Where to spend the patio dollars?

The patio.

The stuff on top comes and goes - the patio's long-term.

I agree

If you don't get what you want now, in a few years you'll be wondering why you didn't.

Pick the shape first (if stone, may include straight on two or three sides with not straight on one, or a geometric shape with some pavers here and there 'cantilevering' on mortar, with soil between them) Then the stone or not stone. Assymetrical stone versus squared or rectangular stone pavers, relating to the patio shape. (in my opinion)

Yeah. That makes sense. I've found some stone I really like that could be incorporated into the design and would be really pretty.

Or we could do that "cut concrete" (I don't know the real term) that allows planting between the cuts so you get that softer, aged look.

The base of the patio has to be concrete -- Mr. B is worried about durability with a stone or brick laid patio. With good reason -- we have giant trees with wicked roots that we have to work around in our smallish yard.

But...

Because we have several other big backyard projects planned over the years it seems that basic might be easier to work with and dressing up basic is easier than dressing up fancy. I worry that curves might be harder to incorporate in the long term plan.

Opinion only, but I think an amoeba by your house would look dumb.


I could see the equivalent of an arch, not unlike the arch in one of your windows (or was that the porch), basically a straight patio, perhaps a wide straight patio, going out to a semicircle curve...
but I'd do that out of colored concrete.

You can also go straight out with a stone covered patio and then "bleed into" natural by means of the cantalivered paver to random pavers on soil...

I'm sure I've examples I could show you but then I'd have to get my scanner going...

Hmmm, go to an architectural bookstore in Portland and look at the landscape architecture section. With luck they'll have chairs...

The "amoeba' was giving me some trouble, osso but I didn't have a reason. Thank you.

Mr. B knows I like organic shapes so he came up with a curvy thing. We went out in the yard with rope and spray paint and I just couldn't make it work in my head. For whatever reason it just seemed wrong.

We will need to accomplish some curves in the yard but I'm thinking there are other ways to do that than in concrete.

I'm thinking of a mild rusty color - not red, not brown, but somewhere in between. Then we could use bricks or terracotta on the steps. Later when we add a fireplace we could incoroprate that material.

I haven't priced stone and concrete lately but it was going sky high back in '05. Your budget may affect your choice.

If the patio is not large and is not at its furthest extent that far from the house, I'd go for rectangular/square with good structure, scorelines, color, stone or not. Me, I'd probably say not.

See if you can get your contractor to give you drive by examples re concrete color on a sample page and real life. I might veer from terra cotta, in that oregon stone, far as I know and I don't know all that much, am thinking it is like humboldt county stone, grey and dark grey. I'd look at warm gray instead of terra cotta.

We once had in our gallery attached to our studio two olive jars from Tunisia for sale. They didn't fly out the door since they didn't have much to do with garden style or colors in our seaport area.

At the same time, dark grey doesn't seem just right for your house. So I'd look around at not Very Rusty color.

I think it's important to look at real life examples.

There are steps? That's good. If you want to add stone ten years from now you'll have room, though you'd redo the steps re riser height.

If you are thinking of brick steps, consider concrete with a double soldier brick border for the patio. (I am personally against brick stripes or squares as the eye zooms to that year after year, sort of like plaid.)

On steps, make the tread wide enough. Nothin' agravates ms. aggravation more than too small a tread when you are going outdoors. I'm a fan of 15" - 17".

Before you pour, check out what you like... it might be 12 - 15".

Amending -- not to run around entirely against a brown with some warmth. Just not Sedona, Arizona time...

curvy things are a bitch to trim around. Large smooth curves are okay and pleasing to the eye. Squigglies look nice on paper.

Joe(and that is where they should stay)Nation

I see others have said what I wanted to.

But I agree about spending the money on the patio itself.
Furniture will STILL be in stock later on.
Plants will die
Umbrellas will blow away

but the pretty deck? Nah.

You could put down stamped and colored concrete. Here is a Tudorstyle
patio.

"We will need to accomplish some curves in the yard but I'm thinking there are other ways to do that than in concrete."

Yes to that. Though I do think one area can "bleed" - diminishing width concrete pavers, or paving stones abutting the patio...

with such an 'architectural house' I'd be careful about any immediate wiggles.


Really, Boom, I think you could/should do some looking at photos. I wasn't kidding about the arch bookstore.

After thought and some edits -

I don't like that apparent bluestone pattern in concrete. Faux to a fair thee well.
Cut stone, yes, but not with your house in your city, though I might be talked out of that, re the stone pattern.

I'd score it to make sense re scores re the nature of concrete. Some scores are deep and some surface. With your house, I would not make the scores as busy as in the photo by cjane... at all. I'd base them on the necessity for scoring and the lines of your particular house. Finding someone to do good scorelines is harder and harder now. Do not opt for stamped concrete.

The money and time should go into getting the right contractor, who is not necessarily the most pricey, but will also not likely be the least expensive... to build a strong and well draining pad. Don't rush into this. I don't care what party may be planned. Your thinking about all this is time well spent. Do serious looking.

Nodding along with you, osso.

I wasn't talking about skimping on the bones of the patio itself but about the additional costs of stone inlay, curves, etc.; the deorative aspects.

I can see where osso is going with her less is more version. My house does have a lot of texture and pattern, it's decorative on it's own. Picking an element of the house and finding a way to repeat it on the patio makes a lot of sense.

We've actually been planning and looking and interviewing contractors for a while but it's getting down to decision time.

Our front porch is reddish concrete in 3x3 cuts. It mimics the multipaned windows and offsets the arches for a nice effect.

Maybe I'll go with something basic like that then later when we add the fireplace to the patio I can pick up the arch shape.

What about having it cut into a harlequin pattern (instead of squares) to pick up the pitch of the roof?

Something kind of like this -- scored and acid stained ...

Boomer
Have you any history of rain drainage problems in your back yard? If so, you will want to correct them prior to installing the patio.

BBB