Monday, March 29, 2010

Joel's Cement Patio

On Friday Joel bought an entire PALLET of cement from Home Depot. He built and placed the forms and Sat morning he and his brother Justin started mixing and pouring for a small patio outside our bedroom window in the back yard. (8 feet by 18feet) They didn't get very far before they ran out of cement. So, I started making calls, and found a place that rented the mixer filled with ready-made concrete. The guys picked it up with a 2 hour window, otherwise your $400 deposit was non-refundable. Yikes!
They drove home quickly, ripped out the fence, and started wheeling the wheelbarrow to the backyard. We soon realized it was going to be quite a process, so Joel's mom and stepdad came over with their wheelbarrow and we started an assembly line. As we brought the whellbarrows back, Joel and Justin poured and finished. I accidently tipped over a wheelbarrow, but shoveled it back up. I did get some clover mixed in, but hey, that's good luck, right? You can see in the finished pictures, we took a rake and made swirly designs so it didn't look so bland. Joel wants to cover the entire patio in slate tiles, but that project is pretty far down the list!
We did get the mixer back in time, but for the big patio outside the kitchen, Joel is now thinking to hire someone to do it. I say great idea, my calves are tired!









1 comment:

Rays-R-Us said...

Wow, you guys are brave to do this yourselves. That's a lot of work. It looks great!! :)