Want a great way to really upgrade your boring yard? Try paving it! Paving your yard is an amazing way to extend your living space.
Read on and check out these simple steps on how to pave your backyard.
Why Do You Need to Pave Your Backyard?
Paving your backyard is one way to really elevate your home.
Most single-detached houses have yards. If you don’t do anything about it, then it’s just going to look drab.
Look
If you have no interest in doing anything to your backyard, then the entire home will suffer. An ugly backyard would affect the entire aesthetics of the house.
Yes, the backyard may not be something visible to all people. But what if you have visitors?
Besides
Whether you have visitors or not, don’t you just want to look at a beautiful home inside and out?
You know, there are psychological effects to living in a neat and beautiful home. According to an article from The Atlantic, the home is part of a person’s self-development.
What does this mean?
It means that you design your house, or at least the accents of your house, based on your identity.
You always inject your personality into your house. The yard is definitely part of the house and you should design it appropriately.
In essence
If you keep your yard bleak, then people might consider you to have a bleak personality as well.
But it’s really more than that. It’s not just about impressing people, it’s really about you. Looking at beautiful things, be it a pleasant face or an attractive piece of art, is uplifting.
Such experience can help with your mood and your mental and emotional well-being.
As such
You have to keep your home beautiful and it would translate to comfort.
Now, that we have that covered, there are two ways you can really improve your yard:
- Garden
- Pavement
Here’s the good thing:
You can do both!
What kind of backyard do you have? Whether you have a small backyard or a large one, you can never go wrong with a backyard pavement.
For small yards
Obviously, you can’t do a lot with a small yard. You can do a small garden and spruce up the yard.
Gardening is a lot of work. If you don’t want to do some meticulous upkeep, then paving it would be a good idea.
Here’s the deal
When you pave the area, you can easily have it as an extension of the home. You can put a few chairs out there and even a table and it could easily be a place to hang out with family and friends.
No matter how small it is, it can be upgraded by paving it and putting in some nice furnishings.
For large yards
If you have a large yard, then you can easily do both the garden and the pavement. They will easily complement each other.
The pavement can also be used as a pathway so that your yard won’t be damaged by foot traffic.
Advantage
When you have a large yard, then you can easily put up a really nice patio. Of course, you would need a paved area for your patio.
So, how do you pave your yard?
How to Pave Backyard
Now, you are ready.to pave your yard. The steps are pretty simple. If you don’t have any experience with menial labor, all you need to know is that you are really going to sweat it out.
Here are some steps on how to pave your backyard:
1. Make a plan
One of the benefits of paving your yard is to upgrade its look. The kind of paver you use is going to be very important.
You need to make a plan. Find the paver design that will fit the design of the house, and the one that you truly like.
Yep!
You’re going to look at the pavement every day, so it has to be something you like looking at.
There are so many pavers around. If you have a small yard, then choose the smaller ones, too. For larger yards, you definitely need the larger pavers. Small ones will mean longer hours for paving.
But that’s really up to you!
Part of the planning part is knowing how many pieces of pavers you need. You can buy extra in case you break one–or a few.
Important note:
Choose really strong and heavy pavers if you plan to put heavy products on the paved area. For example, you might want to put heavy furniture or even a water feature.
2. Prepare your materials
What are the materials you need to prepare for paving the backyard?
- Pavers
- Crushed stones as road base
- Paving sand
- Cement mix
- Shovel
- Hammer
- Rubber mallet
- Pegs
- String
3. Clear out the area
If you have a small yard, then you might have to clear out the entire area. For large yards, you can clear out the space that you want to pave.
Put markers on them, so you know exactly where the paving starts and ends. You can hammer the pegs on every corner of the area and then attach the string.
4. Spread out crushed stone
The pavers are necessary to ensure that your pavement will not become uneven in the future. You see, the ground will shift over time.
The lack of base may also result in cracked pavers after some time. There is also the possibility of weeds growing under the paver if there is no road base.
5. Spread the paving sand
The road base will leave out some holes–very small and you might not even notice them. But that’s why you need the sand.
An inch of sand will do. Make sure you level it out. Everything should be compact.
6. Attach the pavers
If you have chosen the heavy pavers, you can ask for help.
Attach the pavers and tap them with the mallet to ensure that they are level.
Listen
Part of the planning stage is to determine how many pavers you will need, right? Well, you also have to consider if there will be pavers that would need to be cut.
If you have to cut the pavers, you will need additional materials like a ruler and a power saw.
7. Apply cement
Check out the instructions on how to mix the cement. Then, you have to apply the cement on all the sides of the paved area.
Leave the area to dry. It usually becomes formidable in two days.
8. Decorate
It’s now time to spruce up your paved backyard. You can put furniture on it, lights, and heater to make it comfortable even at night.
The steps aren’t too hard, are they?
Benefits of a Paved Backyard
Why should you toil for a paved backyard? First, you should know how satisfying it is to actually do the work to make your home comfortable and gorgeous.
Second, it will save you money. And third, there are just so many benefits to having a paved backyard.
1. Extend your living space
This is an important benefit. You can create a patio with a paved backyard. That is the extension of your home.
It’s a place where you can get fresh air while also bonding with the family and friends.
2. Upgrade the yard
It’s definitely a great way to elevate your yard. This is why it’s important that you choose the right pavers.
If you have no idea what to do with your yard, then this is it!
3. It’s easier than a garden
Gardening is great, but it can also be really hard. You need to take care of it.
A lawn is wonderful, too, but there are regular and necessary maintenance works that you should do.
With the lawn
It’s not necessarily easy to put up. The steps sound easy but it takes a lot of effort.
However, that’s basically a one-time thing. Once you have your paved yard, you just need to clean it every now and then.
Here’s the deal
You could always do both. If you have a large yard, you can have a lawn and a garden, and you can even throw in a patio. The patio needs to be paved.
It can truly accent your yard.
But if you have a small yard…
4. This can do wonders
What are you going to do with small yards? Just saying, pavers can really do wonders in small spaces.
5. Can be used as pathways
Pavers can be used as pathways. If you have a really nice lawn, you wouldn’t want it damaged by foot traffic.
Pave a pathway! It’s as easy as that.
Actually
That would make a very good accent on your yard.
Summary
Do you want to elevate your yard? You can spruce it up with a garden or you can just pave it. The latter is so much easier to maintain.
How to pave your backyard? There are only seven steps involved. Choosing the right paver to use is going to be crucial. You want the paver to fit the theme of your house and you want it to be absolutely gorgeous.
The great thing about paving your backyard is that you can do it yourself. There is actually no need to pay for a contractor.
Useful Resources
- The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means so Much – The Atlantic
- Paving Materials Photo Gallery – The Spruce
- Paving 101: How to Prepare Ground for Paving – Better Homes and Gardens
