Cozy summer hangout on the sunny meadow

As you can see from the pictures, there is a lot to do.

We have decided to do the following:

• Remove the asphalt outside the gate and lay paving stones
  

The asphalt is substandard in several places and also has an incorrect slope, which creates large puddles when it rains. Here we replace it with paving stones, which have a longer shelf life.

• Remove the flower bed in the courtyard

The rebates in the courtyard are laid out too close to the foundation of the house, which can cause moisture damage.

• Replace all old paving stones

The ground stone has been in place since the house was built and in several places the sub-work has to be redone as some tiles have sunk down.

• Build an L-shaped wooden deck along the house foundation

We want to create a cozy summer hangout for us and our friends. today we hardly use our front page at all.

Also attached a small sketch for simplicity. (but not to scale) :)


Let's go!

Important to remember:
Planning is essential. Take your time. Sit down and outline what you want to achieve. Don't forget materials and time consumption.

We started by digging out the flower bed and removing old paving stones. Since I didn't have access to a truck to transport all the old soil away, it had to be done via trailer.

Once the soil was gone, I filled it again with shingle after laying out a ground sheet at the bottom. As you can see in the pictures, I saved some old paving stones to put the wooden deck on. However, I had to adjust the heights of some as they had sunk down quite a bit after all the years.

After a couple of days of digging and carpentry, the wooden deck is finally ready. Now, however, the test of manhood remains with the laying of the stone.

I am now heading out to Stenbolaget to select paving stones.

If you want the largest range of flagstones, you go to, of course The stone company . It feels safe to know that you are dealing with experts in the field.

There is a jungle of paving stones to choose from, but for us the choice was not particularly difficult. We fell in love at first sight. Ocala Grey has a nice hammered surface which will make it easy to maintain. In addition, we like that it is available in three different sizes (140x140, 175x140 and 210x14), which will create more life in the tiling.

The order has been placed and now we are eagerly awaiting the delivery which will arrive at the beginning of August. Until then, we have lots of sub-work to do.

Important to remember:
When you choose paving stones, don't skimp on quality. See it as a long-term investment. After all, the cornerstone will be in place for a couple of years. Also, go out and have a look at how the stone looks when it is laid.

Outside the gate, we had an approximately 10 square meter area with asphalt that passed its best before date a long time ago. I took the opportunity to break this up on a really sunny and warm day when the asphalt wasn't that rock hard. I used an iron skewer to chop off slightly larger pieces. after a couple of hours the job was done and it was off to the waste plant with the asphalt.

To my great joy, I realized that the sub-work under the asphalt was well done. Settling sand and then a coarser material of packed stone underneath. I will dig out the settling sand and then fill it with crushed stone and level the surface before it is packed again.

Important to remember:
Asphalt can be practical in many ways, but the durability and lifespan of paving stones is significantly longer and also more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, stone gives a more exclusive feeling.

Then it was time to lift up the old plates (about 150 in number).

Underneath the tiles was an approx. 10 cm deep layer of settling sand. I will dig this out as I want a new layer of gravel and no more than a 3-5 cm thick layer.

Important to remember:
Watch your back. Maybe it doesn't feel so heavy to carry these stones, but if you load your body incorrectly, you can easily end up with a back shot and then you can forget everything about work in a couple of days. Lift right and you get a free workout.

Then finally came the day when the long-awaited cornerstone was delivered. It's extra nice to book home transport so you don't have to worry about the transport home. The flagstone still weighs a lot.

A total of 4 pallets (40 sqm) Ocala Gray from Stenbolaget. Now the paver fingers are itchy but I still have some work to do.

Important to remember:
It might be a good idea to order stone flour and crushing material at the same time if you don't intend to pick this up yourself with a trailer.

When all the paving stones were finally picked up, I started with some fine adjustments. A kind neighbor lent me a couple of old iron pipes that he had left in the garage. These were perfect for so-called deduction lanes.

As I wrote earlier, there was a much too thick layer of setting gravel. I therefore weighed the pipes in level with the hard bearing layer and then scraped away all the excess gravel.

The previous problem but water bag accumulation will now have a solution and therefore I will have to raise the level of the bearing layer to get a good fall so the water flows away from the house.

Furthermore, it was also time to start excavating for the curb line of granite stones that will lie lengthwise with the entrance and separate the lawn from the paving. Here I chose the Sköndal granite curbstone (Råkilad from Stenbolaget)

On with the trailer and guide the basket towards the gravel roof. Since I have not intended to drive the car on the ground stone, I will choose a bearing bearing of rock crusher 0-16.

After a while of waiting, a dump truck comes by and asks what and how much gravel I want. I think he takes a very "small splash" of gravel in his bucket. However, I quickly realize that I did not understand how big the bucket really is. A "little splash" was just right. More precisely 1.3 tons.

Back home, it was time to lay out the ground cloth before all the gravel had to be shoveled out. The wheelbarrow was in shuttle traffic. When the first load was raked out, there was a small hum about how much more gravel I needed. In total there were three turns.

After all the gravel was spread, I took an extra turn with the straightedge to get everything level.

