Walkway paving a walk-through tool shed with privacy screen and Suntuff roof

[alicanterenodb]

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[Prof]

Hi alicanterenodb..and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community..

Your project is excellent and a very well thought out idea..I'm sure it will create a lot of interest..

We wish you every success with your entry..

Prof

[KatieC]

Hi @alicanterenodb,

I'd also like to welcome you to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is great to have you join us and share your new walkway, shed, and privacy screen project. This project could be part of a future top 10 most popular garages and sheds one day! 

What did you find to be the most challenging part of your build? You've done such an incredible job, I can imagine many community members will be inspired by it. Any words of advice for someone looking to do a similar project?

Katie

[alicanterenodb]

Thank you for your appraisal of my project and is much appreciated. At 67 this was my 12th and final outside DIY Project.

Whilst not the most technical it was certainly challenging physically.The completion of each project has brought me a lot of satisfaction as well as save me some serious money.

David

[KatieC]

Hi @alicanterenodb,

Needless to say, you have done a great job both physically and financially! 
 

Katie

[alicanterenodb]

Hi KatieC Sorry but I had written you a rather long and concise reply including photos but unfortunately when I posted, it said timed out and content lost..

Sorry I will try again tomorrow.The above reply was meant for Prof Valued Contributor

David

[alicanterenodb]

Hi KatieC thanks for your warm welcome and generous comments. For me DIY has been a journey where you learn something new every day. Although this project was the last of so many that I have undertaken, it certainly had its challenges taking into consideration that all my projects were carried out single handed. First paving consideration is wheather to pave on aggregate or solid concrete. From my experience the latter is a no brainer to avoid a life of constant weeding and leaching fluorescence and a heap of other issues. I painstakingly laid my first pavers 30 year ago on 100mm concrete base and are still clean and solid. In the past I used a wheelbarrow and a shovel to mix the mortar but on this project I purchased some large tubs and a FULL BOAR twin paddle mixer from bunnings and it was a dream.I made the decision to mix the cement base by hand using bags of concrete mix from Bunnings.This way I was able to lay the base and pavers a section at a time.I tried a cement truck and cement pump once for one of my projects and was too much for one person. Yes its a lot of extra work but just skip the gym for a week. An issue that has haunted us for so many years has been roots in drain pipes. Unfortunately when the house was constructed the sewer inspection junctions were burried 4feet underground and when the slab settled the junctions cracked and roots worked their way in. A six monthly ritual of hiring a plumber and jetting the roots went on for years incurring thousands of dollars and most offering relining from anything from $15000 to $20000. As you can see from the photos I finally bit the  bullet and bought a good quality Diamont disc ( Bunnings) and cut a square slab above each of the 2 inspection joints. Dug down to the inspection  and cleaned out the roots. I went and bought  2x rubber expansion joints from bunnings and the necessary fittings to bring the junction to level of walkway paving. The plumber charged me $150 an hour and he did both in two and a half hours. Total cost was under $500 which was the price of one jetting job. For the first time I have visible inspection points and the flexible joint should protect from any future cracks. 

I really could write a book just on this one DIY project but rather than bore everyone to death I will end it here but happy to answer any questions.

Regards David

[Jason]

Hi David (@alicanterenodb)

Apologies for the inconvenience. Drafts of posts are saved to your member profile page. We've rescued your draft and posted it for you. You just might have to upload any photos again as it doesn't seem like they were saved. 

Jason

[KatieC]

Hi @alicanterenodb,

Your DIY journey would be a great book on working smarter to save money! Goodness, that would've been a pain to have a plumber out that frequently with root issues, you've done yourself such a good favour by making it easier for all parties. Thank you for the review on the Full Boar mixer making the process a dream, always nice to know the products we sell are working well. Do you have tools that were your go-to for your major projects? 

Katie

[TedBear]

Hi @alicanterenodb, I am impressed with how you took on such a challenging, narrow location with little space for storing the components!

You must have done a lot of shuffling to store stuff then also work on the same floor space.  The walk through shed drew my attention... an imaginative solution to the needs of both storage and access problems.