I originally started this in the "What did you do with your Deere today?" thread, but it kind of belongs here I guess. I worked the heck out of my tractor during this project using the loader and backhoe a lot. I used about 50 tons of base rock and 11 tons of sand.
My front entrance, which is still not complete, is at least a lot farther along then it has been for several years. I changed my mind about what I was going to do many times from a simple poured concrete walkway to stamped walkway to pavers etc. etc. etc. Add to that a good dose of procrastination and you get to where I am today.
Here is what I started with:
2014-02-24 15.44.28.jpg
2014-02-24 15.45.28.jpg
2014-02-24 15.46.43.jpg
During construction:
2014-05-11 10.53.09.jpg
2014-05-11 10.53.51.jpg
2014-05-11 10.52.56.jpg
As it appears today:
2014-06-04 15.49.49.jpg
2014-06-04 15.49.06.jpg
2014-06-04 15.49.33.jpg
This took me a month to do and let me tell anybody thinking about doing a lot of pavers (over 4000 with hundreds of cuts) ITS LABOR INTENSIVE!! I lasted two weeks until I realized I need some help. I was doing pretty good until I got to the triangular areas by the front steps. I had been using EMT (electrical metal conduit) for screeds and for large areas that was fine, but those triangular areas really frustrated me. I installed and removed one of them twice. I was having a very difficult time getting the grade correct for drainage. Getting the pavers under the rock veneer lip was another challenge all along the way.
I called a fellow that had just been laid off from the local equipment rental store where I rented the vibratory plate compactor. His background was commercial construction and he was an immense help. He didn't need the screeds. He graded the sand bed by hand and it was perfect! He is almost twenty years younger than I am so he laid 3/4 of all the pavers while I fed them to him from the tractor loader bucket. Pavers go in pretty fast so he kept me running. The paver stockpile was a distance away on pallets on the other side of my driveway. He and I would both go to the stockpile and load the bucket and I would approach the wall from the street side positioning the bucket just over the wall in the area that we were working. He and I both worked on doing all of the cuts with me doing most of them. That last cut was a real blessing. I filled the paver joints with polymeric sand and will apply a seal coat in a couple of months which will bring out the paver color more. I plan on a matte finish.
I also finally installed the lighting that the wall has been prepped to receive for a number of years. The lights are 13 watt fluorescent so they are energy efficient. So now the planting beds need to be done plus adding planters to at the wall columns without light fixtures plus the areas on each side of the front steps.
My front entrance, which is still not complete, is at least a lot farther along then it has been for several years. I changed my mind about what I was going to do many times from a simple poured concrete walkway to stamped walkway to pavers etc. etc. etc. Add to that a good dose of procrastination and you get to where I am today.
Here is what I started with:
2014-02-24 15.44.28.jpg
2014-02-24 15.45.28.jpg
2014-02-24 15.46.43.jpg
During construction:
2014-05-11 10.53.09.jpg
2014-05-11 10.53.51.jpg
2014-05-11 10.52.56.jpg
As it appears today:
2014-06-04 15.49.49.jpg
2014-06-04 15.49.06.jpg
2014-06-04 15.49.33.jpg
This took me a month to do and let me tell anybody thinking about doing a lot of pavers (over 4000 with hundreds of cuts) ITS LABOR INTENSIVE!! I lasted two weeks until I realized I need some help. I was doing pretty good until I got to the triangular areas by the front steps. I had been using EMT (electrical metal conduit) for screeds and for large areas that was fine, but those triangular areas really frustrated me. I installed and removed one of them twice. I was having a very difficult time getting the grade correct for drainage. Getting the pavers under the rock veneer lip was another challenge all along the way.
I called a fellow that had just been laid off from the local equipment rental store where I rented the vibratory plate compactor. His background was commercial construction and he was an immense help. He didn't need the screeds. He graded the sand bed by hand and it was perfect! He is almost twenty years younger than I am so he laid 3/4 of all the pavers while I fed them to him from the tractor loader bucket. Pavers go in pretty fast so he kept me running. The paver stockpile was a distance away on pallets on the other side of my driveway. He and I would both go to the stockpile and load the bucket and I would approach the wall from the street side positioning the bucket just over the wall in the area that we were working. He and I both worked on doing all of the cuts with me doing most of them. That last cut was a real blessing. I filled the paver joints with polymeric sand and will apply a seal coat in a couple of months which will bring out the paver color more. I plan on a matte finish.
I also finally installed the lighting that the wall has been prepped to receive for a number of years. The lights are 13 watt fluorescent so they are energy efficient. So now the planting beds need to be done plus adding planters to at the wall columns without light fixtures plus the areas on each side of the front steps.