My nearly complete patio project:

[Sir Sam]

The short of this is that my wife and I had our wedding reception in our backyard and taking over my rental house backyard. Instead of spending money on a venue with spent it on the backyard. Over the past 1.5 years the backyard has been getting a pretty big makeover. The bulk of the work is done and I have a useable space, now I'm getting to the smaller details.

This is the latest mini project for the patio, my lighted YJ grill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9mXMHTM2tA


I'll dig up the photos of the backyard along the way.

 

Ok going a ways back to May-ish of 2017 I had finished up with the rental house and gotten the last of the old fence replaced between my house and the rental, I also added a gate between the yards for convience.

Rental backyard:

Backside of gate from rental backyard:

Gate as seen from my house, you can see some elements of the old patio, chicken coop, planter box, flagstone, junk, car parts, etc.

My backyard is almost flat, so I don't have good drainage away from my foundation with how the lawn built up over the years. My house is on a high point, and right at my fence line it drops right away, but overall the back side where the grass is pretty flat. So we had to regrade and reslope near the house.

You can see here I put up a pressure treated wood box to raise the window well up so I could fill in more dirt to raise near the house, while at the same time borrowing dirt from lower down to make something of a grade. Overall I wound up with a sort of trench down the corner of the yard running along the house, but its done what it needs to keep the water moving away from the foundation.

I had a sprinkler system, which I basically turned off when I bought the house and let the backyard basically die off, only bothering to water the front.

I thought it would be relatively simple to fix and keep using, but as it turned out somehow several lines wound up getting punctured over the years.

Digging into it further(no pun intended) it turned out some of the lines were only buried 4-5 inches deep, and then they dove down when it got near a head so the sprinkler head was low enough.

Basically the whole system ended up getting ripped out, trenches dig down deep where they should be, and a whole new system put in. This was a massive bit of labor and lots of dusty sweaty work, and included random concrete that I assume was spillage from when they poured the foundation in 1976. I had to break up a bunch of concrete to properly bury the sprinkler lines.

[Sir Sam]

[Sir Sam]

And then tested working!

[Sir Sam]

So with the dirt all finalized it was time to get sod, we got recommendations for a sod farm about 45 mins south of us that had good prices. Family run operation where the farm boys came out to load it up. White haired blue eyed like something out of children of the corn, but they filled the van up way quicker than I could unload.

I have no idea how much weight this was, but it had to have been significant, the suspension was squatting down 2-3 inches, and the load was so big I had to use granny gear(usually only used when crawling offroad) to get the van to start moving. Remember this thing has 4.56 gearing and a super low granny gear.

All said and done the van worked out pretty well for the sod, turns out I should have gotten a little more, even with buying what I thought was plenty extra I still needed a few more rolls, and had to resort to crappy home depot sod in a pinch.

Sitting low!

First bits of sod in!

Trying to clean up debris that accumulated on the ground before sod goes down:

Laid out:

You can see the mess of the patio that has to follow(including one of my cars in the backyard, the 96 300zx TT).

[Sir Sam]

So with the grass and sprinklers done we had to put in some new edging and move rocks around.........no real pictures of that.

The next big thing was the patio, I had been using a harbor frieght greenhouse as a chicken coop for many years, it was pretty rigged, and taking up a big portion of where the patio would go. So we decided they needed a new chicken coop and it would get put in the backyard where I stored my parts cars and 96 Z.

So the 96 Z had to come out of the backyard, which kicked off me getting the head gaskets replaced and it driving again. That was a seperate thread about back "my project as of late"

Since my lot slopes down away from the house pretty good on other side of I have a hard time getting a level spot for a chicken coop. My solution was to dig out and level the lower side of where the coop would sit with cinderblocks, and just level the top side.

Hard fukkin clay around here man, this stuff sucks at the end of summer, its almost workable in the spring after its gotten a lot of moisture.

With that prepped I had to wait for delivery for the chicken coop, so I moved on to clearing the patio area. The old green house coop got temporarily moved to where the Green Z had been stored so I could clear the pad area of the patio.

The black irrigation lines piled up there are 2 of 4 zones in the backyard, the first two are for the grass, the other two will goto the garden area to auto water our garden stuff, which we basically kill if it doesnt get auto watered.

Chickens liked all the new area to scratch around in:

Coop arrived, just needs paint and insulation!

Concrete forms getting laid out. Not pictured here is the footer than was dug down for the posts to be on top of for the pergola.

irrigation lines run through a pipe to what will be the garden area:

Poured and stamped:

[Sir Sam]

Got to work insulating the coop and installing some peel and stick vinyl tiles to make cleanup easier.

