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Sunset
Complete Patio
Sunset
Complete Patio Book
covers everything you need to know to successfully plan, design, and build the patio of your dreams. Enjoy easy-to-follow instructions for making an addition to an existing patio or starting from scratch. Learn all the dos and don'ts for making the most of your outdoor area. Find out how to add a shade structure, an outdoor kitchen, or a tranquil pool.
Sunset
Complete Patio Book
also covers important finishing touches like outdoor lighting, weather-resistant furniture, container gardening, and storage solutions.
You’ll enjoy:
More than 450 beautiful full-color photos showcasing a multitude of patio styles and elements
More than 30 awe-inspiring projects with step-by-step instructions
Expert advice on designing your patio and creating working drawings
Clear, concise steps for drainage, watering, and lighting systems
A comprehensive materials guide for today’s many options, including flagstone, brick, concrete pavers, tile, and gravel
Item#
Product
Qty
Price
544882
Sunset Complete Patio
$19.95
Dimensions - 8-1/4" x 10-3/4"
192 Pages
Softcover
More than 30 projects
450 full-color photos
Duckboards
(see photo in more views)
Modular squares or rectangles made of decking material, often called duckboards, can be arranged and rearranged to suit your needs. Scatter them on a lawn to create an informal path or lay them close together to form a richly textured wood patio.
Manufactured duckboards are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and decking orientation. If your home center does not carry a good selection, type "modular decking" into a search engine to find several manufacturers. Most duckboards are made of long-lasting hardwood that is stained and finished and easily snapped together with plastic or stainless-steel clips. Duckboards made in a 45-degree pattern can be arranged in several ways.
To build your own duckboards, use rot-resistant lumber, especially for the sleepers (the underlying framing members). You may choose to use pressure-treated lumber rated "ground contact" for the sleepers and cedar or redwood for the decking boards.
If you want a duckboard to be square, you must cut the decking boards to a length that equals the width of a certain number of boards, including 1/8-inch gaps between the boards. In our example, we cut 2 by 4s to 21 5/8 inches — the width of six 2 by 4s (6 times 3 1/2 inches, or 21 inches) plus five joints (5 times 1/8 inch, or 5/8 inch). Two other possible arrangements are nine 2 by 4s at 32 1/2 inches and five 2 by 6s (which are 5 1/2 inches wide) at 28 inches. Of course, if you choose joints wider than 1/8 inch, the dimensions will change accordingly. It is possible that boards spanning more than 24 inches may be springy.
Setting Pavers with Wide Joints
(see photo in more views)
Large adobe blocks, concrete stepping-stones, flagstones, and even chunks of used concrete can be set with joints up to 2 inches wide, allowing ample room for crevice plants. (With bricks and small pavers, joints wider than 3/4 inch may make the installation look sloppy rather than charming, and large crevice plants will likely cover most of the paver surface.) Larger joints can be filled with fine gravel or rough sand, but you'll achieve a classic look by filling them with soil and adding crevice plants. The larger the pavers, the more lush the crevice plants can be.
You could install a gravel base as for a standard patio, but large, heavy pavers will likely remain stable if set on tamped soil and a 1-inch layer of sand; larger crevice plants will also grow better if their roots do not need to poke through a layer of gravel. The pavers may become wobbly in time, especially if the crevice plants have strong roots. However, you can easily lift and reset the pavers.
Specs
Sample Project 1
Sample Project 2
Sunset
Container Gardening
$14.95
Sunset
Barbecues & Outdoor Kitchens
$16.95
Sunset
Landscaping with Stone
$14.95
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