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When I was looking at houses one of the requirements was a covered porch of some sort. I wanted a place for a table and chairs and to do some grilling and generally be able to spend time outdoors. The house I bought has a nice back porch, but it's enclosed on 3 sides. I think technically it's called a lanai. Anyway, I want a little something more. I'm going to extend the lanai about 10 feet into the back yard with pavers. Also going to put in a fire pit and some planters for my aloe plants. Finished patio will be 24 feet wide and 10 - 11 feet deep with the fire pit half in, half out about 7 feet from the screen. I have the pit in, but I'm going to have a contractor install the pavers. The ground prep for that is a bit beyond my ability.
The fire pit. For some reason the back side looks wonky in the picture, but not in person. I'm going to look at it more closely in a week or so after everything has had time to settle. I left the area inside the pit so I would have reference for grade. I'm going to remove the grass and gravel it over the course of the next few days.
Partly because I don't want flame right up next to the block. They're rated for fire, but they're not actual "fire brick". Mostly because grass fires smoke like a SOB. And after I get the gravel in there, I'll want it to look somewhat nice.
Just noticed I got a little bit of my finger in the lower left side of the shot.
The fire pit. For some reason the back side looks wonky in the picture, but not in person. I'm going to look at it more closely in a week or so after everything has had time to settle. I left the area inside the pit so I would have reference for grade. I'm going to remove the grass and gravel it over the course of the next few days.
Partly because I don't want flame right up next to the block. They're rated for fire, but they're not actual "fire brick". Mostly because grass fires smoke like a SOB. And after I get the gravel in there, I'll want it to look somewhat nice.
Just noticed I got a little bit of my finger in the lower left side of the shot.
You're going to have flame up against the brick anyway right? In any case it's not the flame that damages the brick, it's the heat and the coals will be the worst part. I got a metal ring for my pit to help keep the direct heat off of the brick.
Yes, grass smokes like a mofo but if you have logs burning in there, it won't be too bad at all. I'd do as someone else said and spray round up, kill it all, and light it on fire. Done. Once it's all burned away, put some gravel in there (you'll have to do this many times a year) and call it good.
IMO, I put gravel in my pit too and it was a huge waste of time. The ashes build up over the gravel and you can't see any of it. I'd have to completely shovel out the pit and replace all the gravel. It's cheaper to just leave the ashes in there for appearance. A pit with gravel showing is one that has never been used.
I like the idea, hopefully it burns the way you want it to.
Upon closer inspection, there is a low spot on the far side in the picture. Going to try to level it out this afternoon after work. Seems to have settled a bit lower over there. The picture looked off because the cap stones on that side weren't set correctly. I had to pull them and do some small modifications with a hammer and chisel with them and the block below. Once I did that, it looked fine. The next day after the sprinklers had run I started to see the low spot. And no, there's no irrigation plumbing anywhere near this thing. The last thing I wanted was fire directly over PVC pipe.
I would spray some RoundUp on the grass. A few days later it will be dead. Then I would toss the gravel on the dead grass
That's the current plan, unless I decide I want to have a small fire before I have the patio installed. I've had 2 estimates for the paver patio and both of them have told me that I'm going to need 2 1/2 yards of crushed concrete. Figured I'd use at least some of the leftover 1/2 yard to line the bottom.
Originally Posted by 1StGenCL
I would have the guys doing the pavers incorporate and level it, JMO
I would love to do that, but both of the installers I've had have told me that they would likely almost double their price to add in the fire pit. For the cost savings, I'll do it myself.
Originally Posted by SamDoe1
You're going to have flame up against the brick anyway right? In any case it's not the flame that damages the brick, it's the heat and the coals will be the worst part. I got a metal ring for my pit to help keep the direct heat off of the brick.
Yes, grass smokes like a mofo but if you have logs burning in there, it won't be too bad at all. I'd do as someone else said and spray round up, kill it all, and light it on fire. Done. Once it's all burned away, put some gravel in there (you'll have to do this many times a year) and call it good.
IMO, I put gravel in my pit too and it was a huge waste of time. The ashes build up over the gravel and you can't see any of it. I'd have to completely shovel out the pit and replace all the gravel. It's cheaper to just leave the ashes in there for appearance. A pit with gravel showing is one that has never been used.
