# New Patio - aka The Cat's Patio



## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

There's been a few patio threads recently, so i thought i'd add mine.

We've an old end terrace house with a garage at the end of the garden. I built a patio outside the back door when we moved in and the rest has pretty much been grass for the kids.

We had a new garden wall last year as the the old one was falling down (needs repainting due to the salts coming through but i'll d that next year) and the kids have grown up so don't play in the garden any more. We lose the sun in the evening on the patio but the garage gets a couple more hours and, with all the time we spent in the garden last yeat year, i wanted to make use of the space at the end.

I had a vision of a patio, pergola, corner sofa all mapped out in my head, but was worried the reality may not be my perception.

Anyhow, pictures, how it was at the start of the year -










Just in front of the gravel is a blosson tree we wanted to keep, so removed a couple of bushes nearer the house and moved the tree (that was a task, but thankfully it survived!). Our current patio with the moved blossom tree in bloom (first tree on the lawn)










I cleared everything out and swapped the 4' fence panels for a couple of 5' (6' with the base) for a bit of privacy










My mate is a groundworker and offered to help (or rather do all the work and i hand him things) and when i said i want the patio level with the garage floor to save all the digging out he was very pleased. So weed sheet down, weed killer round the edges and made use of the original gravel i had.










The the goodies arrived over the wall...



















Hardcore down, flattened with a whacker plate, and slight miscalculation meant we were left with nearly 3/4 ton bag of hardcore!










The bag of sand came in handy though...










The next dry weekend, the plan of action was stuck to the fence and the patio went down, laid in a day, minus the last row.



















Next dry weekend we dug a trench for the retaining wall, put some footing down which went off quick, meaning we could finish off the last row of slabs.










Patio slabs all down.










Used the ready mix pointing sand on the slabs which made life a lot easier. We bought a pergola which just about fit in the garden, not realising the clearance height underneath was 5'11", so no good for my 6' lad, or the garage door. Bought some 8' fence posts for the uprights and trimmed them down to the desired height and it was spot on. The cat liked her new climbing frame. Filled the edges with some grey slate.



















Yup, it's tacky, but after the year we've all had, i think it is needed :lol:










AWBS agreed to collect the left over hardcore, so we were able to clear out the garden (my grass has taken a beating but it has recovered massively since this picture and with the aid of some patch seeds). Ordered a PU sun shade from Ali Express which we had to modify by folding and glueing the edges and adding extra eyelets, but we now also have a removable sun shade. New slabs into lawn. Furniture in (with waterproof cover) and plants in situ.





































Really chuffed how it turned out and it is just how i wanted it. We now spend more time down on the patio sofa than we do in the living room. Put a wifi extender in the garage and even my youngest lad spends time with us down there.

Still go some electrics to do (outside sockets, wall lights), but we've gained an extra room for the fraction of the cost of an extension, so well chuffed in all.

Oh, and remeber the cat from earlier, this is why it has become "her patio"...


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

Looks great and a job well done.

The kitty looks well pleased with her new lounging area, she looks very comfy on that pillow.


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## ikon66 (Jul 23, 2008)

That’s the cat’s whiskers


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

top job looks great


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

Nice one. That loose scrabble box would be a cause for consonant worry. What's the word on the patio? It looks like your furry friend is letting out a little vowel.
It's fair to save some for the others.


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

Looks great, thanks for sharing the pics.


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Looks ace. 

We’ve found we use our garden a lot more too now. 


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Looking great!

Lovely Acer and Blossoms you have! I've killed one Acer and now I'm onto another. This time places elsewhere to keep it out of direct sun and protect it from the rain. Still small in a pot so thinking of bringing this one in over the colder harsher months?


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Cheers. The Acer took a bashing when we moved it from the shelter of the garage to the bottom of the garden, the wind rain and sun didn;t do it any favours. We've repotted it and it is picking up now it is back up by the garage and has the shade of the wall. We always have good intentions of putting it in the garage over winter, but it never happens :lol:

Thinking about getting a Lavender Twist Redbud for the front left hand side of the new patio, only grows to 5ft, so will be ideal. https://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/cercis-canadensis-lavender-twist-tree-p661

I have to keep an eye on the trees that go along the fence, one of them is a Beech tree, we were told it is was something else (a dwarf tree) when we bought it, but i've managed to keep it at six feet for a few years now.

We've planted a new minature weeping willow in the soil by the old patio, you can just see it next to the owl and pig. We had one there that grew to about 6 ft and it was lovely. Long story, but our lovely neighbour sprayed it with weedkiller which killed it, and our pet rabbit.

