Shed Building Plans

Building your own backyard patio is easy enough, assuming you’ve done the proper research and have bought all the necessary materials. But while it’s not a piece of cake, it is also not an impossible project to do even for a beginner in the realm of DIY. In fact, if you do things right, it can take you just a whole afternoon to finish and come up with the patio of your dreams.

These days, homeowners engage in DIY projects, focusing primarily on the patio because they also want to improve their outdoor living areas but are trying to save on construction costs by doing the whole thing themselves. Those with considerable carpentry or construction skills do it easily enough because there’s just something to be said about building your own patioswith your own two hands, like it was some sort of testimonial to admirable skills you never knew you had.

Often, when you build your own patios, you’ll need just some mason’s string, a spade or a shovel and a level. You’ll just need to first outline the patio with your mason’s string, adding an allowance of 1 ½ inches all around the perimeter to make space for the lumber border. Then you dig about 10 inches deep, checking with the level to make sure the surface is even, then dig another 2 inches around the perimeter to create a trench that is about 1 ½ inches wide and 2 inches deep.

Next, you’ll need to saw some lumber to fit the edges of the patio. Insert the cut lumber on the 2-inch edge of the trench then using a mallet, tap it down to flatten them evenly on the border. The next step is to smooth on the gravel onto the floor of your patio using a screed to even it out, and then dampen it with a hose. Using a hand tamper, compress the gravel until it is approximately 4 inches thick to form a solid base.

Then comes the sand that you smooth over the compressed gravel again using a screed. Again, you need to compress the sand just as you did with the gravel until it is about 3 inches thick. Then you layer the patio pavers over the sand and make sure it is at level with the top of the border. Spread a ½ inch of dampened sand over the payers, then tamp them together. And lastly, work the sand into the paver joints with a hard-bristled broom then sweep off the remainder to finish.

Of course, you can also go with diy patio kits and get the job done a whole lot faster and easier. Usually, you will need to consider positioning, patio flooring and patio covering but with these ready-to-assemble kits, you already have everything you need in place, complete with building instructions and materials so that all you’ll need to do is follow the instructions and have yourself a patio before the afternoon is done.  The great thing about using ready-made patio kits is that you can customize your orders online and they arrive exactly the way you want them and what’s more, it didn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

And lastly, to further save on your patioconstruction costs, you should also consider using furniture and materials that are sustainable like wood. Wood is a renewable resource, especially when it comes from a managed plantation and it will withstand any weather condition in addition to being the most customizable and able to blend in with almost any kind of home décor or surroundings.

These days, it’s all about saving money and being a wise spender. Check everything out thoroughly, do your research and you will not only save bucks but also time.