It’s week 2 of the One Room Challenge (check out that blog here) and I am sharing all the details of having our patio poured. This is the one area where we did spend a bulk of our patio budget and while it may not look like much yet, this was a much needed foundation for the backyard upgrade. So, here’s a quick recap of where we are on week 2 since having the concrete patio poured this week!
WEEK 1 – ONE ROOM CHALLENGE PARTICIPANT LINKS
Remember where we started?
Please excuse the mess on the current patio…
Right. A pretty blank slate. I had drawn up a couple ideas and I’m finding that I’m pretty boring when it comes to shaping a design. When it comes to pictures of humans, uncenter away, but when it comes to bases, I like them squared off, not angled. I drew up this first picture and I also find that it’s easier to design a base if you have furniture ideas in mind so you know where you’ll place them. So this is how we started…
Then we edited a bit… to end at this design…
After going back and forth with a couple contractors we ended up with a local concrete guy who came in with honestly the best price and we felt good about his communication. Everything is so extreme as far as price goes right now, we had estimates come in anywhere from $6000-$18000. Kind of crazy.
OUR OLD BACKYARD
A rather large crew came on Monday as the storms were off to the west by just a few hours and they worked pretty hard to prep the space prior to the storms coming in. You can see the storm clouds off in the distance. While they thought they’d get the pour in that day, I’m actually glad they did it the next because otherwise they would have been here forever if they were to do it in one day.
One plus to having the base figured out first is the ability to add to your project or change as needed. Initially, we were going to do a step down from our current slab, but in the end decided to go flush. This led to a pretty hefty drop off on one section – so after seeing that “drop” we asked for a step down that they were able to accommodate and I think it works much better… and will lead to a little less needed landscaping around too!
We were also able to ask for another gas line hook up (which is a whole story in itself – make sure to check out my IG stories to see what happened with this). Mike’s very excited for his grilling space (which will most likely be completed in another backyard update phase outside of the ORC weeks.
Shop my Patio Picks!
And watching the process was enjoyed by all! Olive would check up from time to time! Both days wanting to know the progress when she got home from school!
But after all is said and done, we are pretty happy with how it all turned out…
THE MIDDLE
And Mike was the first to step on it this morning…
So now it’s time for the fun part! Up next week we’ll be working on the furniture layout. I’m pretty sure my sofa is going to take FOREVER so we might be doing it without that! But we’ll start sharing some DIYS and other things too…
I know this part might seem like no fun, but it’s a part of the process. Fun things are coming, I promise!
We are actually quite excited for this makeover — even Mike’s excited because he’s gotten some new tools out of it and is thinking he can make a pergola for us! Jury is still out on that skill set, but we shall see!
See you next week!
Here’s a tentative schedule as to what you might see on any given week’s update:
Week 1 – Before & Design Plans
Week 2 – Patio Pour
Week 3 – Furniture Layout
Week 4 – Outdoor Accessories
Week 5 – Landscaping & Gardens
Week 6 – Landscaping & Gardens
Week 7 – Firepit
Week 8 – Final Reveal