Weekend Project

So on the side of my house I have a tiny patch of grass (weeds) that is landlocked by a fence, patio, and the side of my house. This little "nook" serves no purpose and is a pain in my ass b/c I have to weed it in the summer and it constantly stays wet b/c of a gutter downspout off the side of my house.

Before:

















After $60 and about two hours of work:









Materials Totaling $60:
- 4 bags of Decorative River Rock. Not pebbles.(Lowe's)
- 1 bag of paving base. Sand works as well.(Lowe's)
- 1 bag of topsoil
- 30 6x6 stone pavers (Lowe's)


How-To:
- Spray the grass with roundup a couple days before to kill everything. You don't want weeds
and grass to be popping up b/t the rocks all summer long.
- Use a shover or pick (sharp pick-axe works well) to pull up the grass.
- I sprayed the ground again to be sure all was dead
- Laid 4 bags of River rock. Spread with a steel rake or shovel.
- I dug the area for the stone pavers a tad bit deeper and more uniform edges
- Fill the stone paver area with the paver base. Mine was about half-inch deep.
- Lay the stones and twist into place firmly. I sometimes tapped them with the butt-end of a
shovel to make sure they were sitting tight
- The pavers naturally do not fit tightly together so I tossed about 2-3 handfuls of top-soil on
top and brushed it in with a large broom.
- Spray the top of the pavers with a bit of water so they will set better and VOILA! Done.

Next I need to do something about the gutter downspout. I'll probably buy an extension and run it to the fens so my neighbor can deal with it.