First patio..........

[Drafto]

Rip away fellas! I just typed this long post about this patio and how excited I was to have it made fun of by yall, but the pic was too big and it deleted everything I typed so here you go. Don't be shy, I made plenty of mistakes and I learned from everyone of them. The customers were awsome and even tipped me when it was all said and done. Some people are the best to work for and some people are the worst, but at least they are not the same people everyday like when I had to work for the man all day. I have a lot of people on this site to thank for where I am today, and for this first patio. SO come on who is gonna throw the first stone! If you look closely at eh first pic, you can see the gas line I ruptured with the skid steer, NO INJURIES, but a city block was evacuated.

[Drafto]

Before............

[Drafto]

After 1st shot............

[Drafto]

After pic 2 other side.......wifey couldn't fit it all in one.......maybe she could have but why complain?????

[steveair]

a lesson you only learn once.......CALL before you DIG!

Not just for you life, but for you business. You could of lost everthing you owned and will own hitting a gas line.

Looks pretty good for a rookie though. Appears to be techo blok elena in earth brown?? A nice choice, and a little more complex for a beginner. Running lines look pretty straight from the pics, and the overall grade looks decent, with no high or low spots.

Only complaint I have is with curb block......a little wavy across the top. It's tough getting that curb block all in a nice, even line.

Overall, it looks like you did good. Just call for that markout next time!

Nice work.

steve

[fga]

looks great, nice work.

[jajwrigh]

I think it looks nice as well!

[Drafto]

It is Elena - Earth Brown, the random pattern was interesting to lay. It was extremely easy to be picky when it is your first one, which I was, so their aren't any long seems or low spots. I had a pumping problem with the soil when I was excavating so I just kept digging to put more 2A in the problem areas. The gas line was about 12" down, a no-no in this area, minimum 18", I didn't expect to hit it that shallow. Thanks for your compliments, I expected much worse, but it is early yet I am sure someone will rip it. I have the next 2 scheduled, and a walkway that needs to be done. If I could go back I bet I could get this done in half the time.

Thanks,
Dan

[Henry]

Looks good, just don't like that long straight line.

[Neighbor2NV]

I think it looks good!

[Ken Kesey]

You did a great job and should be proud of yourself.

[CamLand]

Be very proud,hell of a job...

[RedWingsDet]

that looks great, i wish my first patio came out that good.

how'd ya level it all out, did you use the pvc pipes in ground or the 2x4 method?

[Drafto]

I bought a Robotoolz/Porter Cable automatic level and tripod from Amazon.com. After I excavated everything to the correct depth I used 2 3/8" O.D. PVC piping and shot them with the level, shimmed as needed then screeded in the 2A. One thing theat I did do that I thought helped was I put the PVC parallel with the slope (in this case perpandicular to teh house), but when I started screeding the stone dust I put the 1 1/4" O.D. cast iron pipe parallel to the house. It really seemed to make a difference b/c I kept getting low rows everywhere I had the PVC pipes. I don't know if it really helped or not, but it seems like it came out okay. (I know the dust/sand argument and I don't want to start one here it was just what was recommended by the block distriutor)

[Drafto]

Oh yeah, i abused the level, I think i looked through that thing more than my total paver laying time, I was obsessed with getting the base perfect. I kept checking it, every screed, every pipe, everything.

[Lawnboy5]

Great Job! What level did you buy and how does it help? Does it sit on the ground? I am just getting started with brick my self and I used a old fashion level. Thanks.

[j_loppy]

Nice job. But, as a full time gas man, I must tell you call AT LEAST 48 hrs. before you plan to do work. Gas line services (not mains) are only 12-14 inches below grade. So be careful when your are digging them out after they are properly located, because most of the new ones are plastic, so a shovel will go through one like butter.

But, once again, nice job.

[Lawnchoice]

1 800 DIG SAFE

Looks nice!

[Gilla Gorilla]

That work looks great. You did a great job for your first time

[Old Red]

I like it a lot. I'm thinking maybe I could do something like that

[Drafto]

This is what I bought, if this link does not work please let me know. For Father's Day they had an additional $50.00 off:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000087BK1/qid=1094181694/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2_etk-tools/104-4850560-1671107?v=glance&s=hi&n=228013

[Rex Mann]

I hope you guys are not using flexible PVC pipe to screed bedding sand for pavers. We use EMT. Electrical conduit made out of lightweight metal. Plastic will make it very difficult to get a perfect screed.

Peace,

Rex

LasVegasPavers.Com (http://lasvegaspavers.com)

[jwholden]

WTF,

Every piece of literature I ever read says use 1" OD PVC conduit to screed the sand. I just finished a walk today and am quite happy with the results using 3/4" OD schedule 40 PVC. Just when I think I've got the system down I hear I should be screeding my CONCRETE sand with EMT. Live and learn... Home depot, here I come!

[D Felix]

I agree with Rex. PVC is too flexible, even sch 40. Metal conduit won't flex enough to be a concern.

I don't think I've even seen anyone using PVC, it's always been metal conduit.


Dan

[Drafto]

I used pvc to screed my 2" layers of 2A, then I used 1.25" OD cast iron pipe for my dust.

[ZX12R]

I think it looks very nice,especially for your first patio. How many square feet is that? I love techo block,a little expensive,but,nice. I am working on an all curved patio using Allegro in shale gray.

[Drafto]

It ended up being 500 Sq. Ft. I also like the Techo Block, and th customers were thrilled with it. I have a friend who selld sheds and he wants me to put some paver disply down to dress up his lot, plus encourage business for myself, I am going to try and contact Techo Block to see if they will cut me a deal on the displays if I push their products.

[ZX12R]

I also used 1" schedule 40 on my first patio,but,I wont use it again as it flexes too much. I was at the nursery last week and they were doing their paver display over.They were using 10 foot lenghts of 3" square metal tubing for screeding. If I knew about that stuff,I would have cut my screeding time in half I am sure.