DIY-- Thread #2 --The Patio Project :-)

This is where I am at with the progress on the cracked tiling I was talking about yesterday. As I mentioned, my friends thought I was absolutely bat-shit crazy to do this. Now, they think it's beautiful, LOL...

Here is a pic of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days after I started this, March, 28th, 29th, and 30th;



This is where I am now;







Tile detail;



I took a small break before I got to the front of the pond, to redo the back side of it. I didn't want to wait until after, because it would have been a big mess. I use to have a potted palm tree back there, and that was it. I got so tired of looking at the screen, and fence, when I am sitting there, I decided to put up the bamboo dividers that I found at Target. Cranes from HD, Umbrella palm, I got locally. It's technically a bog plant, but it's grown like a weed since I put it in.





This whole project to date, has only cost me about $1500.00, and when you think about what it would have cost to have it resurfaced or have someone else tile it, it's a fraction of that cost. Works out to about $3.00 per sq. ft. I really didn't care how much it cost, but more importantly, I wanted something different, so when I went to sell, my house would be very different than the others in the community.

The saying; blood, sweat, and yes, tears, were all a part of this project. I lost countless amounts of blood, LOL, sweat my ass of, and cried on many occasions, when my body was wrecked with pain, after sitting indian style for 10-12 hours at a time.

But I pressed on. :-)

I am ready to get this thing done, but I have to wait until December, plus it will be much cooler outside then. I have learned so much, especially about grouting. There definitely is a right way, and a wrong way. Much of it, I learned the hard way. I have a strip of about 15'X3' left to do, and that could take as long as 8-10 days, depending on how the tile breaks. It's sort of like doing a huge jigsaw puzzle, without having a picture to look at. I placed the 16" tiles in a pillow case, smacked it with a hammer, several times, and I always tell people, it's a bit like Christmas day; you open the pillowcase to see what you got. :-) Because they all break differently. I have boxes set up with all kinds of different shapes, so if I am looking for a square, or a pie shape, or roundish, etc. it's easier to find.

Anyway, it's a different application, and one that I hope will help me sell this place when I move on. :-)

What an inviting patio! Looks like something out of a magazine. Where did you get the idea to break the tiles?

who was an artist, realtor, and just an all around creative person. She did this on a small scale on her walkway leading to her front door. She used quarry tile though, and added a colorful mexican tile about every 4' to her design. I made a mental note, that if I ever needed an outdoor surface, this was one to consider.

So when I deliberated, for 2 years, about what I would do with that ugly concrete surface, I kept coming back to this. It seriously did take me 2 years, of talking about it, and thinking on it, before I decided to take the plunge. Because once you start, there's no going back. Kind of like the kitchen. I thought long and hard on that too. I did a lot of research on the kitchen before I started it as well. I just didn't want to make a mistake, or be faced with something I hadn't thought about. I just had to think all possibilities through. Like what if it cracked down the expansion joints. It hasn't though.

I've had some difficulty on this patio, in that it has rained before the grout/mortar had dried mostly, but fortunately I was able to fix the damage. Once you get to a certain point, it's pointless to try to cover it all with plastic, because of the pitch of the concrete. You'd literally have to cover the entire patio, which was not an option.

When I got about 1/2 through, I discovered a way to get the grout to be "self sealing", so no water penetrates it now. The only thing is, I have to go back and put a thin coat of grout on the other half so that it's all perfect. But that's for later on.

about "there's no going back". There are some projects that really require a lot of thought and planning before making that commitment. You don't want to be in that moment, "What the hell was I thinking?" and knowing there's no turning back. I've been there and learned the hard way to think projects through several times before I take the first step, IF I even take that first step.

You're an inspiration! :patriot:

concert with your friends telling you you were crazy.

Beautiful!

:-)

You definitely have missed your calling.
Not only are you great at DIY projects, but you have an eye for design.

HGTV's new season of Design Star should be coming up soon (another addiction of mine - love that show). I think you should go for it.

I recently designed the interior of my best friends new home, so now anything she adds has to go through me first. :-) I have veto'd many things. She emails me pix, and I say yeah, or nay. But, I do really wish I would have gone that direction. It's my true passion. :-)

I don't think I could work for HGTV though. You literally have to give up your life to work for them. But I have thought about it....;-)

Good for you! And creative too. ;) Very impressive work.