Gravel Patio Project Renovation

We just moved into a new house and were in need of a place to grill and host guests while being able to enjoy the outdoors. So I created this outdoor patio area and chose gravel instead of laying concrete to exponentially cut down on the cost

retaining wall blocks

pea gravel

landscape paper

4x4x8's

concrete

flower pot hooks

flower pots

I found the area I wanted for the patio and removed any plants that we wanted to relocate and cleared out any stones.

I used spray paint to create a line and followed it as I dug a trench that is about half the depth as the blocks, adjusting any that are not straight after I've laid a few.

If you want to be even more accurate and straight you can lay a string line down and follow it with the blocks.

After the perimeter is surrounded by the blocks I sprayed herbicide on the grass to kill it, I then rolled about 8 rolls of landscape fabric down, using the landscape staples to keep them in place.

This pea gravel is a little bit smaller than I wanted/ recommend but it was the only type that was available anywhere in my area.

there were 2 wells in the area I was putting the patio. One was old and not in use anymore, filled up almost to the top with cement. So I cut the legs off of my old fire pit and it fit perfectly inside the top, hiding the well.

I added some adirondack chairs.

My wife found this solar powered umbrella on Amazon that has built in lights inside it.

I put my Blackstone griddle out for some grilling.

And finally my custom wooden spool picnic table which you can find instructions on how to build on my profile.

I purchased a 75' strand of string lights from amazon and laid it around the patio to find where I needed to lay my two 4x4's

you should dig a 1-2' hole for the post's, filling up with concrete almost to the surface.

I used 2 bags of fast setting Quickcrete

the lights are held on by 2 hooks and small zip ties so the lights don't loosen.

the extension cord powering the lights runs into the basement where it connects to an outlet through a smart plug which connects to our Alexa. This way we don't have to go into the basement every time we want to turn the lights on.

My wife took the reins on this one and put hanging pots off the sides of the posts and created beautiful pots around the patio to decorate it.

This patio has been a great addition to our new home and we have loved hosting many events already. It will sure be a great place to hangout this summer.