Affordable DIY Patio

Below is a project and write up I completed while living in Washington State.  Let me know what you think!!!!

Looking for an affordable DIY patio?   So was I when I came across an ad in a local online buy/sell/trade website.  It was a listing for FREE leftover granite pieces from a local granite business.  It turns out, it is cheaper for these businesses to give away the scrap pieces from projects they have finished than to haul the 1000 lb pallets to the local dump.

To me the words FREE and DIY are what really get me excited.  So I started thinking what could I do with a couple of pallets of Granite?   My husband and I had long term plans of replacing the grass you see below with a patio.  It was in a low spot in the yard and constantly waterlogged. 

So I instantly responded to the ad and loaded the kids up in the truck and went to check out my new find.  They had about 10-15 pallets of granite, all various sizes and colors.  We picked out two pallets (and made two trips so I wouldn’t kill my truck in the process).

I started the project by rounding up some leftover 4×6 treated lumber.  Since I do not use treated wood in any of my gardens, I figured this was the best use.  I used the lumber as the outline for our new patio.

A yard or two of sand later, I had the makings of a new entertainment area.

It took me 30 days to finish this project working 2-3 days a week between running kids around town for all of their activities.  I laid each piece of granite out piece by piece like a puzzle piece.  I used a rubber mallet and small 6 inch level to help me place and level the granite.

After the granite was all installed, I piled sand on top of the gravel and used a broom to fill in the gaps and further stabilize the large granite puzzle.

After the granite was cleaned up, the patio turned out beautiful.

Let me know what you think of this project.  Have you done something similar?  I would love to hear about it.