Had some time off for paternity leave so naturally I decided to tear out a flower bed and add a patio. The plan is to eventually cover it with a pergola and then add a simple kitchen.

First things first, my beautiful daughter and the reason I get 4 weeks off of work.



Project started 8/16/21

Forgot to get a true "before shot", but this is as close to original as it looked. The freeze knocked out a bottlebrush and the bushes looked terrible which is what got me thinking about tearing it all out.



Bushes removed. Old hose was tied to the house by previous owner. Hated having to turn the hose on 20' from where it was wrapped up.



Got some heavy rain day 2 and 3. The kids didn't mind. The existing storm water pipes were completely clogged. Glad I got a chance to fix it and put screens up in the gutters.



Mud removed, ready to start plumbing.



Relocated hose bib, added stub up for sink, and stub up for sewer.



Storm water pipe tied to existing drain that catches the pool overflow, pool dump, and backyard drain.



Had some helpers moving the sakrete



One pallet minus 2 bags that broke. ~10% discount for buying a pallet. Bought 10 more bags today just to be sure. 4,000 lbs moved to the back.



Planning to pour in 3 sections. I'll do the outers tomorrow and the inner one the next day if the rain holds off. Tied the rebar into the house foundation. Have some help coming tomorrow thankfully. So far it's just been me and the kids. And a super supportive wife who has let me work my tail off during my bonding leave.

Good job, there was a good DIY thread for this prolly ten years ago on TA, I think the poster was Olag or something like that

First day of concrete. Ended up putting down about 60 bags. Had to get my wife to take the baby to HD to get us more. She saved the day, along with my dad and a retired neighbor that I roped in to help.



Zip tied a level to a 2x4 which worked really well to set the grade for runoff. I'll be able to perfect it with the flagstone as well.



Roped a high schooler in to help. I was impressed at how hard a worker he was.



Had to get creative to smooth the side against the wall.



Two sections down, one to go.

WOW

Stand mixer rentals are pretty cheap, you know. Also, would be a good idea to add a clean out on either side of that storm tee before you pour if possible.

Great job DIY'ing a difficult project so far.

Also, congrats on the new kiddo.

Last section ready to pour.



Got 25 bags down in 34 min. Had to add a few river rocks to the bottom at the end to make sure we had enough. Literally had to scrape the bottom of the barrows but we got it done.

Finished with the flag stone. Still need to acid wash and power wash



After acid wash on new rock. Had to do quite a bit of scraping and brushing but it turned out really nice.

I mowed my yard this weekend, so I'd say we're both doing pretty good.

Phase 2 has officially begun. I picked up the cedar for the pergola/roof yesterday and began building brackets today.

Felt like the richest man in the world moving this much lumber around. Or poorest depending how you look at it.


Plan is to attach it to my house using these risers.



But if this thread has taught you anything it's that I refuse to spend $160 per bracket when I can build them for about $35 per.

Getting ready for the first weld.



I'm far from a pro but it will hold.



Drilled holes first and notched it so it was easier to bend.





Put a small bead in the crotch since I took metal out when I notched it.



Have two done but forgot to take final pictures. If the weather works out I'll cut some holes in my roof and install them tomorrow. I would rather figure out if I have an issue with my design before I build the other two.

First beam went up last night. 2nd one should be up tomorrow. After that it's just 13 cross members and then the metal roof. Both brackets are installed on the other side. Just need to replace singles and I'll be ready for the beam.

Pergola structure is up. Still need to add some bracing and clean a few things up but it's ready for the roof. I'll be doing a metal roof similar to what you would see on a farm house.





View from inside. Couldn't come up with a good way to do this without blocking windows and eventually decided the gain on the patio would be worth losing some window sight lines. The sun blasts these windows in the summer anyway so this will help with that.