The grass is coming on a treat, a mixture of patch repair and new shade friendly grass. Gave it a high cut last weekend and it is looking really good, especially considering the mess it was in after the work was finished.


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

I really like ornamental trees, I know you're a Japanese fan so it's not surprising to see these things in your Garden. 

What a criminal thing to do to your previous weeping willow and rabbit 

Do you have any Bonsai trees indoors?


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## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

Great improvement mate, well done to you and your mate.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Starbuck88 said:


> I really like ornamental trees, I know you're a Japanese fan so it's not surprising to see these things in your Garden.
> 
> What a criminal thing to do to your previous weeping willow and rabbit
> 
> Do you have any Bonsai trees indoors?


Lol, my garden is so JDM...

No bonsai trees, i think the only plants inside the house are basil and coriander in the kitchen!

We have a difficulty in our house, I like things straight and symmetrical, the Missus likes thinks random. Her argument is nature isn't straight lines, mine is that things like patios aren't natural :lol:

I do like Japanese gardens though, tranquil places, the trees are more chance than a secret JDM plan, it is the Missus that picked up the acer. We both quite fancy a water feature though, i like the idea of a long rectangular low level one the grass parallel to the patio, but who knows what we will both agree on.


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## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

Shiny said:


> Lol, my garden is so JDM...


Still got that wall to paint mate.....










Like my mates celica with the rising sun around the rear wheels


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Lol, now that is tempting! Or maybe paint the garage wall behind the patio...

I kid you not, this is screen shot of my bin the front garden from the doorbell cam :lol::lol::lol:


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## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

haha nice


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Just a little update...

Although the idea was to get the most of the late afternoon/evening sun, the missus is suffering a bit with the sun belting down, especially the last few days, so wanted something easier than messing around balancing a big patio umbrella on the lawn.

So £20 later on Amazon and two 2mx2m shower curtains arrived on Saturday. Sunday i put a runner using 4mm galvanised wire and now she has something she pull across at her will as the sun moves if needs be.

Pic taken yesterday evening as the sun was just dropping benhind the roof tops...



















The grass is doing really well, i've put some shade seed under the trees so hopefully that will germinate and tidy up the edges.










Oh, and it is still her patio!


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

That’s a belter of a job you’ve done there mate, definitely deserving of the beers :thumb: 

Such a good and nice use of space, disguises / hides the side of the garage as well nicely :thumb:


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## GSB1 (Jun 5, 2019)

What is the product/material on the roof of the pergola please?


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Is anyone else having difficulty seeing the pics on this thread? 

Sounds like an amazing job, mate.

N

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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Cookies said:


> Is anyone else having difficulty seeing the pics on this thread?
> 
> Sounds like an amazing job, mate.
> 
> ...


No, they're showing fine on phone via Tapatalk…


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

The pics appear to be OK at the moment, not run out of bandwith yet.

It may be that for some reason my webspace was flagged as adult content so might not show on some mobile networks.



GSB1 said:


> What is the product/material on the roof of the pergola please?


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002522897960.html

It is an HDPE tarpaulin, it's not waterproof as the rain comes through, but that is a good thing otherwise it will fill up with rain water!

We had extra eyelets added to our spec, cost about £50 and arrived within a fortnight. My lad ordered it, i can't remember if it was adjusted to our measurements or if we measure it and the 4x3 was an extact fit. Either way , we didn't take into account the few extra cm from the hooks when we ordered it, so added extra eyelets down each side and glued a new hem, not a bad thing as it makes the edges sturdier.










They are attached to the plate hooks by snap hooks through the eyelets. I also have 3 lots of 4mm galvanised wire rope (with a thimble and clamps) running front to back to stop it saggiging in the middle.

You can see this here, i took a picture of the cat's new hammock last night... :lol::lol:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

The electrican came yesterday, put a couple of extra sockets in the garage, wired up the outside sockets (behind the sofa) and wired up the wall lights.

Well chuffed with the lights, difficult to photograph, but the light is just right. Just need some warm dry evenings now!


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

Nice place to sit in the evening mate. You’ll have to get a raised fire pit and get some heat out there :thumb:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I don't think the HDPE Tarp will last long with a fire pit! 

We will probably get a plug in IR heater now we have outside sockets all working.

We have a chimnea and patio heater which we use on the original patio up by the house, so we can always sit down that end if it gets a bit chilly and we want to stay outside.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

That's a really gorgeous space, mate. Great work.

Cooks

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