July 29, 2009

The Ultimate Patio Work-Out

Last night, Mr. BBM and I started laying the stone for our flagstone patio. My parents came to help for a while and we also had the assistance of my neighbor's dad who's like a visual tetris master. The most challenging part of laying the patio is that the big rocks are ridiculously heavy.

Today I am paying for it big time. Legs, arms, fingers, shoulders and my back are all hurting. Something tells me it will all be worth it when it's over. When I called Mr. BBM at work this morning to ask him how he's feeling, he said he's "fine." He also said, "I've been working out" to explain why he's not sore like I am. Yeah, because his work-outs obviously involve lifting rocks that are hundreds of pounds. He's lucky he was at work when I asked him or else I think I would have given him something to be sore about.

The Classic Landscape guys dug out the foundation and put gravel and sand down. They also did a great job building the step. Now the rest is up to us.

We think we're about 40% finished. Some of the larger joints will get smaller pieces as we find or break ones to fit. Then the joints get filled in with polymeric sand which hardens up after it's wet and then dries. We hope to finish over the weekend (by the weekend would be even more fantastic).

I also spent part of the day yesterday creating a mosaic tile pattern on our old patio table. It's turning out really cool. Today is grout day so we'll see how that goes. I'm thinking much of my back soreness has to do with bending over that table all afternoon.

By the end of the weekend, I hope I can show you my new and improved table on my newly completed patio.