Almost ready (progress pics)

[TN__HOT_TUB]

Here are some recent photos of the patio/deck that we've been working on for the past couple of weeks.

This is a 100% do-it-yourself job (except for electrical hookups).  We're no pros, so it took us a bit longer and isn't postcard perfect, but we're pretty proud of ourselves so far.

We went with the concrete paver pad for the hot tub area instead of a concrete slab.  We ended up excavating additional soil around the pad and laid some flagstones.  Additionally, we rebuilt our deck and tore down the dog kennel.

We're not quite finished, but we've got most of the heavy lifting out of the way.

Also, I did end up running some conduit underground for the electrical wires.

I'm expecting to receive my hot tub this week. With any luck I will be soaking next weekend.

[Tatooed_Lady]

hey, that's pretty nifty! I'm thinking of putting in a little flagstone (or SOMETHING like that) around the edge of the tub just for stepping stones......but nothing quite like what you've got.....VERY NICE!

[TN__HOT_TUB]

Stepping stones should be relatively easy.

You'll probably want to do a little digging and use some sand to level them out.

[anne]

That looks very nice! Did you mortar under and between the rocks, or only between? I'm trying to decide between mortar and having a bit of ground cover growing betwen mine. Not quite done yet.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

That looks very nice! Did you mortar under and between the rocks, or only between? I'm trying to decide between mortar and having a bit of ground cover growing betwen mine. Not quite done yet.

Believe it or not, we did not use mortor.  We excavated the sod (no power equiptment) and applied a layer of gravel and sand.  We then placed the flagstone on the gravel/sand and then swept sand between the stones.

We may eventually apply some mortor, but for the time being we're going with the sand and mossy groundcover stuff.  

The key is to use a paver sand (not sandbox sand).  Apparently the paver sand is more coarse and helps to "lock" the stones together a bit better than some other types of sand (who'd a thunk there were so many different types of sand out there?)

[anne]

That is exactly how I did the flagstone in my front yard, and probably how I'll finish this job. I thought your sand looked like mortar, I guess- very packed. In my front yard, after the sand, I put just a tiny bit of soil, and then settled irish moss and blue creeper into it. There are a lot of great ground covers out there, but some need more water/shade than others, and some grow a few inches high, which sort of takes away from your flagstone, IMO. You really shouldn't need mortar if everything is well settled and packed, and it looks like you did a great job! Hope mine comes out so well.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

We get full sun in the back yard, so we may have trouble with some of the mossy ground cover.  I'm sure we'll figure something out.  Thanks for the input.

[Tatooed_Lady]

I'm assuming the paver sand is basically the same stuff as they use alongside the highways for the shoulders.....and if that's the stuff, it's also known as TB, traffic bond, base coarse......probably another dozen names besides...packs and holds up very well. only trouble I've seen with it is that it tracks all over the place when it's wet.....

[KarlXII]

Hey, looks great. Those flagstones really gave me some ideas for my entrance!  

[TN__HOT_TUB]

I'm assuming the paver sand is basically the same stuff as they use alongside the highways for the shoulders.....and if that's the stuff, it's also known as TB, traffic bond, base coarse......probably another dozen names besides...packs and holds up very well. only trouble I've seen with it is that it tracks all over the place when it's wet.....

Maybe so.  I actually find it to track more so when it's dry than when it's wet.

We're probably going to add some topsoil and ground cover plants to try to hold down the amount of sand that washes away.  If things get out of hand, we'll add some mortor.

[blakley33]

Good job looks really great. I know that is alot of work, I just got done putting down pavers around our new tub today, and also used the paver sand to sweep in and fill the cracks. My cracks were alot smaller though.
For the question that Tat lady asked about the sand, if you go to home depot and ask for paver sand you can get it is 50 pound bags for around $3.30 per bag.
works really well.

[anne]

If you have full sun, you may want to check out blue star creeper or thyme. Those work really well in CA, and I doubt that your more humid weather would be a problem. The thyme can be awesome since it has lots of fragrance when you walk on it, but it also can grow REALLY fast. Blue Star creeper is a bit lower growing and has tiny blue flowers.

The only tricky part is watering- since ground cover between rocks has almost no "reservoir" of moist soil, you may have to water it every day to every other day. Personally, it would die in my hands if I had to do that. I can get away with it in the front yard since my sprinklers hit everything, including the pathways.

Even with no ground cover, your patio looks great!

[TN__HOT_TUB]

I've scheduled delivery for tomorrow morning (9AM ish).

Who knows, I might be fortunate enough to get my first soak in before going to bed tomorrow.

How long does it take to warm up a tub anyway?

[drewstar]

I've scheduled delivery for tomorrow morning (9AM ish).

Who knows, I might be fortunate enough to get my first soak in before going to bed tomorrow.

How long does it take to warm up a tub anyway?

I'd say you could be up tto 100 deg in about  8-10 hours once the heater is turned on.  

[TN__HOT_TUB]

I'd say you could be up tto 100 deg in about  8-10 hours once the heater is turned on.  

Sounds good to me.  Let's hope for a smooth install and no problems with the tub (and nice weather).