Zulit » Home Improvement http://www.zulit.com WHEN YOU OWN A RUG YOU OWN TOO MUCH - Jack Kerouac (a really bad drunk) Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:10:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Backyard Landscape with Roman Pavers Pt 5 http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/21/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-5/ http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/21/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-5/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 16:08:41 +0000 terryzulit http://www.zulit.com/?p=918 Continue reading →]]> So this is the last installment on the Roman Paver project in the back yard. We paid JWS Construction this morning in full and we’re surprised how well it came out. Much better than we had even expected it to be.

We still have to do some finishing landscaping yet in the non-paver areas. We are looking at using a combination of decorative gravel (Montana Gravel which is purple and green in color) and artificial grass by Evergreen Turf out of Edmonton and Calgary.

The areas surrounding the firepit to the fence will be Montana decorative gravel. The RV pad and the area around the big tree will be artificial turf. That would make the back yard completely maintanence free and the dogs won’t have any more areas of dirt to make a muddy mess in and MOST importantly drag dirt into the house.

The only watering and cutting left would be in the front yard, which I don’t see changing because it’s nice to have some natural grass around.

This Roman Paver project was so successful we may ask John and his team to come back and rip out our front driveway and replace it with Roman Pavers as well.

Tamping Pavers
May 18th, 2009

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhcc9Uu3a6A

Fire Pit
May 19th, 2009

#1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8S-4GKzN9M

#2

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYK24TLIhzM

#3

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aDtKUbv6cU

Click to Enlarge

firepit

firepit2

firepit3

firepit4

Finished!!
May 20th, 2009

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcf91q2lmyk

Click to Enlarge

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finished3

finished4

]]> http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/21/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-5/feed/ 0 Backyard Landscape with Roman Pavers Pt 4 http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/16/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-4/ http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/16/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-4/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 06:32:35 +0000 terryzulit http://www.zulit.com/?p=903 Continue reading →]]> Last post (Part 3) John and Ben were using concrete to cement the edge pavers.

john

Now the edges are done and it’s time to lay down the inside pavers. In our case the inside pavers are Earthtone and the edges are Charcoal.

You can see how John lays in the sand and starts with hollow rods to help make the leveling process faster.

He taps down the rods and checks to see that the inside pavers are lined up with the edge pavers.

Anyway -- watch the videos and see the pictures.

Laying the Inside Paver
May 16th, 2009

Laying the inside the Roman Pavers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROSSd2sNENo

And another…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgwGqwFw-fc

And another…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=icT1sXM0lpw

Click to Enlarge

ben

sean

layinginsidepavers1

layinginsidepavers2

]]> http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/16/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-4/feed/ 1 Backyard Landscape with Roman Pavers Pt 3 http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-3/ http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-3/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 18:28:22 +0000 terryzulit http://www.zulit.com/?p=873 Continue reading →]]> Onward and upward with more video and more pictures on the Roman Paving job we’re getting done by John Smitherman at JWS Construction in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. See previous series…

As I’ve mentioned in the other posts on this Roman Paving series, it’s been happening really fast -- so fast that I have had trouble keeping up with John and Ben as they motor through everything.

By the time my camera has moved the videos and pictures to my laptop, it’s time to take some more pics.

So here we start seeing the Roman Pavers showing up on pallets. First the charcoal pavers which is going to be used for the edging. Next is the earth-tone pavers used for the inner areas of the deck, the path to the garage, and the fire pit.

Sand Dumping
May 15th, 2009

Sand Dumping by John

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXc92EN1yvI


Bringing In The Romans!
(pave stones that is)
May 15th, 2009

Assembling the Roman Pavers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U4oQA7aTYs

Click to Enlarge

romanpaversprep1
romanpaversprep3
romanpaversprep2

Roman Pavestone Edging
May 15th, 2009

Roman Pavestone Edging in Charcoal

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdlB8_f85ps

Click to Enlarge

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romanpaversedging1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaI8BP80iQk

Next series here…


]]> http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-3/feed/ 3 Backyard Landscape With Roman Pavers – Pt 2 http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-2/ http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-2/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 17:32:16 +0000 terryzulit http://www.zulit.com/?p=856 Continue reading →]]> So this is the second day of the project. Yesterday John designed the plan for landscaping our backyard with Roman Pavers. He outlined the path, the patio, and the fire pit with blue spray paint. Asked John if he would mind doing the border forms around our RV parking area which is the gravel area on the right hand side by the fence, and he said no problem.

