Patio Project Part 1

Two years ago, our lovely neighbors agreed to include a side yard in our joint fencing project (joint is sort of a stretch; I researched, got quotes, and did demo of old fence, but they financed it all!). In preparation, I demolished the side entrance steps to the house (the door was rendered a dummy with our initial renovation of the kitchen) and removed several bushes.

 

 

One major hurdle was what to do with all of the dirt I'd be digging out. Having a bit of landscaping experience from high school, I know that a firm stone and sand base is pretty key to any patio\paver project. I posted to Craigslist and started asking around. A local landscaping supply company that I planned on buying materials from thought "maybe" the owner would let me dump the topsoil for a fee, and I'd be on my own getting it there. That was a no go. It turned out a colleague and friend from school was looking for topsoil to fill in an area of their lawn- and had a trailer! It was a mutually beneficial swap, Mike!

 

A major downspout is located in the middle of the patio area, and after digging about 6 inches, I realized I would have to lower the drainage pipe further than I had last year. I installed a hard PVC elbow below the downspout, linking to a black plastic drain pipe with large holes on the underside to allow for drainage into the soil. The pipe was seated on small rocks and sand. The end of the drain pipe is buried in rocks right at the edge of the sidewalk. When there's a significant amount of rain, water makes it to the end and bubbles up and over the sidewalk, watering the tree we just had planted along the curbside this spring.

 

It was sad\fun to dig up portions of the old French drain from the original building of the house. You can see pretty clearly why this one wasn't working so well anymore.

 

Once I had dug out and leveled the ground using mason's twine and a level, I laid down weed barrier cloth, swayed by my Pop (Laura's father). This was a last minute decision as I am not a huge proponent of weed barrier especially when used in flower beds. Here,  I couldn't think of a downside and thought it we had a weed issue 2-5 years down the road I might be wondering if I had made a mistake in not using it. 

 

Over the weed barrier, I laid about 2.5 inches of "stone dust." The name is a little misleading because you can't see a lot of the dust- it settles down through the tiny bits of crushed stone- especially after being rained on. I was amazed at how after spreading, leveling, and tamping this base how hard the surface became once we had a good rain. I think the dust settles down through the crushed stone and hardens a bit. You can buy polymeric stone dust, but that's more expensive and wasn't necessary for my project. I suspect it might be more applicable to a pavers project.

 

A year ago, a neighbor was giving away about 2-3 cubit yards of sand left over from a building project. Knowing that we'd be doing something like a patio in the side yard- and also wanting to give the kids a sandbox- I bagged the whole pile of sand and had a few friends help me move them via car 4 blocks to my house. When my buddy Warren asked how much the bags weighed prior to helping, I said, "Oh, 20-30 pounds or so." He was pretty shocked when we started moving them, and after some logical reasoning got me to admit that they were more like 50-60 or more pounds per bag! I still get teased any time the subject of the sand comes up. But I can point out that I saved us, let's see... maybe $100.

 

The sand has proven very useful in leveling, especially from mold to mold as you can see in the picture below. Phil (my Pop) and Laura are spreading the Quickrete concrete in the WalkMaker mold. We used the fact that Pop Pop and Mom Mom were up visiting for Memorial Day weekend to get started on the concrete since we'd have an extra hand with the kiddos.

 

Working the concrete into the molds is tedious. We are using a small trough to push the concrete in the corners and level each stone. However, the results are very promising. Below, you can see a total of six molds fitted together, which took us about three hours. Convinced that this project was going to be successful, we ordered 60 additional bags of concrete delivered on a pallet. As of writing, we're up to about 1/3 finished. Part 2 to include the staining and sealing process...

Summer Reading Grades 6-12: I Am Malala

Every couple of years the English department decides to take on an "all-school" (6th-12) summer read. This summer, I'm particularly excited to be sharing I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb.

 



With so much of our international news dominated by the havoc being wreaked by radical Islamists, it feels that a giant veil has been drawn over the Mideast and beyond, obscuring and entrenching our sense of the evil "other." Ms. Yousafzai helps remind us of the good people beyond the headlines.

There are a number of other reasons why this book will be important for our students in the months ahead. First, the book provides a very interesting angle on U.S. foreign policy. Yousafzai and Lamb seem particularly conscious of an American audience and generally only make small inferences and suggestions about U.S. involvement in Pakistan. These remarks often feel artificial, but are just right to provoke thought and discussion with middle and high school students.

Secondly, our students need to understand the Taliban and the complexities of radical Islam. To Yousafzai's credit, she doesn't resort to an excuse common among U.S. politicians that "the terrorists are not Muslims." Yousafzai knows that they are, while speaking passionately against what she sees as their perversion of true Islamic beliefs. She is reverent, honest, and outspoken. She notes that radical Islamic organizations were often the first to step in with humanitarian aid but also vividly shows how the Taliban ultimately advanced its control over large areas by using fear.

Finally, this book is humanizing. Though literarily clunky, brief vignettes about schoolgirl drama and bothersome little brothers help Ms. Yousafzai seem a bit more her age. The book reads in part as a tribute to her father -who serves as both inspiration and comic relief. He is worshiped by his daughter, but also fearful and stubborn.

I was moved to tears by this book. You will be too!

The Fallen of WWII- Visualized

Moved to tears.