The Nightmare Patio Project with a Happy Ending {REVEAL}

If you saw me sulking, crying, or just flat-out bummed this summer it was because we were going through major patio reno-drama.  It was a nightmare to say the least.  Ugh.  It all started back in…

The Beginning

When we bought our dream home last year, it came with a potentially beautiful back yard with a fence, brick patio, play set, and lots of trees for privacy.  It was just rundown and needed some TLC.  The patio sunk into the land about 1.5 feet from where it probably was originally set.  It was cracked, moldy, and super uneven where all the rain would drain towards the house.  So this was on the top of our priority list of things we want to tackle this summer.

Let’s look at the before pictures, shall we?

The Nightmare Contractor

Disclaimer: You’ll probably read this next section and feel as if you’re watching a horror flick and the serial killer is outside the house and you’re yelling at the girl not to open the door {but of course she opens the door}, and you yell at her not to run up the stairs and hide in her closet {but she runs up the stairs backwards and goes to her closet anyway}… you yell and even wave your arms at her to tell her which way to go, but of course she can’t hear you so she ends up in an unfortunate situation.  Yeah, this next section reads kind of like that.

We had plenty of referrals for guys who have done nice jobs with paver patios.  However, we went with our neighbor who came in at dirt cheap price to do a stamped concrete patio.  I guess he’s pretty well known in our neighborhood because he did stamped concrete patios at least 4 other homes in our cul-de-sac.  I told him I didn’t even think those looked particularly good, but he said it’s because the homeowners didn’t take care of it like they should have.  I thought he was pretty dedicated to the community and really wanted the job because he knocked on our door every night at 6pm until we finally signed the contract with him and gave him a down payment.

Four weeks passed before he even started demo’ing the patio.  Something about not the village not being able to approve the permit.

When we finally got the permit, he came by for 2 hours at a time to remove a few bricks and then he would leave for the day.

It rained, so he came a few days later to remove a few more bricks…and then dumped them in an unsightly pile on the side of the house.

I called to confront him about the quality and timing of his work and he gave me excuse after excuse, and I started to get uneasy about the whole thing.

The contractor kept delaying and delaying the completion date.  Rain…blah blah…the truck broke down…blah blah…not enough gravel…blah blah…can’t get a hold of his workers…blah blah blah.

Finally, the inspector came by the morning of the concrete pour and cited a few issues with the base, which confirmed that something wasn’t right.  Chances are, if I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of his work through the process, I wouldn’t be satisfied with the final product.  Oh, and concrete is kinda permanent so if he poured concrete and effed it up, then we’d really be screwed.  YIKES!  After 2 weeks (6 weeks total), we requested that he release us of the contract so we could find someone else to finish the job.

Fortunately, he was agreeable to letting us off the contract.  Unfortunately, we were back at square one – looking for other contractors who were willing to finish the job.

We were left with this as our backyard for the next 3 weeks:

Happy Ending

I had enough with the idea of stamped concrete.  There’s something about it that looks inauthentic and cold.  I think pavers blends in better with the landscaping and has a better overall aesthetic.   So we went out to get quotes from the referrals that we previously turned down .  Their quotes came in at about the same, if not more, than their original quotes because none of them were willing to rely on the work that was already done.  They would have to start from scratch.  Plus, their schedules were so busy that they couldn’t start for another 2-4 weeks, but we were willing to wait.

Because we were trying to be cheap in the beginning, it eventually cost us more to get the job done right.  In the end it was all worth it.  It took a long time, but I think we still have a few more good weeks left of summer to spare!  And now, the REVEAL:

OK, sorry for the huge, obnoxious space ship of a fire pit in the middle of all the shots.  I was too lazy to wasn’t strong enough to move it by myself.

It’s HUGE!  We extended the size, so it pretty much runs the length of our house.  It’s curvy and sexy, it’s not sinking into the house, and aaahhhh so pretty!  And now for my favorite part of a good make-over: Before/after shots!

The front porch was also a part of this huge nightmare and this is how it turned out.  Instead of a step made of bricks, we opted for 2 large stones. Looks cleaner and makes a nice statement, huh?  Just gotta fix the brick residue that the nut job left behind just above the 2 stones.

The nightmare is over!  We’re so happy with the way it turned out – a happy ending indeed!  All that we need to do is buy some patio furniture so we can host an end of summer soiree!

xo // gracielle.