If you are a teacher, you understand the vitality of summer break – a time to relax and focus on you and your family. While as a coach I didn’t have a “clean” break, I still had plenty of free afternoons to dabble in DIY Home renovations! As I take a deep breath and look forward to a new school year, I’d first like to share some of my favorite summer projects with you all. Summer may be almost over, but ALL of my projects were completed within 1-2 days each by only ONE person ?? and completely doable over the weekend (or even only on Saturday) given some forethought! Additionally, they are super budget friendly (did I mention I’m a teacher ?)! To begin, I will share with you my first project of this summer – our backyard oasis on a budget!
Backyard Oasis on a Budget (General Overview):
- Total Time needed – 12 hours
- Cost – $235 (including materials & tools but without decor)
- Number of people needed – One (with two people you can cut that 12 hours in half!)
- Tools needed:
- Pea Gravel (amount depends on space – I used 32 40lb. bags which covered roughly 6×20 sq.ft of grass – Lima bean shape)
- 4 strips of connectable metal edging with spokes for containment
- Weed blocking tarp
- Grass and weed killer (spray)
- Hammer (or something heavy to bang in the spokes)
- wheelbarrow (I did NOT use one, but I think that having one would have saved me a LOT of time and physical strain!)
- yarn, spray paint, or anything to draw out your area on the grass.
- decorations/lighting/furniture of choice ?
My husband and I have been wanting to spice up our backyard space ever since we bought our home almost 2 years ago. Prior to the renovation our backyard had nothing but a covered patio big enough to hold a grill and small table/chair set. Our backyard is a decent size but had nothing but grass. We wanted to create an extended space that would allow for us to utilize our firepit (which had sadly been sitting in our garage for over a year) and provide us with a space to sit out in the open on nice days. For myself, I wanted a space to layout in our backyard when I didn’t have the time or desire to make it to the neighborhood pool (I was getting pretty tired of laying a towel on the grass and fighting off ants every couple of minutes).
A pea gravel patio was the perfect solution for us because it was doable on our own and super budget friendly! Additionally, it did not require any foundation analysis because the porous nature of the gravel has no impact on our yard or foundation. In a place like Houston with HEAVY and FREQUENT rainstorms, we needed something that would maintain our yards drainage system as normal. The added bonus of the pea gravel look is that it exudes a type of Tuscan appeal with it’s natural and inviting texture! As an anniversary present to my husband, I decided to take on the project myself while he was out of town and surprise him. We are both SO pleased with the results and enjoy many nights by the fire under the stars! You will have to scroll down to see the after photos ?. (Apology – I completed the project prior to deciding to blog about it and unfortunately do not have photos to document the steps. BUT, they are pretty straightforward and I did my best to explain!)
Directions:
-Step 1 – Draw out area:
Determine the area you would like to cover with the gravel. This can be a large area for sitting/visiting/eating or a smaller area to simply accommodate a fire pit and chairs. I decided to double the dimensions of the covered concrete patio with the extension coming directly off of it. Trace your preferred area with yarn or spray paint to know exactly how much area you will need to cover.
– Step 2 – Kill the Grass:
Obtain materials necessary for your specific patio size and kill the grass in that area with the spray weed/grass killer. The grass noticeably died within 2 hours, so if attempting to do this all in one day I would do this portion first thing when you wake up to give it some time to work.
– Step 3 – Cut/Lay the Tarp:
Once the grass is killed, you will have a clear picture of your space and can cut the weed blocking tarp to cover the exact proportions. Before you begin cutting, be sure to fold over your tarp so that you have a double-layer to separate the gravel from the dead grass. When you cut the tarp you want to be sure that it is pulled relatively tight, so if you are by yourself simply use a couple of the gravel bags (or anything heavy) to secure one side of the tarp. (Be sure to leave an inch or two along the edges so that you can secure it with your metal edging – once it is secure you can go back and cut off the extra material around the sides!)
– Step 4 – Lay/secure the edging frames:
This was the trickiest step for me to do alone and the part that would be easiest to complete with some help! BUT – still doable on your own. If by yourself, start to secure the edging strips from the outside points of your space and work your way in to connect them. Since I wanted to make my space a Lima-bean shape I had to hammer in the spokes as I went which allowed me to curve the frames along the way. Start securing the metal edging frames by placing them on TOP of the tarp (leaving about an inch or two of tarp outside the frame) and securing with the spokes. Work your way around the space by going back and forth from one side to the other, hammering in one spoke at a time. This way you can make sure that you don’t have any “gaps” when you get to the end. Be sure to pull the tarp tight underneath each edge piece before you hammer it down to make sure that the tarp doesn’t have a ton of slack in it! This is the HARDEST part and after this you are almost done. SO, when you finish this step I would recommend going inside and having a glass of sangria ?.
Step 5 – Pour the gravel:
This step is not hard, but it is tedious (which is why the sangria will come in handy). Pour about 4-5 bags of gravel into the wheelbarrow at a time and then pour into the space. Work your way pouring in random spots all over the space until you are out of gravel. THEN, use your feet to spread it all out! (You could take the step to use a rake, but by this point taking another trip up to my garage to grab another tool did not sound appealing). Then, sit back and sip. You’re SO close!
-Step 6 – the FUN part – DECORATE and FURNISH!
Self explanatory! You can see how I decorated below. Lighting is key so be sure to find some way to incorporate hanging lights on or around your frame. HINT – if you are bothered by the chalky state of the gravel right away, spray the gravel down with water. I spent a couple hours with the sprinkler on the gravel before I furnished and decorated but that proved unnecessary because the rain took care of this days later ?.
And drumroll…
All in all, this project was started at 8:30 AM on Saturday and finished by the time my husband arrived home that night at 9 PM! If you have any questions or would like for me to elaborate on the products I used (or any of the pictured furniture) please send me an email at kelsie.brown281@gmail.com and I will be happy to elaborate! I hope this inspires you to take on that project you’ve been thinking about. Had I decided to wait and hire somebody we would still be daydreaming about the nights we are currently enjoying ?. AND, while it may be too hot to use that fire pit every night in Houston, I can’t WAIT for winter time when it will be PERFECT to snuggle up with!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelsie
