I'm a project DIYer and landscape design enthusiast. As I embark on this journey, I share my learnings and experience along the way. Sometimes this channel will be informative, but also it may evolve a little as I navigate along the way. Some of the projects I embark on will be first time experiences, which means you will see my mistakes, but I hope that most of the time you see the good that I've created.
Just know that I gave it my all to achieve the project goal and I'll keep trying. So welcome to the journey!
It’s been a couple years now. It is all still sturdy. I will be taking it down in 2 years as the kids have grown out of this. It was fun. But now my son is flying airplanes :) Build a tree house for the experience.
There’s nothing wrong doing it that way. With that naturalistic style of pathway, it’ll be fine for a long time. Some may shift a little, but it’s natural and nature isn’t stagnant!
There’s some advice out there about floor joists. 2x4 is really thin. How far are you spanning? I wouldn’t go less than 2x6 though if you want it to be more stable.
Yes that’s a great idea. Gravel does lock the stones. However after building 4 stone patios, I learned mortar is the best! If I need to repair this one, I will scrape out the gravel and mortar it in! Good luck
Hey Brendan, How to you line up a curve cut in the grass, and how do you line up a circular cut (i noticed you have both in your backyard) Cheers from Sydney
Hi there! I simply use a water hose and move it around till it looks good. Then I use a shovel to dig it out. Finally a string trimmer or edger to maintain it. Good luck out there AU!
Does water drain through the gravel seams with the adhesive? My back yard is on a hill that slopes down. I had retaining walls put in and I'm currently working on my walkway and patio on the upper most portion of those walls...I am wondering if I should go right up to the edge of my retaining wall or if i should leave a gap for drainage to run vehind the retaining wall where the french drain is located so it can run through my corregated perf (socked) pipe?
Yes it drains through gravel. Over 50 years that gravel may be full of debris and not drain through. How tall is your retaining wall? If it’s high a rail is needed. I think the decision to go up to the retaining wall or on top of it may be a design decision. What looks the best is what I would ask.
Thanks Brandon... I want to do beachy plant garden, I live about 1/4 mile in from the coast. I might transplant some plants right off the beach with sand to grow in my front yard Do you recommend I buy topsoil or use the fresh goffer piled dirt..lol...both?🤷🏼♀️ on top of the cardboard? If so, how deep or just mulch and sand on top of it🤷🏼♀️🌱🤷🏼♀️🌿?
Thank you! Yes i installed a landscape for a neighbor and she wanted a specific look. We worked together and found the perfect plants for her. We have a style and it takes a lot of work to get the right ones.
This project only needed 2-3 buckets of gravel. Put the 3 buckets in the drive way, empty them, hose it down, and shovel it back into the buckets. Or wheel barrow.
Can yall come do this in our attic, whoever lived here first absolutely destroyed the attic, likes its horrible and I have no idea where to start. Not enough beams. HVAC is thrown everywhere, such a mess its just so overwhelming.
Hi Matthew, I’m sorry to hear about the rough shape your attic is in. Attics tend to be messy bc most don’t inspect. Matt Risenger is one of the best. He builds top notch only. He’s an active contractor and maybe can suggest someone.
For sure! I moved 10 yards of mulch with a pitchfork on another house years ago. It works wonders. I know people think I’m crazy but I’m trying to not buy more stuff. Bc I don’t repeat these projects. Nor do I have space for more stuff. This is a vacation rental home
@@BrandonTran Hey Brandon, totally see your point! Why get duplicates of tools if you don't have to! I just recently received that tip about the pitchfork from a good friend with a lot of landscape experience when I placed 5 cu. yds. of mulch! It was hard work! I didn't use cardboard but instead just de-weeded thoroughly before putting the mulch down! Whew! Jersey humidity killed me! How do you like Asheville? I was in the Chapel Hill area all last year - I heard great things about Asheville!
I don’t know if I’ll ever do an update video. This summer I pulled about 20 sprouts and all clear for the rest of the season. It’s so hot. When I started there were 200+ mature blackberry canes. My effort is working! I’ll see how spring 2025 looks and the new growth should continue to dwindle.
0:46 Can you help me or someone on this thread! I had someone do my flagstone patio but all the edges outside edges are left open and I want to fill them can you help me with this? Just direct me on which product to use or any information. I had someone do a terrible job
How can I watch the rest of this video? I’m preparing to do same project. Did your pathway hold up after a year????? From your experience any additional work nexessary???,
It held 100% fine! It’s not going anywhere for many years to come. This is the cheap and fast approach. I installed a path for a neighbor but I used tamped gravel bc that’s the more stable approach and helps you sleep at night that you did the extra bit. Leveling is easier with gravel. What is your style? Ive tried both.
After having completed 3 techniques. Poly sand, gravel resin, and mortar, I much prefer the mortar joint fill. Everything has pros and cons, and we have to make decisions on our factors that are important for us, or client.
Dude that’s awesome! That shed is going to be epic! Update: My porch is now enclosed as a sun room and I’ve insulated the attic. I also built more shelves in the attic. Busy over here :) Sun room is hot now, I need to come up with an AC plan. I need it to be cheap though. No more budget hah :)
I watched this video hoping to figure out how to get the plywood sheets into the attic. Unfortunately that part was skipped. How did you get those massive sheets into the attic? I have just the small hole for the fold down stairs like you did in this video and I'm stumped. Your flooring looks great though.
Oh no, I’m sorry about that. I cut the hole. I then lifted the plywood sheets through the large rough opening. I then installed the attic ladder. You may need to cut the plywood in half now. 2’ x 8’
Great call out! As I look at other videos it’s about 50/50 that remove the guard. I’ll keep the guard on moving forward. I took the guard off a long time ago for a different use case and never put it back on. It should stay on for safety!
That’s a good different perspective! I appreciate your opinion. Some may not like these stones. We tried it and they were free so I keep them. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Ann! It is not easy for sure. There’s strategies to accomplish this. Spread it out. Buy a wheelbarrow. Team up with someone to help. I hope you are able to reach for your goals and find a way to achieve it. Let me know if you want to chat through ideas. Take care!
Great call out. Go for the textile fabric if you like. It separates gravel from the clay so that they never merge. It’s an ultra long term strategy. But if you need 200 year longevity then go with a concrete or mortar base. Concrete will last longer.
I’m going to remove a good chunk of the top soil to get to more of a clay base and then use 3 inch limestone compacted down with a plate compactor (mine is via Harbor Freight but they can be rented). Then gravel and sand. I despise landscape fabric. Top soil will be scrape away with a mini ex and clean out/grading bucket. I have a bunch to do and my back sucks.
