GR is up to it again.  He’s started a new Springtime project, and I’m just not sure about it, y’all.  And it’s not that I’m unsure about “it,” it’s just that I’m unsure about him doing “it.”  He’s attempting to make a paver patio just outside our basement doors, similar to what’s shown in this sample photo.  But without the wall.  And the pretty colors.

So, our patio, which has yet to be constructed, is the cause of this Great Patio Debate to which I refer.  You see, because I am a dictator planner/coordinator, I like to plan.  I like to coordinate.  I like to butt in.  Hence, I feel compelled to express my opinion about how this patio should be constructed.  And I understand that this is not my project, but I will have to walk on this patio every day for the rest of my life.  Because, as stated before, I will die in this house, people!   

Now, take note, I did not say that I want to express my opinion on how the patio pavers should be arranged or designed, I said how the patio should be constructed.  GR can design it any way that he wants.  I’m just trying to clue him in to the fact that there’s planning and pre-work involved with the excavation and laying of a foundation for a paver patio.  GR is just thinking of the big picture—how it’s going to look when finished.  I’m thinking of the drowning of the dogs when the flood occurs in the basement due to the ground not being sloped enough to carry the flood waters off the patio and away from the basement doors. 

GR thinks that he can just willy-nilly place pavers around the ground without

• using edge-restraint borders to hold the pavers in place.
• using a layer of gravel under the sand as a sturdy foundation and to help with drainage.
• measuring the depth of the base to ensure a proper slope. 

I know what needs to be done.  I have done the research, y’all!  Research that GR calls “scare tactics.”  Whatever.  Lord help me.  I need hot-buttered bread in large amounts.

So, as they say, debate is the death of conversation.  And my conversation with GR about this patio?  Is over.  And the debating has cut into my viewing of Dancing With the Stars.  So, I will no longer butt in.  Because Maksim Chmerkovskiy is my life right now, people, and I must focus.

But let it be known that I actually do have some faith in GR, and I’m sure that he will find a way to make this work.  Hopefully in a way that does not entail drowning the dogs.  So, I will document his journey with this patio project—whatever the outcome may be.  And I’ll start with the following photos.

Here’s the pavers being delivered into our backyard…

Here’s GR looking all proud that he’s starting on this debatable project…

And here is a potential outline of the patio…

Stay tuned for The Great Patio Debate–Part Deux.