Important to remember:
If you want to pick up gravel yourself on a gravel hauler, you should be aware that the price for a wheelbarrow of gravel is around SEK 400 (approx. 1 ton). If you have a large area to be paved, it is usually cheaper to have it delivered directly to the gate. Then, however, it is important to have somewhere to dump it.

Then it was time to pack the stone crusher. Before packing the gravel, however, you should water it once so that it binds better and that you avoid it getting dusty

A ground vibrator is needed for packing. Since my bearing capacity was about 10 cm, a 75 kilo vibrator was enough. I rented the ground vibrator for SEK 200 for one day, which was more than enough.

Important to remember:
The thickness of your bearing layer determines how heavy a ground vibrator you need. Listen for what you need, otherwise there is a risk that the packing will not be 100%.

When the bearing layer is packed hard (should almost feel like walking on asphalt), it was time to go to the gravel roof again and get stone flour 0-4 mm.

Back home, I thought about how to get as even a layer as possible. Then nailed together some board stumps I had saved. These pieces of wood were 4.5 cm high. Then just set these out and then fill up with sand to the top and scrape away the rest.

After shoveling out all the gravel, the body was quite tender, so then the ground vibrator had to work again. After packing, the stone flour layer will be about 3 cm.

Important to remember:
Spread out a sufficiently large layer of stone flour (4-5 cm) because keep in mind that it will sink a bit during packing. If you have a layer that is too small, there is a risk that you will scratch the bedrock from the rock crusher when you have to draw furrows for the extraction paths.

Time to level the surface of the packed stone flour. Now the iron pipes came in handy again. It is also good to use wooden dowels.

After weighing the pipes in but the correct slope/fall, just scrape off the excess stone flour with a straightedge. The top of the pipe should now be level with the bottom of the ground stone.

When all the excess stone flour is gone, I filled again the grooves of the iron pipes.

Important to remember:
Again, be careful when you weigh in the pipes as the paving will flow smoothly.

So it was finally time to lay the first foundation stone. After a lot of measuring, the first row was set. A straight disc and a plank were of great help to keep the line.

Important to remember:
Measure once extra so that you get the first row perfectly. The slightest carelessness here will follow you for the rest of the paving and I can guarantee that you will not want to redo a lot of rows later.

The stone laying in the inner courtyard is almost complete, except for some curb stones that have to be cut, but these will have to wait until the end.

Now focus on getting the right case out towards the street. Here I previously had problems, but water accumulation as the previous asphalt sloped inwards towards the wall. since the road outside falls from left to right when viewed from the front I will have a slight tilt to the right in the fall.

After some weighing with the level of two curb stones right at the end of the passage, I then pulled a mason's cord on both sides until where the slope should begin.

Important to remember:
If the surface is to be laid with a slope to divert rainwater, then you should have a 1–2 cm slope per meter.

Then it was time to get a really stable granite curb line. In order for these not to be able to move, I choose to wall them up.

I use fine concrete which is very easy to mix. A mason's bucket, a bag of mortar and then water is all that is needed. After a little stirring, I got a nice mass.

Mortar was placed on both sides of the stone and then I smoothed it to a nice edge. When this has dried, it is time to finish the paving up to the street.

When the day started, there was about 10 square meters of paving left. Proceed with the draw-off paths again and shave off excess stone flour after weighing in with a straight slope.

An hour later, the entire lot was paved with stone and now it remains to hire a stone cutter so that all the small pieces can be cut. It's close now...

Got up early this morning and headed to the Tenement to fix a good stone cutter for all the small pieces that need to be cut. I thought for a while about what type of saw I should use. The choice finally fell on a stone saw with a water bath and I did not regret that choice for a second.

It was a bit of a hassle to get the saw into the back of the combi, but if there are only two people, it goes smoothly. The stone saw is a bit like a cut and miter saw, although you have a water bath connected to it, which prevents a lot of dust from coming up. In addition, it is easier to get straight pieces but the cutting table.

Put on the earmuffs and then just drive. Just over 65 cuts later I was in port. The feeling when the last piece fell into place was indescribable.

Important to remember:
If you are going to cut a lot of stones, put a few hundred extra on a stone saw with water tray and cutting table. The rent for one day was about SEK 500, which was twice as much as a regular saw, but this one dusts significantly less.

After many hours of hard work, it was finally time to join. After some consultation with Stenbolaget, I was advised to try it Lithomex Easy . This is a joint sand for all types of flooring that hardens and gives a hard and durable joint.

Advantages:

• Keep weeds and ants out of the joints
• Ready mixed and ready to use
• Easily brushed into the joints
• Moisturized then you're done
• Weed control
• Prevents ants
• Flexible

The application was quite simple, but precision is required. Distribute the joint sand evenly over the surface but in circular motions. The joint depth must be the thickness of the entire coating from the bottom up. Brush the surface of the coating but a fine brush so that it is completely free of remaining joint sand Then the coating is watered so that the joint sand is completely moistened. Might be good to take some random samples here and there.

Important to remember:

• The tiles must be completely dry before applying the joint sand.
• The surface must be protected against heavy rain for the next 5-8 hours
• The joint is normally fully cured in 1-3 days.
• Wait a week before brushing the surface

Now we wait for it to harden.