After he designed the backyard for Roman Paver installation, he started stripping off topsoil in the areas where the Pavers will be laid down. Took 4 or 5 loads away I think, but I lost count.

I’m really amazed at how fast this project is going. John shows up between 7:00 and 7:30 AM and is flying before we’ve had our morning coffee.

So today John had an assistant with him. A young man who also lives in Calgary, Alberta. He works with John and JWS Construction on and off during the peak season.

At the time of this writing (11:40 Am) they have finished the last of the topsoil removal in the fire pit area, dumped the gravel, spread the gravel, tamped the gravel, and dumped the sand. The pictures and videos are below.

Gravel Dump
May 15th, 2009

Gravel Dump with John

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vx4LI6mxKo

Click to Enlarge

romanpaversgraveldump1

romanpaversgraveldump3
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Close Up
romanpaversgraveldumpcloseup

Gravel Spread
May 15th, 2009

Gravel Spread by John and Ben

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPUGoP1hePA

Click to Enlarge

romanpaversgravelspread


Gravel Tamping
May 15th, 2009

Gravel Tamping by Ben

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7FI-A_XGZE

Click to Enlarge

tamping1

tamping2

Click here for the next series…


]]> http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/15/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers-pt-2/feed/ 3 Backyard Landscape With Roman Pavers – Pt 1 http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/14/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers/ http://www.zulit.com/2009/05/14/backyard-landscape-with-roman-pavers/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 14:05:03 +0000 terryzulit http://www.zulit.com/?p=818 Continue reading →]]> So it is time to spend are hard earned money friends. We are landscaping the backyard with Roman Pavers with the help our friend and expert John Smitherman from JWS Construction in Calgary, Alberta. (403 462 7785 -- email is jwsmasonry@yahoo.com). John is an England trained masonry professional.He does amazing work -- a true artist to be sure. We originally saw pictures of his work and got a quote from him which was very reasonable if you consider his quality of work. He has shown up 10 minutes early for our meet and greets, and he has followed through unlike most contractors we have dealt with or what we “hear about”.

So this will be a REALLY long post as we start with before pictures today, and move on with video and still shots as the project progresses.

We are starting with a basic plan. Concrete forms for the RV pad, a patio, a fire pit, and a pathway to the garage. I will post a design here as well.

But first! A little background. We did at one time have a perfectly green lawn and a decent backyard by any standard. My only complaint would have been that the grass was beginning to wear down in a path between the garage and the steps of the deck. Then we got a Golden Retriever.

My brother-in-law Merle also got a Golden Retriever (a brother from the same litter as ours) and these fellas got to work digging, peeing, and pooping on the grass. After 2 summers our yard was completely destroyed.

This is what was left of our perfect grass, and a pic of the guilty and the gorgeous.

Click to enlarge

goldengrass1

goldens

So we knew we had to invest some time or money in the backyard. We can’t sell the house the right way with the back yard in such a mess, so we decided to have it done in Roman Pavers. Onward is a collection of videos, pictures and posts showing the whole process of doing Roman Paving on a patio/deck, pathway, and fire pit.


Before
May 14th, 2009

Our Back Yard Before Landscape and Roman Pavers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiNRPUk_pzg

Click to Enlarge

romanpaversbefore1

romanpaversbefore2

romanpaversbefore3

Design Outline
May 14th, 2009

Doing Outline of Path, Fire-Pit, and Patio with  Spray Paint
by John

Click to Enlarge

paversoutline1

paversoutline1


Excavation
May 14th, 2009

Excavation of Path, Patio, and Fire Pit Areas

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR2jPRj98s8

Click to Enlarge

paversexcavators2

paversexcavators1

Click here for the next series…

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