Do you know what color/type of fence stain you have? It's time for me to restain my fence and I really like that look.

Ready Seal. Pecan is the color

Pretty cool project you got going here. Everything looks like it's coming together nicely. Thanks for posting about it.

Regarding your post about the ceiling fan lens being cracked, props to you for seemingly keeping your cool. Texags would have edited half of any sentence I posted on here if that had happened to me.

I've been slacking on the updating once everyone's lives have been flipped upside down due to covid. That's not to say that thing haven't been progressing through.

3/31/2020: As mentioned previously, the entire house was in need of a new paint job (trim, brick, everything). There was also some soffit repair and replacing the front column I took care of before the painters did their magic work.

Progress pictures of the painting. If anyone cares, trim was SW Site White and brick was SW Gray Clouds.

This looks great. And bonus is that I now know what a lookout is. Been dealing with the sagging soffits, too.

Keep up the good work.

I just got done building a 13 X 22 patio cover with large 12" beams and columns that are wrapped 12X12 paneling. It looks incredible. Not sure why you felt the need to drill into your Crete. It makes it weaker at that point. They make stabilizing braces for this application where you mount directly on top. That's what I did and it worked like a charm. Now to figure out how to get pics uploaded.

I also wired the ceiling with speakers for my outdoor tv and receiver. That is a must for any outdoor build.

Details on the ceiling fan? We need a new one.

justsomeguy said:

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I just got done building a 13 X 22 patio cover with large 12" beams and columns that are wrapped 12X12 paneling. It looks incredible. Not sure why you felt the need to drill into your Crete. It makes it weaker at that point. They make stabilizing braces for this application where you mount directly on top. That's what I did and it worked like a charm. Now to figure out how to get pics uploaded.

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Not sure what which part you're referring to.

justsomeguy said:

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I also wired the ceiling with speakers for my outdoor tv and receiver. That is a must for any outdoor build.

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I intentionally didn't wire the ceiling for speakers. I didn't want to have to find a place to put an a/v receiver outside or run it inside. I went with a soundbar that connects straight to the tv and is also connectable via bluetooth.

kcag96 said:

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Details on the ceiling fan? We need a new one.

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https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Kensgrove-72-in-LED-Indoor-Outdoor-Espresso-Bronze-Ceiling-Fan-with-Remote-Control-YG493OD-EB/301162064. I'd definitely recommend it. There are higher end and better fans out there, but this is a great bang for your buck. FYI: the controls (fan speed up/down and turn light on/off/dim) is all from the remote. Even though this is a fan/light, it only functions off a single wall switch.

Was it lazy of them? yes
Does that make them a-holes? no

I fully realize you get what you pay for and would have been much more upset if I was using (and paying $$$) for a turnkey project.

Builder93 said:

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Aggietaco said:

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Hate to see muddy boot prints on installed material. Lazy a-holes.

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It's always great to have people criticize something like that when the whole point in going straight to the sub is to get it done cheaper. You want it perfect, pay perfect prices to the trades. When I used to do this, I tried to keep mud off of materials, but sometimes when your back is tired, it won't stop raining and you are trying to get out of a job with some money to feed your family, a little mud on a board is your last thought.

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Understood that guy didn't give a **** about mud on a panel, hence why it was still there when he left his finished work for someone else to take care of later.

That looks infinitely better

Need an 85" set up there.

Looks great, excellent job.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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That looks infinitely better

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Appreciate it

Aggietaco said:

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Need an 85" set up there.

Looks great, excellent job.

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I know I know...
It's a 58". Plenty big for viewing, but does look small on the wall.

4/13/20: Concrete overlay begins

Limestone based base-coat that got troweled on top of the existing slabs. They took a diamond blade & angle grinder to existing hairline cracks to use as 'joints' on the final finish. You can see these and previous expansion joints in the pictures. You can also see the thicker parts of the coating that weren't quite dry. Total thickness was probably 1/4-3/8".




Time Lapse: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tAAmAUFsJ1xcPsBEf4BWdpDVBJ-ytSWv

what kind of process is that limestone and carved stone look is that?

Did they just hand trowel a 1/2" layer of concrete then carve it up by hand.

Clean it and then come back and put that color mix in it individually?

Damn that looks good.

i really like that look..

It's all limestone based, similar to concrete, but uses limestone as opposed to portland cement (that my be way off, but that's my understanding).

The first coat was a pretty thin base coat. They went back the next day with a 3/8-1/2" overlay. They let it dry for a few hours before going in and freehanding the grount lines. They let it dry for a few hours and applied the dye/pigment with sponges. They used a few different colors (grays/tans/browns).

It's no substitute for flagstone or natural rock, but I didn't have that choice given my height to the back door threshold.

I used https://limecoatdfw.com and they were great to work with. Allied Outdoor Solutions (big company with locations in all the majors in TX) has a similar product/solution that they call Carvestone, but was a 40% price increase for my job.

txag2008 said:

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It's all limestone based, similar to concrete, but uses limestone as opposed to portland cement (that my be way off, but that's my understanding).

The first coat was a pretty thin base coat. They went back the next day with a 3/8-1/2" overlay. They let it dry for a few hours before going in and freehanding the grount lines. They let it dry for a few hours and applied the dye/pigment with sponges. They used a few different colors (grays/tans/browns).

It's no substitute for flagstone or natural rock, but I didn't have that choice given my height to the back door threshold.

I used https://limecoatdfw.com and they were great to work with. Allied Outdoor Solutions (big company with locations in all the majors in TX) has a similar product/solution that they call Carvestone, but was a 40% price increase for my job.

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Perfect! I thought it was carvestone and only Allied really does "that". Looks pricey though but I always assumed it wasn't rocket science. The limestone can take much higher PSI.

What did they charge sqft? Did they have other options too (like using the rubber stamps to make a hardwood look or a traditional "paver" look)?

It wasn't cheap. It was right at $8/SF (compared to ~$12 for carvestone).

They also do a paver/tile look, but I'm pretty certain it's not done with a stamp.

Loving this setup more and more

AggieFanatic09 said:

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Ohhh that cable pulled taut and then the lightes zip tied?

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Correct. I pulled the cable as tight as I could before swagging it to the turnbuckle. I then tighten the turnbuckle just a bit to snug it up. You can see that I still have ~3" more in the turnbuckle that I could tighten if needed.

I then zip-tied the light cord to the s/s cable. It makes for a clean look and can hardly even see the cable.

It's also the best way to do this because it puts no strain on the cord.

That's exactly why I did it. There's no other way I would've been able to get the cord to hug the beam as it is now.

If there's anything I have handled, it's mounting lights. It's basically just a permanent christmas light string.

5/9/20: Began digging the edging around the patio. The intent for this is to use it to run the relocated sprinkler heads as well as add a clean border to separate the grass just running right up to the slab.

Whatcha putting in there? River rock? That would look nice. More texture.

Or just mulch and and some annuals?

Stay tuned

Looks great.

Is that the worlds largest camping chair or the worlds smallest charcoal grill?

Now you just gotta get that grass going.

Thanks

Haha, tiny grill. The boy loves cooking on it.

I battled with grub worms last year in the backyard, plus a couple months of work got it all trampled down. It's starting to look better.