September 12, 2013

Entrance Patio

I recently finished my final outside project on my summer to-do list and I'm so excited to share it with you today.

Since having a pretty front porch doesn't seem possible in our current home I've dreamed of creating a small sitting area near the front door instead.  I've been thinking about it for years and finally decided this was the year to get it done.


The perfect solution seemed to be a small brick patio tucked in between the sidewalk and the garage wall.

The space is only slightly less than three feet wide but it's perfect for a small table and a pair of chairs.


It turned out being such a quick and easy project I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner.  It took me no more than two hours and that included a 45 minute trip to the store for more bricks!


I laid the bricks in a simple pattern that eliminated the need to cut any of bricks to make them fit.


After the patio was laid, I place a small bistro set from Walmart on it.  Placed some pretty plants and now we have a cozy spot to sit and chat.


I sometimes sit out here in the morning while I watch my kids at the bus stop or I have found it's a great place to have silly talks with my girls.

In case your curious about how to lay a brick patio of your own here's a quick tutorial for you.

Supplies:

pea gravel 
(or class 5 crushed stone - anything to give the area good drainage)
sand 
(I reused sand from our unused sandbox)
bricks
rubber mallet
kneeling pad 
(to save your knees some hurt)

The steps are very simple.  
First clear the area that you want to add bricks to and level it as much as you can.
Next add a two inch layer of gravel - see #1 below
On top of the gravel, add a two inch layer of sand - see #2 below
And finally add the bricks, using the rubber mallet to hammer the bricks into the sand- see #3 below


When your ready to lay the bricks a kneeling pad and a rubber mallet are very helpful.


Simply hammer the bricks into the sand to make them level and line up with the bricks on either side.  Now you can get all fancy and use a level to make sure everything keeps on the up and up.  I didn't bother with that step, instead I just eyeballed everything and it turned out just fine.


When you have all the bricks placed and looking oh so fine, use any left over sand and sweep it into the cracks between the bricks.  I found a small handled brush with short bristles worked best to work the sand into the cracks. 

And then your done!  

Super simple and it looks amazing!



Have a great day,

Robin

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30 comments:

  1. It looks so wonderful!! How great that you were able to get the bricks to fit w/o having to cut them. I'd like to come over and have a glass of lemonade!

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  2. Great job! Sometimes we just have to schedule things in order to get them done, right? We finally got the exterior of our home painted and a stone veneer put on. whew. :o)
    Larissa ~ Prodigal Pieces

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  3. That looks great! Perfect welcoming use of the space. I bet that was a lot of hard work even though you make it sound pretty easy.

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  4. I love that you took this on yourself...it would have intimated me to do this. It looks great and how special is it that it turned out to be a neat place to connect with your girls. Wonderful job!

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  5. Lovely! What a great improvement and it looks so inviting! Great job Robin!

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  6. It Looks great! I do believe you will enjoy it! Blessings!

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  7. That looks fabulous! I love it! I'd like to do something very similar in the front of our house...that is if hubby would remove the shrubs.

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  8. that looks soo great. we have all this brick from a friend and I hope next year we turn it into a patio. happy Friday!

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  9. Nice job on the pavers! It looks very inviting-aimee

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  10. Nice job on the pavers! It looks very inviting-aimee

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  11. Wow, Robin, that looks great! You've done a great job on it too, I know you will enjoy this for a few more months now!

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  12. What a perfect solution, Robin...it looks wonderful!

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  13. Your little patio is a great solution Robin! Love it!
    Ps. Thank you for your visit!
    Have a nice WE
    Silvia

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  14. Your patio is lovely and inviting ... great job!
    I discovered your blog through "Artful Blogging" and I'm so glad I came in here to get a look-see! It's lovely ... I'm jealous! LOL My blog feels so blah! after looking at yours! Beautiful.

    diane

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  15. I see this is a few years old...Im hoping you will still see this Robin!! I have a very small area just like yours only the rock part is only around 18 inches wide....is your rock area almost 3 ft wide or was you including the sidewalk too? wanting to do this to ours but not sure if I have enuf room? yours is awesome!! Hope you can let us know your rock area width...Thanks you!! Diana

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