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MsRowdyRedhead
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It was a big project, and I did it myself.. The house is on a hill, obviously, so the deck was raised quite high on one side. I am 5'2" BTW.
I cut the stilts first.. with a 16" Stihl chainsaw. Then cut all the wood into manageable pieces. I had my son help me pile it up..and placed it on Craigslist for free. Several people came and picked it up.
There was quite a hole beneath the deck, so I had to fill it in. Luckily one of my friends was excavating for a courthouse project down town, and for a pan of lasagne and a glass of wine, he delivered a truck full of dirt from the project. I had to haul it down hill in wheelbarrows, which took quite a while I had a little help there from my son.. a few hours.. but he lived on the other side of town. I wanted the area to be perfectly flat and stable, so I paid for someone to come in with professional equipment and compact and level it.
Next came the weed-cloth. That is the black stuff you see laid out.
After that, I bought the sand, had it delivered to the top of the hill, and had to start over with the wheelbarrow.
ALL of the flagstone you see was FREE from various people on Craigslist.. I just had to drive over to their homes, pull it out, and haul it back to mine. The same with the river rock, and the colored aquarium gravel that is part of the mosaic.
After rolling down the sand, I started laying out the flagstone. With a dog around, it was tough to keep it smooth for long! There are several rose bushes transplanted form other parts of my yard, as well as some other plants, just a few, and the birdbath.
Someone picking up the last of the wood also grabbed a pile of the flagstone, so there is a small corner with just rock for now, but spring will be here soon.
This year we plan to build rockwalls on the two sides, and a new retaining wall in back of the patio.
I do still have two levels of deck above the patio, so I do not spend much time on the patio.
The main reason I chose to do it was the low maintenance. I have managed to have a totally grass free property. the "lawn" at the bottom is actually Irish moss..which does not even need to be watered most years.
The property is an acre.. all hill.
I had thought of a water-scape at one point, but that takes energy, and is not as good for the environment.
So.. that's my backyard project!
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