Mostly painted, and in place where it needs to be:

Then I had to stop and take a break because someone else got married:

But then it was back to work. This is the final form of the stairs, with coloring, and sealing:

[Sir Sam]

Not much happened until Feb of 2018, when I got into the pergola project. With the wedding looming for the beginning of July I had to ramp up the pergola build.

 

 

Not really pictured, but there is a concrete footer below each black bracket, the bracket is held down with a single 5/8 rod which is glued into the concrete with some crazy strong blue 2 part glue thats about $15 a tube. A nut gets put on top of the rod to bolt the bracket down.

 

The pergola uses 6 6x6"x8' cedar posts, I actually bought 10' when I was thinking they would be concreted in the ground, and then realized my mistake and had to cut them down as I had already notched the tops. oops, that was a pricey mistake since the 8' posts were much cheaper.

I actually modeled the pergola in ProE and had a coworker print the parts on his 3d printer, the printer broke part way through the print and I never actually finished getting the scale model built, but the few parts I did have was enough to get me an idea of what it would be like, and I made some design changes.

Its 10' between posts and the end of the pergola cantelivers out over my patio by the grass, I wanted to keep the posts where they were not in the way but also get some more shade coverage on the patio.

[Sir Sam]

I decided for the design that I wanted to "T" the top of the posts so my beams sat on it instead of held to it with a bracket. I really liked the way this worked out.

To notch it I set the depth of the saw, and then made a bunch of little slices, which then just broke off easily by hand:

It is possible to get some big slices as well:

Then just a little hand sanding to get the "burrs" off:

Yet another mistake I made, I ordered the brackets and got them for milled and not nominal, so a few posts I had to shaved a little at the bottom for them to fit the brackets. A little more labor, but not too much trouble.

 

Fits nicely at the top:

Ok this was the first version. This pergola is too damm high! Realized that onces I added the cross beams and slats the whole thing would be like 3' higher than the gutter on the house! So they had to get trimmed.

I think the height would have been fine if the pergola had been freestanding away from a house, or if my house had been 2 story.

 

[Sir Sam]

So after chopping some height off of the main posts so that the eventual height of the pergola was no higher than my gutter. I got them back up and got the beams in place, this part went fairly fast. The rafters and shade slats took forever it felt like.

Chickens were ever watchful:

This is the old fence that used to lock the chickens in their part of the yard, it was mended temporarily to keep them over there while I worked on the new fence.

Then we adopted a dog named Diesel:

Then I started getting the rafters up, again I made a mistake and bought the wrong size, when I was looking at the span I did it on the small end, since the pergola grows in span the rafter boards were not sized correct, iuckily this was only half the material I needed for the rafters, so I ordered correct material for the whole thing. I was able to repurpose the incorrect material for some other projects.

 

Since the pergola grows in size with the patio I decided not to cut the boards to notch them into the beams. I would have preferred to do it that way but it was enough of a pain already to get them cut to length and spaced correct without having to notch them. I wouldn't mind adding an extra bracket on each to help hold everything in place, and I might still do that.

[Sir Sam]

These are the last of the big boards, 18 ft long! Most everything fit inside the van nicely but these few needed to be left sticking out the back and flagged.

Used this for staining:

Almost done, for the last few boards on the long end I wasn't able to put on my 45 degree cut without them being too short, I had done the math and though I would be ok to the end, but it turns out I was a little off.

All rafters up, starting to work on the 2x2 shade slats.

Slowly getting there:

[Sir Sam]

Getting my shade slats up, I tried both working from the top and from below on the ladder when I eventually decided the ladder was easier, but occasionally I would work up top for something, I used the 2x6s up there for a plateform while working.

Neat patterns:

So because the slats ran parallel to the house it made some of the spacing a bit weird, so the last row I had to measure each one, cut in in about half, and then figure out how best to use material, I was pretty low on 2x2s so I didn't want to waste any.

You can see the minor variations in length including the weird one at the end.

 Then I used a chalk string to make the line I wanted to cut them to, and then used a long straight edge I clamped down to the 2x2s as a guide, and ran the circular saw alone the length of the pergola, wound up with a perfectly straight line of 2x2s. The was extra important to me since its very easy to see when you walk out the back door, this view is basically how it looks standing with the back door opened.

 

 

Then I had to stop and go commission a new US Navy ship:

 

And then when I got back I put up some rechargeable weather proof wireless speakers:

Then I got all my bistro lights up, these were ones I had bought at costco over the years when they had the actual filament bulbs available. I love LEDs but I hadn't had a chance to see if the LEDs had the right light output for the space I wanted outdoors. I think the LEDs would have been fine, but at the time I didn't want to risk it.