All true. I'm not so much worried about damaging the block as I am discoloring it. Direct exposure to flames will likely discolor it more quickly than the heat from the coals. I may do a metal ring in the middle down the road, still haven't decided on that yet. Also, the picture doesn't really adequately depict the scale. The interior diameter is nearly 6 feet.
Still debating the ash vs gravel issue. Either way, I know this thing is going to be part of my Roundup Routine that I already have.
Lit the first fire in the pit last night. Didn't bother to do anything about the grass first. The smoke wasn't too bad. For a decent size back yard fire, the pit is just about right. Pulled up a chair and put my feet up on it. Got some heat from the fire, but not enough to be uncomfortable. The block got a bit warm, but probably no more warmer than a road on a hot sunny day. Just burned off some old (some of it possibly 5 years) logs.
Tentatively thinking second week in January for the patio. That'll be the next time I have days off during the week to be home while the contractor is there.
Tore down about 4 feet of the low spot and added in some dirt. It went from a bit of a low spot to a bit of a high spot. I'm sure it'll settle down and level out though. Been raining the last 2 days so I haven't been able to do anything else with it.
I think I may have a problem with the patio plans though. Was cutting the grass the other night and the area in front of the hose bib about 3-4 feet away from the house is really wet. The only thing I can think of is an irrigation leak. Not sure where the pipes are, but it would make sense for one to be there. Going to have to wait until next week to dig it up. If I'm lucky, it'll be a stub line to the head that's going to be eliminated anyway. There's another head beyond it, but I'm not sure how its fed.
Started digging to remove the sprinkler head and investigate the wet spot from the area where the patio will be. Whoever planned out the irrigation for my yard needs to be kicked in the nuts. They've crossed pipes twice that I've found so far and put in bends that don't need to be there. They've also buried a 1" pipe that I'm assuming goes to a solenoid valve somewhere on the other side of the house. That's the one that's leaking by the way. Found a bad glue joint where the flared end of one section of pipe met the next. This is the second one I've found by the way. When I replumbed my house valve the pipe going down the wall to the 90 literally pulled right out. There was no glue at all, just the fact that the 90 was buried and had nowhere to go keeping them together.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get trenches dug going around the area for the patio and new irrigation lines in by the end of the week. Hoping to start excavation and gravel on Tuesday.
Even a poorly installed irrigation system will last for several years before starting to fail, so I think the installers just throw it in the ground, turn it on and say "see, it works!"... I have found one inch tubing bent to make a turn where an elbow (or shallower bend) should have been done MANY TIMES in my yard, and that's the usual failure point...
Wow, and I thought mine was bad. I used to design, install and repair irrigation systems when I was in high school and college. I would never even consider doing anything like that! Its so much easier to just make the cuts and install the elbow, 30, 45, or whatever.
I actually think that joint failed a few years ago. That one spot has always been wet, but its right in front of a hose bib so I just figured it leaked sporadically. I'm just glad none of the lines run under the fire pit.
Well, I finished all the trenching for the irrigation relocation on Monday morning. Then it rained. And rained. And rained. The deluge. (That's classic Living Seas at Epcot by the way.) Now I have quite the system of canals back there. Probably going to take a few days for it all to drain off. That's going to set the time line back.
Minor update. I have moved and repaired the irrigation lines that were going through the excavation site. About 75' of lines all together. I eliminated one sprinkler head that won't be necessary anymore and in the process of doing this excavated about 10% of the area where the patio will be. I actually got it all dug out before I went on vacation but couldn't do much with it because I pulled a tendon in my elbow. Still can't do much with a shovel before the pain becomes unbearable. I have a contractor coming on Friday to excavate, lay the gravel and compact everything. With any luck, I'll have the pavers in next week. Of course all of this could be pushed back by the wet weather we've been having. I have to call the contractor tomorrow morning to discuss.
Made some progress over the weekend. Contractor that was scheduled for Friday flaked. Said he'd show between 8 and 9am. I called him at 10 and he said he'd had an on the job accident and forgotten about my job, but we would have some guys come by and knock it out. Called him again at 1130 and 12, but he wouldn't answer. Had somebody else lined up by 1230. They came yesterday and removed the sod and put down 3 yards of base material.
Went to the block place after they were done to put the final order down for the pavers. Tried to on Friday, but the girl who normally works in that office was out for the day. The guy they had filling in for her was a field rep and didn't know how to write up the order or process the credit card. I'm glad I did as she pointed out that I was probably going to be putting down the wrong color. She pulled some block that was the same color as the fire pit and we looked at it on the color she suggested. It was much better. They should be delivered sometime this week.
