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Monday, June 12, 2017

Backyard Project: Reworking the Pavers to 'Use What You Have'

A new collection of tools means a new crew has turned up.

The paving crew will make a major change to the feel and look of the place.

Josh took down the propagation table frame so the pavers could work easily in the area.

First, they evened out to soil base, placed and raked an even layer of sand then compact it with this noisy vibrating machine - a compactor or a wacky - depending where you come from.

What a transformation in the propagation area. I was so pleased to have less dirt tracked into my office as I come and go to the studio.

The crew then moved up to the lower patio area to add extra pavers to make the patio a more comfortable size to move around on.

It was the same area Josh and Taylor were working in forming up for the concrete walls but the teams were able to work around each other.

They took pavers out of here and added them there to make cleaner lines and more obvious pathways. All of the edges had to be set with concrete to keep them in place.

This area between the modified path and the gravel bed garden is a bonus garden bed I had not visualised previously. Now I can enjoy planning plantings in yet another garden bed.

The lower patio is enlarged and tidied up. It goes right up to the stone steps leading down to ground level.

The pavers are extended along the side of the house to the new shed area.

All of this paving has been done reusing the original pavers. Josh and Taylor were careful to not break any when lifting them out of the way before they started on the construction. It was one of the first things they did. Taylor stacked them away from all of the action to keep them safe. 
We had looked into getting more pavers but they would have had a different finish to these 13-year-old ones and would  have looked new so we wanted to make the most of every single one we had. 
There are 2 more places left where the pavers will be reworked and we have our fingers crossed there will be enough.
That permaculture principle is at work again - 'Use what you have.'



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