Patio Saga

Bagged earth ready for the dump

Shingle for covering the last of the hard core

More earth yet to remove

Sycamore tree root

There’s still a long way to go before the patio saga can come to an end. As with a sailing saga, unforeseen snags can crop up to delay or hinder a venture. One such snag has manifested itself in the form of a root of a sycamore tree that used to grow behind the garage before it was cut down and forgotten, but now, I remember it well. The tree’s golden blossom used to be gorgeous; on the other hand, the propeller-shaped seedpods that fell in the autumn were a nuisance, since they had to be cleared before I could mow the lawn.

In order to lay hard core behind the garage I’ll have to remove some of the sycamore tree root that is as hard and black as ebony. I am not looking forward to the onerous task. No doubt I’ll have to obtain a hatchet with which to hack away pieces of the root until sufficient depth can be found for hard core, pebbles and recycled paving sand.

I have yet to break up an area of old concrete path that is too high for forming a hard core base and I have to remove more earth beside the foresaid path. Finally, when these things have been done I’ll be able finish laying the hard core and sand.

There is still a quandary how best to set about laying the paving stones, but as they will be heavy and difficult to manoeuvre into position, I’ll probably have to temporarily cover the sand with plywood near to where the stones are being laid. This will enable me to convey the stones in the barrow without disturbing the levelled sand.