Pavers were delivered on Wednesday morning. I was out of town from Thursday until this morning so I haven't been able to move them all yet. I had them dropped in the garage because there's no way to get the forklift around back without possibly damaging my a/c or sewer line. I moved about a ton before work today, still have another 2 tons to go. I had no idea those things were so damn heavy!! I really want to go back to parking in the garage so I need to get them back there. I have jury duty tomorrow, hoping to be let go early.
Once they're all back there the fun begins. I get to compact the dirt with a hand tamper then level it. Once that's done I can begin laying them. I'll take more pictures then. Right now It just looks like a big spot with no grass. If the weather works out I'll be able to work on it on Sunday and Monday.
Plants are gone from right along the screen enclosure and the irrigation has been removed. Also leveled out the fire pit.
Contractor came in and removed the sod.
Base material dropped and spread. Block hadn't been ordered yet so I saw no point in grading. That ended up being a mistake. It rained a few days later and that stuff solidified. Had to break up the surface to grade it.
Pavers are here! Had the delivery guy drop them in the garage as there wasn't enough room between the A/C unit and the neighbor's fence for the forklift. Going up the other side was out of the question out of fear of crushing the sewer line. Carried them around back with a dolly. Took forever. Great workout though.
Didn't take any pictures of the grading. It was dirty, nasty work. Took 3 of us about 4 hours to get it done. I buried some steel conduit and set it to grade then used a 10' 2x4 as a screed board. There was a lot of excess material.
Once the block started going down it was pretty quick. A buddy of mine is thinking about doing something like this in his yard. It took a lot of restraint to stop until he could come by and lay some block to see how easy it is. Looking back, I would've done a few things differently. Probably would've pressure washed before laying the brick. Definitely would've put down the paver edging when I was putting down the soldier course. Going back after to do it is a royal pain in the butt.
This was less than an hour's worth of work. Once you get the pattern established it goes pretty quick. The blocks have little ridges on the edge that act as spacers which makes that part super easy.
There's 2 ways you can go about setting them. You can either lay them all and go over them with a plate compactor with a paver pad installed or you can tap them in individually. Plate compactor rental with a paver pad was going to run north of $100. A rubber mallet was $4. Guess which option I chose.
The nearly completed patio. Ended up going out about another 3' beyond what I thought I'd be able to. Had to pull up the sod and put down some of that excess material that was leftover from grading. I put them down 1 line at a time until I didn't have enough leftover to do a full row.
There's a small lip where the pavers are set ever so much lower than the foundation. That was my mistake, I didn't realize they would settle so much into the base material. I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue, but I didn't want some drunk (probably me) tripping on the 3/8" lip going into the porch. So, I pulled out a section of block and added a gentle slope up to remove the lip.
It actually turned out pretty good. The slope is very subtle, just enough to ensure there's no lip going into the screened in porch.
Didn't take too many pictures during the cutting either. It some really nasty work. I used a tile saw to do the cutting. I cut the first one dry but there was so much dust that I'm surprised the fire department didn't show up. I could see the cloud drifting down the block. And when I hooked up the water supply to the saw it slung an enormous amount of clay everywhere. I was able to "persuade" a few full blocks into spaces I didn't think were large enough.
All in all I think the cuts turned out pretty good considering I've never done it before. Filled in the gap with some leftover pea gravel. It made a huge difference, more than I thought it would.
Haven't done much since that. I'm currently putting in the paver edging. I have 1 of the 4 pieces in. It took over an hour, but it was one of the longer pieces. Hopefully I'll get the rest in tomorrow. Not doing any work on Saturday, I'll be enjoying it while smoking a Boston Butt. Going to pressure wash next week and then I'll figure out when to put in the polymetric sand. That'll fill in all the cracks and solidify the whole thing. The downside is that once the sand is in and watered you can't step on it for at least 24 hours.
After the patio is done I'll get to work on building a raised box to hold firewood. Stay tuned, I have some thoughts in mind.
Used some of the leftover pavers to make a little pad for the hose reel to sit on. Maybe a dozen more blocks. Was really just playing around to see how it would look. Going to have to pull it up and properly grade it now. Did some pruning on the giant maneating mutant hibiscus and the crepe myrtle and in the back yard. I completely filled the fire pit with the clippings. I really need to reclaim my yard waste cans.
12-12-2014, 04:15 PM
