Before and After

Every now and then I do like to show little of my work, usually some nice flowers or something.   Although it is very mild and at the moment I have daffodils, crocuses primulas and camilia all in flower that is not what I am showing off about today.

This is a job a did a couple of weeks ago, and am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  

An old deck was covering a rather uneven and ugly bit of poured concrete.   First the deck needed removing.   As always I forgot to take a proper "before" photo, this one shows the situation after I had lifted the deck, well most of it anyway.

Next I had to set up the perimeter using concrete molded rope top edging before in filling with sand to lay block pavers on.

One of the issues I had to deal with on this job, was a lack of working space,so I was constantly trying not to get in my own way, working in sections, get a bit laid then turn round and stand on the bit I had just laid.

The other issue was that being a terraced house everything had to be carried through the house, I was always worried about the mess I was making in the customers house, even though they told me not to worry.  Of course I was supervised in this as I was in y work, you can just see the supervisor in the second photo above.

Once the sand was all down I could start laying the pavers, because of the layout nearly every paver on the edges had to be cut, a long, laborious and rather dirty exercise.   Weather conditions weren't always helpful either.

After the deck had been put down  the customer had built a small pergola for some climbers at the back of the house, one leg resting on the deck.   My only trouble was that the deck was slightly higher than the paving.

I managed to find a solution to this which I was quite pleased with, and I think got the approval of the supervisor as well.