[Sir Sam]

Baller :pimp:

What direction does the house face?  Is that on the side or back?

This is the backside of my house, which faces north east, ill see if I can find a good sat photo.

More lights:

I used the old floodlight which has a 2 way switch from the house to power the lights. The floodlight wasn't really useful anymore and I thought this made for a pretty clean way to power them. I also made plenty of use of dieelectric grease around the fittings, wire nuts, and plugs to make sure I wouldn't have any issues in the future with water intrusion.

 

As it turned out, while there was a blue box behind the siding, but since the siding was added later the installers just pulled the wires through a small hole, and then screwed the floodlight to the siding, since the early 90s that wiring had been sitting outside in the elements getting wet.....ugh.

 

I cutup an extension cord and used that to run power to where the bistro lights started.

 

Then each light got plugged in with dieelectric grease, and I used some 2" Raychem heat shrink to seal around the plug.

Hail happened, damaged the Z's a little bit, but everything else seemed fine.

Steaming fence after hail:

[Sir Sam]

Then I bought a little more dewalt stuff.

Diesel can share with a friend:

Chickens still have issues with the coop, they are not smart:

3 nesting boxes but they only want to use 1:

I don't know why I took this:

So then I moved on to the fence. Basically I wanted a nice fence/bar combo that would be the barrier to the chicken yard. I used Justins HF router table to put a 0.5x0.5" slot in the 4x4s, then placed several cedar 4x4s at the edge of the patio.

 

Also that blue post leveler is awesome!

Now I wasn't going to have the posts this high for the fence in final form, but each one needed to be a different length due to how deep it was buried and the fact that my ground is sloped away from the house.

I wanted to use corrugated galvanized steel for the fence since I like the aesthetic:

[Sir Sam]

Helper dog:

Posts in, trimmed to height so the top of the fence is level, and corrugated steel panels cut to size. Since the steel is dimensioned to be able to screw into a roof with 16" on center rafter the size works out so that you can overlap and screw down both pieces, however I had an oddball sized opening, I think about 36" so I had to cut 2 pieces, overlap them a few ripples and then use construction adhesive to hold them together.

 

In addition each piece had to be custom cut since the slop of the patio changed the dimension. What I had was an opening that was square at the top, but angled at the bottom.

 

I left just enough space at the bottom that I could rinse and shovel some snow, but not enough for adult chickens to get through. However the small chicks were able to get through for several months before they got big enough not fit.

I capped this part with just a simple 2x4. It would have been fine to stay that way except I had more plans.

 

 

I used leftover 2x2s to sandwhich the steel at the bottom, so the slots on the side hold it, and the 2x2s at the bottom, This leaves a nice even 4x4 aesthetic. I also had EXACTLY enough leftover 2x2s for this, not a single extra piece.

 

Temp board to keep chickens on their side:

Perfectly level across the top:

See how it "grows" on the right side? Thats because the patio slopes but I wanted a level top, made everything more work to keep it even.

 

Now this was me thinking about the bar top and how to execute it, I reused the 2x6s that I incorrectly bough and cut several up to make the bar top.

Also, this chicken looks sad.

A view from a little ways back:

I used some 2x4x12' pressure treated help limp along the fence here for awhile, it has this stupid shutterboard style fence that uses just as many boards as a regular fence, but you can see through, I took down my boards on my side, put up the 2x4x12', and then put my boards and some spares back up. The result was a cheap and quick better looking fence.

[Sir Sam]

This page is murdering my phone :lol:

Reminds me of the ol' 56k stay away threads of yore :roflmao:

Ya, I'm uploading directly off my phone to my website, maybe later I'll run a resize/compression on them all so its less data to download.

 

I got some more dewalt stuff:

Ok so there is the bar top completed, it overhangs both sides so its the right depth to sit at or stand, and also have a large area for setting up food, drinks, etc.

Its basically just screwed down in the center of the "T" and its pretty solid, but it could use a 45 degree support up from the side somewhere, I think I'll end up added that out of some steel strap on the chicken side of it so you don't bang your knees into it on the patio side.

The overall height of the bar was selected to use stand taller bar stools.

Next up was the gate. I have a hatred of wooden gates, they always seem to sag, get loose, and never close nicely. I decided I would build a helluva steel gate that would look nice and close easily for years. After looking at lots of steel gates online I decided on my design.

