DIY Network

Courtyard With Stone Planters: Evaluating the Situation Courtyard With Stone Planters: Evaluating the Situation From "Grounds for Improvement" episode DGFI-108

BEFORE: A back area that needed help.

Because of a sidewalk that connects their driveway to their back door, the Silvermans were always receiving deliveries to their back bedroom. To end the confusion and give their dreary backyard new life, Jackie Taylor, Dean Hill, the Silvermans and their helpers went to work. To start, they remove the sidewalk that's connected to the driveway, creating a natural break in the path and an unattractive concrete slab near their back door. Then, with help from some expert installers, they build a freestanding wall border, complete with capped columns and areas for planting beds that will house the courtyard. Once the wall is complete, the crew adds soil to the beds and lays bluestone pavers in the courtyard area. They surround the pavers with gravel and then add a variety of plants to the beds, making the courtyard complete. As the second day winds down, the projects come to a close. With the sidewalk gone and the ugly backyard now a beautiful, bordered courtyard, the Silvermans finally have a landscape they can be proud of.

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Tools
1 concrete chop saw with diamond blade
Circular saw
Hammer
Sledgehammer
4' level
1 (18") plate compactor
1/2" electric drill
Electric jackhammer
Cordless screwdrivers
Caulk guns
Rubber mallets
Hand tamp
Torpedo level
Hose
10-yd. dumpster

Materials
3 (20"x20"x24") columns
1 (4'x20") freestanding wall
1 (20'x20") freestanding wall
1 (14'x20") freestanding wall
1 ton base gravel
35 (24"x24"x 1-1/2") Pennsylvania bluestone (slate)
2 tons (1.8 CY) decomposed granite or small pea gravel
10 (8') sections metal edging with stakes
1.5 CY hardwood mulch
1.5 CY compost/soil
10 tubes concrete adhesive

Plants
2 Adams yew
3 Purple miscanthus (maiden grass)
1 Burkwood viburnum or Meyerii lilac
30 assorted perennials
3 Anthony Waterer spirea

RESOURCES :

Black and Decker tools
Website: www.blackanddecker.com
Black & Decker, Inc. (Corporate)
Website: www.bdk.com/main_bd.htm

Porter-Cable Tools
Porter-Cable Corporation
Website: www.deltaportercable.com

Delta Woodworking Tools
Deltak Power Tools
Website: www.deltamachinery.com

Irwin Industrial Tool Company
Website: www.irwin.com

Ames True Temper Tools
Ames-True Temper
Website: www.ames-truetemper.com

Weathered Standard interlocking stone
Versa-Lok Retaining Wall Systems
6348 Highway 36 Blvd., Suite 1
Oakdale, MN 55128
Toll-Free: 800-770-4525