With Father’s Day just behind us, I had been spending some time thinking about fun and creative ways to let my dad know that he is special! If your dad is anything like mine, a home project with everyone’s help can be a really great way to show you care and to spend quality time together as a family. Think about it, most dads really like building stuff, starting a project, and enjoying the lasting results of a job well done.

One idea is to help dad with some kind of outdoor seating project so that he can enjoy his garden from the comfort of a sun lounger. Initially, we wanted to use BSW Timber to make it, after hearing about how strong and beautiful it was, however, we had more experience with slabs so we started an outdoor patio project instead! My boyfriend and I completed one (with the help of a couple of friends where we used a brand in the stamped concrete industry) last summer and the project took about a day and a half from start to finish! With hard work put in over the weekend, you can look forward to a relaxing Sunday evening with a backyard BBQ on your newly built patio! If you’ve not got the time for any DIY, then you may want to think about investing in a teak garden set for your outdoor area.

Here is how we completed our flagstone patio project:

Determine the style of patio & supplies needed. Troesh Coleman Pacifics staff can help determine exactly how much product I would need for my project, and also provided me with helpful tips!

Purchase the required supplies (consider if the landscape supply company offers delivery and what they charge).

For our flagstone patio this included:
Recycled Base
Concrete Sand
Flagstone (or the preferred stone / paver for your project)
Polymeric Sand
Delivery

You will also need:
Heavy duty landscape rake
Shovel
Work gloves

Transportation of the supplies to your project site:
My vehicle was not large enough to support the weight of my supplies. I purchased my products from Troesh Coleman Pacific and they delivered everything to my home. It was very convenient to have this option! If you (or a friend) own a truck, that will probably be sufficient).

Remove soil (we had to bring the ground level down 7 inches, recommended to ensure the patio does not shift & remains level).

Lay down the base, be sure that it is level with a rake and be sure to compact it well.

Lay down the sand, be sure that it is level with a rake

Place the flagstones where you want them – this was the fun part for me! With flagstones in particular you have to look for the shapes that fit best next to each other.

Once the flagstones are where you want them – press them firmly into the compacted base / sand.

Sweep polymeric sand between the flagstones, spread & fill spaces evenly. Make sure there is no polymeric sand on the surface of the flagstones, once it is moistened and set it can become very difficult to remove from your patio surface. Then moisten the polymeric sand with a hose to set the flagstones and allow to harden. Repeat if necessary.

Enjoy your new creation!

Other resources I love for ideas & inspiration:
www.belgard.com
www.houzz.com
www.pinterest.com