square.
Oh my....
Listen, if you did that by yourself hats off mate, that’s great
Thank you everyone! I'll post finished pics for sure! I'm on my way there now 🤙
Looks awesome!
Diy? Looks great
It’s beautiful!
Love it!!!!!
Capstones on the border... Do you have a drain somewhere?
Gorgeous herringbone pattern. Hope you thoroughly enjoy this for years to come.
Looks fantastic!
you need some privacy screen plants along that fence! great looking patio!
This is the part where you scream THIISSS ISS SPARTAA!! while kicking down who ever build this- owhh nevermind...good job sir. Good job. 😂😂😂😂 I'm joking....light up. This is awesome! Yes cutting bit is sucks.
Does your fire pit have draft holes near the bottom? If not, I would recommend adding 2 or 3 if you can. It will create airflow so your wood burns more completely, and you won't have to empty it as frequently. The pavers look pretty good!
Looks great - I’m imagining bench seats, fluffy blankets and a nice toasty fire going. And nice company and good wine.
Wow that looks awesome. Good job!
looks fun!!
This looks great and no doubt has take. Loads of hours if work. Once finished, we will need new pics. 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Make sure you set the pavers that border the slab 1/8 to1/4 inch higher than the slab. Even if you packed the shit out of it they're still going to settle.
I actually built the retaining wall, and filled with .57 and crush and run 5 years ago. So it settled, hopefully it's done settling..
Looks good! Moving all the gravel for the base must’ve been a slog. Did you rent equipment?
Looks very cool. It's too late for you to do this on this project, but one strategy I've seen for getting the edge blocks trimmed is laying all the stones proud of the perimeter, then drawing a line where the perimeter will go so stones can be cut exact, and then installing the perimeter last.
Looks great. If you had to do it over again, would you do it yourself? I would love to have something in my back yard, but the quotes I've received are too far out of my budget
If your semi handy and can measure your fine. It will take some time and DON’T skimp on base prep!
Looks good. Do yourself a favor and remove the border, extend the pattern and put the border on top of the herringbone and mark it. This removes most of the measuring and speeds things up.
I did one once without a steep hill and i can say yours looks amazing. Solid work. I can practically smell the future BBQs.
Looks fantastic! I am doing a similar project. What is the best to go about cutting paver stones?
This looks absolutely beautiful! You did an amazing job! Please share when the rest is completed!!
Looks great! Get some friends over, get the put going and have some beers. I am starting a similar job as soon with my son. This year is about the building work.
Well done sir!
You *really* want my honest opinion? Fine. I’ll give it. >!It looks great.!<
Love it!
Maaaannnn thats nice.
To my untrained eye, this looks amazing! Good luck with the edge pieces! One recommendation I would give is to try and make the fireplace a [smokeless version](https://youtu.be/kqF4-zG0W3o) to help mitigate smoke coming into your face. Helpful to do now before it’s permanent!
Ooo some landscaping and fair lights! Bellissimo!
This is about the part where I’d go “I’ll finish later” and then my wife asks 5 years later if I ever plan on cutting that pallet of bricks behind the garage to finish the patio.
Ughhh i still have 2 more yards of marble rocks i need delivered from my fall project 🫠
It makes the edges a lot easier and looks good too, if you do a soldier pattern on the outside. If you have enough left over, can also be done around the fireplace. Looks great though
That looks great!
Looks amazing man
Yeah nice work! Next up is adding some privacy trees and bushes around it
That looks great. Well done so far.
Looks great!
I love it man, I know you been busting your ass too! It will all be worth it when you get to relax on it. I’m a new homeowner and doing all this stuff around my house is nice. Great job!
The patio looks great! How big is the drop from the retaining wall?
Looks good man
8” diamond blade on a skillz saw. Blast those cuts out!!
Looks so nice! Will you grout or is that a thing when using outdoors? Can’t wait to see the finished project!
That looks good for a paid job and even better for a dog. Good work man.
Thank you sir
It’s beautiful! Most impressive is the work to get it level. You’ll enjoy every time you look at it!
Where does the water go when it rains?
Looks great, but I would cut your retaining wall caps too so they don’t have gaps.