I wanted something a little taller than the bartop height, and I didn't just want a flat top, so I opted for this chamfered design out of 1x3 steel:

Justin was kind enough to let me use his bandsaw to cut the 45 degree cuts, as my HF chopsaw just would not get good results.

This was the last straw for my stick welder, I'm not doing anymore welding work until I get a new welder, I have already decided on a Hobart 210, I'm just waiting awhile before spending the money.

This is plenty thick steel, and at times it was almost passable, but in the end I did more grind and fill than I care to admit.

These are the hinges I ordered, super heavy duty, rated at 500lbs each, useful for things like propane smoker conversion doors or trailer ramps. The have a ball bearing inside and are greasable.

So with the outer frame done I need a way to mounted the steel, I decided to use some 1x1" 90 iron to make an inner frame that the galvanized steel would bolt to.

[Sir Sam]

Ooops, didn't think about that geometry quite right, I ended up cutting another piece.

Ok thats better:

The gap in the frame there is for the door handle box:

I really like the way this turned out. This is an interior bathroom style handle that is mounted to a steel box I made. The box is a section of the outer frame, 1x3, with a piece of the 1x1 welded to the end to complete the frame support and to close off the box. With Justins help we drilled a large hole for the handle with a hole saw in both sides. Then a single 1" hole for the striker to go through the outer frame.

 

I was even able to use that little round ring thing that I have never used on my interior doors before:

I did have to shave the interior bits of the door handle a little bit since it was not meant to attached to a door that was only 1" thick. In the end though it fit down tightly like it would on a wood door.

Justin helped weld the inner 1" frame since I said STFU to the welder and just had him do it quicker.

 

Then I painted the interior 1x1" area with POR15 since it wasn't filled welded, and also drilled some drain holes on the bottom side, this way if some water does ever get into it it will drain and not rust out from the inside.

 

The overall thing got a coat of flat black trim paint.

 

I sized up and glued 2 sections of corrugated steel together and drilled some holes to bolt it on. Its held together with some stainless nuts and bolts.

The hinges are welded to the frame, and to that large angle iron attached to the post. I think its about 3 feet long and attached to the outer corner of the post. I debated for a long time about exactly how to do this before I decided on that design. I was wanting to keep the gate dual swing for a long time, but decided moving the hing there allowed it to swing open further, and would keep the hing out of the way if I ever lifted the gate off to get room. This also left a smaller gap around the frame for chickens to get through.

The angle iron is held on with several lag bolts on the outside, and the "door jam" side it is held down with coated woodscrews that are counter sunk into the metal so the screw head is flush, the jam clearance is actually tight enough that screw heads would hit the gate when closed!

[johnj92131]

Very nice work and well documented.  Thanks for sharing.

 

A couple of questions.  First, I "assume" the rental house is empty and that you are rehabbing the place prior to renting it out? 

 

Second, again "assume" all those Dewalt tools were a rental expense on the tax return!  Sure looks like you need them for the rental!   Hey, let Uncle Sam help you when every you can, right?

[Sir Sam]

1 hour ago, johnj92131 said:

Very nice work and well documented.  Thanks for sharing.

 

A couple of questions.  First, I "assume" the rental house is empty and that you are rehabbing the place prior to renting it out? 

 

Second, again "assume" all those Dewalt tools were a rental expense on the tax return!  Sure looks like you need them for the rental!   Hey, let Uncle Sam help you when every you can, right?

 

Rental house was nearly empty when we had the reception, and the one person living there was a friend of my now wife, so it was all arranged ahead of time to use the backyard, I keep the gate there just to make it easy to get over, otherwise the walk around is surprisingly long.

 

I had a friend at Dewalt, so I was able to get a great discount, so I bought a LOT of tools. Unfortunately that friend no longer works for Dewalt, I'm glad I got what I could when I could. I didn't try to depreciate the tools on my tax returns.

[Pete M]

looks fantastic!  you definitely put forth the extra effort and it shows.  

[Eagle]

I'm completely confused. You bought and laid sod just so you could tear it up and pour concrete?

[Sir Sam]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

looks fantastic!  you definitely put forth the extra effort and it shows.  

 

 

Thanks Pete!

 

1 hour ago, Eagle said:

I'm completely confused. You bought and laid sod just so you could tear it up and pour concrete?

 

Haha heck no! The grass is behind the living part of the house, the patio is behind my backdoor and garage, and then the fence/gate is at the end of the patio/garage which leads to the chicken/car yard.

 

See how the grass ends just before the back door and old slab/step? It was the dirt area that that got turned into patio.

 

 

And that got cleared out for the forms for the patio:

 

 

 

Which became this: