Sunday, May 4, 2014

DIY Paver Patio and Outdoor Fireplace Reveal!

Hello barbies!

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post - we've been working on a big project in the back yard, that as weeks wore on, felt like it was getting bigger and more expensive by the day. What started in March as a 2-3 week project to transform our backyard from empty and boring into a useful, relaxing outdoor living space turned into a two month project with cost overruns accumulating at an unbelievably fast rate. 
 
 
We ended up going way over budget and even more over in terms of the time it took to complete, but we are so incredibly happy with the finished product. We now have a big paver patio, hot tub, grilling area, dining area, lounge chairs and fireplace for outdoor entertaining and relaxing. The best part? Hubby mastermined every bit of it and did it by himself with some help from my very helpful, amazing family. We feel like it will add some value to our house and are looking forward to many beautiful memories in our transformed backyard!
 
THE PROCESS
 
For starters, we had to find the pavers on craigslist (since paying retail price for the amount of pavers we needed would have cost in the thousands), once we did, we paid for them, then Ross had to manually load and unload all 800 of them. They're fifteen pounds each and very coarse - so moving each one twice was no joke! Then we had to power wash each one to get the old paver sand off of them so they'd fit tightly. This was incredibly tedious but thankfully my mom helped. Then Ross had to excavate and relocate the sod for where the patio was going to go. Excavating took several days in itself because our yard was not level and there was a lot of measuring, digging and leveling involved. Once excavated, Ross used wood and then ultimately decorative paver blocks to make a border to hold in the patio. Once level, we brought in three truck loads of gravel and paver sand to lay as the foundation. Each truck load had to be shoveled out of the truck bed scoop by scoop then extensively spread and tamped to make sure it was level. Then we began laying pavers. I helped a lot with this part, unlike several other parts which were almost entirely Ross. This involved picking up, arranging and tighly weaving the paver pattern so that they would stay firmly in place. After this step, which took two full nights after work, Ross brushed in the paver sand using a broom to seal everything in place. 
 










We were so excited to finally see a nice, level patio of pavers, but Ross still had a lot of work ahead of him. He had to finish the borders, which involved more decorative blocks, which he had to mortar together to make a wall. Then, he capped the walls with wooden planks, painted in a high end paint stain from Home Depot by my sister and I. He then used his table saw to cut the planks down to size and did touch up paint on the edges. He mortared these planks on top of the decorative edge blocks.
 
Last but definitely not least, Ross built our outdoor fireplace from the ground up. For starters, he dug the fireplace's footprint out of the ground and replaced the dirt with a concrete foundation. He poured concrete and used metal rods for extra support. This was extra difficult because our yard is not level (I don't think any yard is), requiring a lot of precision to create a flat concrete foundation. Once the footings set, he began stacking and individually mortaring the same large, decorative blocks we used for the patio's border. Like the pavers, we also scoured craigslist for these, which enabled us to get a great deal on them. It also meant we had to manually load and unload them, which was a horrible process considering there were 180 of them and they weigh 45 pounds each! It took my mom, Ross and I a full Saturday just to fetch, load and unload them all and boy did we look and smell rough afterwards. Woof. Anyway, Ross stacked the blocks level by level, often waiting over night after doing a few rows to let the mortar set before he began stacking more blocks on top to make sure the structure was stable enough to support the additional weigh (with 10 45 pound blocks on each level we're talking about a lot of weight!). You can't see it, but inside the blocks there's a metal vent and funnel to escort the fumes out the top properly. When he got done, we had to purchase MORE pavers to serve as capstones. We got some that matched our CL blocks nicely from Home Depot and Ross cut them down to the right size to serve as our caps. My dad dedicated an entire Saturday to mortaring the capstones in place so that Ross could proceed with the higher blocks. It was super helpful and my dad was perfect for it because he has a really great attention to detail. During the process it felt like we were running out of mortar almost every day. Ross must have went back to Home Depot for more mortar at least 10 times - no exaggeration! Thankfully, the fireplace is finally done and I couldn't be prouder of my hubby for building it!
 



 
 
We also planted two new privacy evergreen trees so that we can enjoy the patio without feeling like everyone who drives by can see me walking around in my mismatched bikinis eating cheetos. We also bought several plants for our decorative planters to liven up the very stoney space, and in our typical fashion have already managed to kill two of them (we really suck with plants). Ross also mulched the area between the patio and the porch, which looks great!
 

Here's the before of our empty backyard and the after of our DIY backyard paradise!






















As always, thanks for reading barbies! <3 you guys to pieces!

62 comments:

  1. Oh my word, what a fabulous backyard and your fireplace and patio are stunning.
    Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.

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  2. Now that is a DIY project I LOVE! Your backyard space is positively dreamy!!!

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  3. That fireplace looks fantastic! Wow!! Found you featured at a stroll thru life!

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  4. You guys are amazing! I love that you did it all yourselves and for a fraction of the price that a professional would charge. If you are like me, that makes you love it even more! I'm pinning this one for future Pinspiration!

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  5. I love the shape of your pavers and the fireplace looks amazing!

