Patio project

So as i casually mentioned on Friday, I kind of knew from the beginning I wanted stamped concrete (Clear from all my inspiration pics.) While I love the idea of a natural stone like slate I worry about all of the upkeep and durability, and I didn't want a ton of grout lines between the stones. Oh and it was out of our budget- did I mention that ?? I love the stamped concrete because there is a pattern (which every contractor has a different name for!) that looks very similar to how a slate would be laid. It's pretty and stained dark greys so it looks more like a natural stone but has all the durability of concrete with relatively little upkeep (just a re-seal once a year to keep the colors looking vibrant if you want).

We started off saying we were just redoing the patio but then we had a contractor mention that it would also be nice to have a walkway from the backyard to the driveway (along the area where our trashcans sit) Maybe, just maybe he felt this was important after the two of us slide through the mud to get to the gate the backyard on a particularly soggy day! Of course I too thought it was brilliant so we added that to the plan. Then we realized if we were doing a walkway on the side of the house we might as well go ahead and re-pour our sidewalk to the front door which is all torn up and broken! It just makes sense and is actually cheaper to go ahead and add the extra concrete when the workers and concrete truck will already be here. And lastly we finally decided to replace some of the shingles that are rotting and cracked- mainly just the ones above our picture window on the front of the house, then a few others in the back! WHEW!  This is going to be BIG!

Just for some reference, I took pictures of these areas, for you but mainly for me so I can see the huge transformation this is going to be!

pretty cringe worthy although I didn't do the patio any favors sytling it either! Just don't pay attention to that! Just notice the huge pea gravel sections of conrete that are all uneven and the shingles that have fallen off the side of the house (over in the lefthand corner)

Another view of our long but very narrow patio

not one of these four corners were level with each other!

"flower" bed- that was full of weeds when we moved in. We removed the weeds but never planted anything because it is actually too close to the house to plant any bushes with major roots that could mess up the foundation

broken up front walkway- with a very small step that was a huge tripping hazard. We'll be getting rid of that as well!

And the walkway, or lack there of really, on the far side of the garage with the gate to our backyard. Pretty bad- especially after it's rained.

NOW, here is the artistic rendering one of the companies created for us. It is pretty close to how I envision the backyard will look (minus the trees of course)!

I'll share more patio updates as we get further into the project- which will take about a week to build everything, then they come back a few weeks after they finish and the concrete has cured and they seal the stamped concrete! And in the meantime we've also got some interior projects going on I'll be sharing.
Stay tuned!