DIY Network

Porch Pavers: Evaluating the Situation Porch Pavers: Evaluating the Situation From "Grounds for Improvement" episode DGFI-205

Houses are like people: they need to keep up with the times. There comes a time in the life of a house when it just needs an update. The challenge is to make the necessary changes without breaking the bank. This is the task for the Grounds for Improvement team of Jackie Taylor and Dean Hill as they join Savannah, Georgia, homeowner Christie Pingel in the renovation of her front yard and porch.

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The project is complicated by spreading tree roots, 40-year-old shrubs, a collapsed walkway and an outdated door, circa 1960 (figure A) (figure B). The tree roots, from old-growth trees, have broken the sidewalk, while the mature shrubs planted along the front of the house have become extremely overgrown. Adding to the dark, unkempt look of the yard is a porch entry that is dated and desperately in need of a new look. The solution: a renovation that gives the front of the property a lighter, more airy look and feel.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

The new plan necessitates taking out the broken sidewalk and placing pavers in the space. Pavers will allow both the roots and the walkway to occupy the same space. The front of the house will be brightened by removing the overgrown plants and replanting the space. And finally, the retro door and outdated lighting will get a modern-day makeover with a fresh coat of paint and new lighting fixtures. Planters full of bright summer annuals, placed along the porch and walkway, will add a colorful finishing touch. By doing the work herself, along with Jackie, Dean, friends and family (figure C), Christie saved $650, with the total renovation costing approximately $850.

The renovation begins by clearing all porch and lawn furniture from the area. A pneumatic jackhammer, available at rental centers for about $50 a day, is used to break up the old sidewalk. These hammers have a bit, driven up and down by a piston, that can break up the old concrete (figure D). The 4"-thick concrete is scored by the hammer in straight lines across the sidewalk. As the sections begin to break apart, Dean uses a landscape bar, available in different sizes and weights, to finish breaking up and lifting the sidewalk so it can be loaded into a wheelbarrow and hauled away (figure E).

Note: When working with any type of heavy-duty equipment, protective clothing, sturdy shoes, goggles and noise-reducing earphones are necessary to maintain safe working conditions.

Figure D

Figure E

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

Irwin Industrial Tool Company
Website: www.irwin.com

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

American Society of Landscape Architects

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

Plants provided by Skinner Nurseries Inc.
Skinner Nurseries Inc.
Website: www.skinnernurseries.com

Walkway materials provided by Pavestone
Pavestone
Website: www.pavestone.com

Faux concrete kit
(1 quart pro quartzite; 1 quart crackle; 3 quarts brown, green and black pro faux paint)

Artistic Living Studio
Website: www.artisticlivingstudio.com