Perpetual Ruminations

Thursday

Success at last. That is, I did get to my the project I have been wanting to work on today, and it's done. Well, maybe not done, but done to the point of what we had planned to get done. I'm talking about the patio, of course. Rhonda and I had gotten the old one tore up and most of the new one down. I can't say new, since most of it is the old patio block and retaining wall block, so perhaps redone, or revamped would be better. Let's go with revamped, just because it's kind of a colorful word. Whether it fits the purpose or not, I don't know, and I'm just too damn tired to care.

Three days off, but one day was wet and raining, so no outdoor work at all. That left yesterday and today to get the patio finished up as far as we had planned to go, and as far as we have material to go. But, the lawn was only half done getting mowed last week, and that part was getting pretty bad. The part we did not get to last week was out of control; I'd say a foot tall in most places. Partly because it hadn't been cut in two weeks, partly because it's so wet and growing faster than Rhonda and I can keep up with it.

So, yesterday we set out to get the grass cut, and of course, being so long, it didn't cut worth a damn. It was also pretty wet and it wasn't about to dry out being so tall, and it's thick. So, it was slow going, mowing. But, we set the mowers up high and managed to get it cut down and looking pretty good. By the time we finished it, it was time for dinner and of course by the time dinner was over, it was getting to late to work on the patio, and with a full belly, I just didn't feel like doing much of anything. So we had a fire, drank a few bottles of beer, and just relaxed for the evening. It did get kind of late by the time we turned in, which of course meant we also got up kind of late today.

It was another nice day, and we had coffee on the patio, and just enjoyed the morning. It was late morning, but we still had shade and sat out until after the noon whistle blew. That signaled time to get busy, so we finished up with one last cup of coffee and then set about getting going on our project. I had to cut a few patio block to fit in to the ends of the patio, and once that was done we needed to take apart the fire ring. We had some concrete lattice set in front of the fire ring, and I had stacked some brick in behind, just to see how it would look. All that had to come out and then start setting brick.

Now, keep in mind, I'm no brick layer, and this was my first attempt. Also, we did not use mortar to fasten the brick, but instead used an industrial adhesive. This way, if it messed up, we could clean the brick up pretty easy and start over again. Also, it will set up faster and we should be able to have a fire tonight and enjoy our handiwork. I don't know if it will work or not, but it should, to the best of my knowledge. I guess this is one of those, live and learn projects.

I did have the ground level when we put the block down for the fire ring, and I assumed it was still level, but it had settled. We have been getting a lot of rain, and the ground is soft and wet, so the heavy blocks settled and the ground around them also did not stay level. So, lesson one when working on blocks, always make sure your base is level before you begin. Unfortunately, I learned this point after I was almost done.

Fortunately, the back side, to the west of the fire ring, stayed level and only needed a little fill. So, I set a line of brick in place, and then put down a line of adhesive, which for all practical purposes, is glue. Then, the next row of brick went down, and when we got to the end, of course I had to cut a bit of brick to make it fit right. Not bad, about a half of brick and that seemed right since we would be inter-weaving the brick where the two walls meet.

Another line of glue and another level of brick. Now, I noticed something. I should have measured the area and set the brick so that I would not have to cut one or two inch pieces to fill in the gaps. So, point two, measure the area and allow for even cuts in the brick so that there are not small pieces needed. It was too late for changing it now, so we continued, and since the brick cut pretty easy, we moved right along. I don't have the proper saw for cutting brick, but instead am using a cheap angle grinder with a mason blade on it. It works great, but there is not way to cut all the way through, and there is no guide to cut a straight line. Even so, it cut deep enough on all four sides that I could take a hammer and mason chisel and with a little tap, the brick would snap at the cut. It left a little bump, but the mason blade removed this pretty slick.

Of course, it makes a lot of dust. Cutting and grinding the blocks, I mean. It makes a lot of real fine dust, and I'll probably be blowing it out of my nasal passageways for the next week. Point three, purchase a comfortable dust mask for cutting block. I did have a pair of nice safety glasses, and of course wore them for each cut. It was a good thing, too, because I could feel the grit sandblasting my arms and face with each and every cut. But with the safety glasses on, I didn't get any grit in my eyes. The noise wasn't real bad, either. I do have some ear plugs, but didn't feel I needed them.

The wall went right along, with Rhonda helping and soon enough we had reached the level of the concrete lattice.  At this point we began stepping the brick back just a bit, and stopped just short of the level of retaining wall. I had intended to stop even with it, but I had not measured it quite right, and of course I discovered that my south wall was not level. The west end of it was just short of the level of the retaining wall, the east side was almost a brick shorter. The wall interlocked with the brick work on the west side of the fire ring, and that one was also just a little short of the height we wanted. Not a lot, but just a little. So point four, measure everything, then remeasure it again.

I also had a slight problem with the retaining wall. When we built it a week ago, we kind of followed the edge of the patio, but also just kind of set them in along the point of the ground being level. I didn't check to see how square it was with the patio, and it curves a bit as it goes to the west. So, it's not squared off with the patio, and it has a bend to it. The brick work on the south side runs parallel to the retaining wall, but the distance is not equal since the wall is not square. This leaves a gap behind the brick work, but we are just going to put some cedar chips in there. It may be better that it didn't match up the way I had planned, since we had a problem with the old one getting vermin behind it.

It seems snakes love to get in between brick walls and block walls. There is a six in gap at the bottom, but it would have matched up on top if I had done this right. We were not sure what to put in between the two walls to fill it in and keep unwanted varmints from taking up residence, but now it will be open and easy to prevent them from taking refuge there. I just hope the glue holds the brick tight, and it all works out. But, if not, I do have a blade that is made to grind brick and cement, and I think it will clean the glue off the brick very well. Then, we will level the ground up, build it up another quarter inch in back and two inches in front, then put the brick back down with a mortar mix to bond them together, and do it one last time. That's if the adhesive does not hold tight. I think it will do just fine.

I do have pictures of the original patio we built. I also have pictures of the second time around, and now I will take some of this one. I want to post them all so anyone interested can see how things turned out. We still have some work to do, but the patio part is now done. All that's left is to put in a pond, and then put up some privacy lattice. Hopefully in a few weeks, we will have it complete. Then, I will post another photograph of the finished project. Of course, even as we sit and look at our work, we get ideas for more to go with it, so it my never be completely done, but the patio and wall should be. Next is the pond and privacy panels, then perhaps an arbor over the pond.