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  6. I LOVE the fireplace!!! I am hoping to convince my hubby to make me one just like it!! Can you tell me the dimensions for the footprint you dug into the ground to start with?? Thanks!!!!

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  7. I have wanted a fireplace like yours for years! I love it! Very well done.

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  9. My husband and I are looking to DIY our outdoor fireplace and love your design. Can you help and give some insight on how your husband secured the horizontal "shelf" above the opening of the fireplace? What is being used to keep it secure? It looks great!

    We used to live in Raleigh for years before moving to Nashville (TN) for a bit and just moved back to Charlotte this summer. So glad to be back in our home state. Beautiful home!

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  10. Love the fireplace! Would really appreciate it if you could share the dimensions! We are going to build one in the spring.

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  11. Can you have your husband explain in a little more detail the process for assembling the fireplace. Specifically the top/roof of the fireplace.

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  12. Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your kind words. I brought your questions to hubby and he is happy to share these answers:

    The footprint of the fireplace is 6ft x 3ft
    The stack is 24 inches tall
    He used 4 inch angle iron to secure the top half of the fireplace (everything above the opening) running horizontally.

    Hope this helps! xoxo

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    Replies
    1. This is awesome, so much we are going to build one this spring, our major issue is the void over the fire place it self, how did you keep bricks from falling? any help would be great.

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  13. does the fireplace have fire brick inside the block that are not fire rated? If not have you used this fireplace? Have you noticed any sign of cracks or crumbling?

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  14. Hi,
    Can you share any web or book resources you used that explain how to build the fireplace? Thanks so much!

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  15. Could you please tell me if you have step by step photos or video of building the fireplace? If so could you email it to me please. The fireplace is awesome! Thank you! My email is tweetymart1@aol.com

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  16. Did you stain the cinder blocks??

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  17. Great job! I wish you had known about our mold concrete company before starting your project. You could have entered our Customer Project Contest and had a shot at our $1,000.00 Grand Prize or other prizes. :-( Please visit our websites if you have any future concrete projects and would like to save up to 90% off retail prices of stone veneer, tile, pavers, etc. by making them yourself. Our 2015 Customer Contest site is at TheMoldStoreDIYContest.com if you'd like to get some ideas for new projects. All the best, John McKenzie - TheMoldStore.com

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  18. Did you use firebrick in the firebox? If not has there been any cracking? Also, you stated there was a funnel on the stovepipe. How did you secure it and did it come from the hardware store as well?

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  19. Hey this is Whitney's husband, I built the fireplace. No I did not use firebricks. I was originally planning on using firebricks, but i ended up getting a gas fireplace insert and placing it in there instead of wood burning. It's too easy to turn the propane tank on and light it up! We have used it many times and there has not been any cracking. Everything is looking great! Also I used a like 14" metal exhaust venting from home depot. Its good enough for a small propane fire but if I were going to do it again I would have used a fireplace Flute from a stone yard or somewhere. I dont have any videos or more images of the install. Whitney gets on to me about not taking enough pictures of me actually building the projects or uploading images of the designs. I just usually get too into the projects and try to get them complete as quickly as possible so I can watch football or go ride motorcycles! As far as this project i really just used the cinder blocks and built them up from a concrete base. No real design for it just built it from the ground up. I hope I answered some of yalls questions. I probably wont get on here again for a very long time so Ill answer any more questions through whitney if yall ask them.

    Thanks

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  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. Excellent project even more special as you did it yourselves. Now you just need a swimming pool. Start digging!

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  22. Wow!! fabulous post. I like your work & patio design also. Thanks for sharing..
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  23. What a cute yard makeover! That project seriously made the back of your home look so different, and bigger! I would have never thought about making my own fire place, but If I can make mine look like yours, then I am in!
    http://www.artisanfireplaces.ca/products

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  24. GREAT JOB! encourages me to do something with mine.

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  25. I love this very clever design!!! I have one question: How did you support the blocks that span the top of the fire "box"? I can't figure it out.....
    Once again, congrats on a great DIY project!!
    Best regards, Greg

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  26. I pics 2-3 of the fireplace what is holding the cinder block ceiling up that is above the opening?

    Thanks Zach

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  27. I am very excited for you backyard. we are in process for outdoor kitchen and fireplace. Did you use fire proof bricks inside of the fire place?

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  34. Now all you need is a pergola over that fireplace

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  36. Love the fireplace! Can you tell me how many Cinder Blocks to complete the fireplace?

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  38. This is awesome! How were the 3 different levels separated and how did your leave room for tha vent tube to pass through?

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  44. Can you give me the total number of blocks used ? I would love to build this for my patio oasis

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  47. Oh Wow! That looks beautiful! It looks like it was done by a professional, it doesn't look like a DIY. If you need cleaning with your paver patio please reach out to me!

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  48. Great blog and a great job, beautiful outdoor addition!! You should all be very proud of your work. God Bless and may you enjoy it for many, many years. Stay safe.

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  49. Your DIY paver patio and outdoor fireplace reveal is stunning! The craftsmanship and creativity you've poured into it truly shine, creating a warm, inviting outdoor oasis.
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