SHOW US YOUR BBQ PIT CAVE (pics!!) :)


 
Stamped concrete is light years better than actual slate. Water will never get into that like it will real slate. That's good for a lifetime. Looks real nice , brother!
 
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Matt. Looks like you pulled up a ton of patio block to make room for the stamped concrete. Are you going to sell it or give it away?....or use it again?...oops! Never mind! I just read back into this thread and saw the whole story. You got it covered!
 
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I realized I've not posted a closeup picture of how the 'crete looks after the sealant was sprayed on!

Before sealant:
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After sealant:
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So once they applied it, the concrete took a little bit of a sheen (it's slightly wet in this picture-- a small amount of rain fell a couple hours earlier), but you can really see the texture of the stamp better, without it appearing as 'dusty'.

It's funny, up until a couple years ago I never would have agreed to go with stamped concrete-- I just assumed it would all look cheap. Then my wife started showing me pictures, and I realized my preconceived thoughts were very, very wrong.
 
Finally ready to show a photo of the patio in its very-nearly-finished state:

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The grass around the edges is growing in quite nicely, as you can see compared to my last shot from a few weeks ago. All the pavers are gone (a friend of my wife gladly came and took them all), and the overgrown planter they were sitting in has been re-shaped, planted with three boxwoods, and mulched. Around the edge of the patio we have put in those small solar-powered lights. Oh yeah, finally got the patio set, too!

Only big thing we're wanting to do back there is replace the flood light that you see on the back of my garage. We're thinking we want to remove the fixture and replace it with an outlet, actually. In the outlet we'd plug in some strings of outdoor lights, which we may try to hang from the back of the garage. For that I'm thinking of maybe installing some hooks, like you'd see holding a hanging basket on the side of one's house, so that the lights will sort of be 'over' the patio, and not just tacked up to the siding of the garage.
 
Still a work in progress, as I decided this was the summer I was going to spruce up the backyard. The deck is getting cleaned and stained yet this summer (if it ever stops raining in Ohio), but here are some photos of where things stand today.

The rigs...

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And the dining area next to it...

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This is my new cook shack. Used primarily when it rains, but nice storage too. Pizza and BBQ are done in here.

Mark

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lots of nice spaces here.
Mark, it looks like all you need is a blackboard w/menu prices and you are set for money making!
 
Finally ready to show a photo of the patio in its very-nearly-finished

The grass around the edges is growing in quite nicely, as you can see compared to my last shot from a few weeks ago. All the pavers are gone (a friend of my wife gladly came and took them all), and the overgrown planter they were sitting in has been re-shaped, planted with three boxwoods, and mulched. Around the edge of the patio we have put in those small solar-powered lights. Oh yeah, finally got the patio set, too!

Only big thing we're wanting to do back there is replace the flood light that you see on the back of my garage. We're thinking we want to remove the fixture and replace it with an outlet, actually. In the outlet we'd plug in some strings of outdoor lights, which we may try to hang from the back of the garage. For that I'm thinking of maybe installing some hooks, like you'd see holding a hanging basket on the side of one's house, so that the lights will sort of be 'over' the patio, and not just tacked up to the siding of the garage.

Looks really nice , Matt. I am a big fan of the stamped 'Crete. I think your idea for the lights is a winner. Good job.
 
Still a work in progress, as I decided this was the summer I was going to spruce up the backyard. The deck is getting cleaned and stained yet this summer (if it ever stops raining in Ohio), but here are some photos of to

boy , you got room for days. I like having the sun and shade like you have there. You can be cooking no matter what!
 
Looks really nice , Matt. I am a big fan of the stamped 'Crete. I think your idea for the lights is a winner. Good job.


And since I made that post the thought process has changed. Think we're going to install some tall poles around the edge of the patio, and hang the lights from them so that they all the way around.
 
Still a work in progress, as I decided this was the summer I was going to spruce up the backyard. The deck is getting cleaned and stained yet this summer (if it ever stops raining in Ohio), but here are some photos of where things stand today.

The rigs...

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IMAG0446.jpg


IMAG0449.jpg


IMAG0452.jpg


IMAG0454.jpg


And the dining area next to it...

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Jeff this looks awesome! I envy you!
 
And since I made that post the thought process has changed. Think we're going to install some tall poles around the edge of the patio, and hang the lights from them so that they all the way around.

Update: Poles have been installed, now just waiting for the lights to arrive.

I took four 8' sections of galvanized pipe. Glued a PVC cap on the 'up' end to keep water out, and painted them to match the color of the patio furniture. Dug some holes about 1' deep, stood the pipe up in it, made sure it was level all around, and filled with cement. To actually hold/hang the lights I zip-tied some replacement chain links near the top of each pole. Lights should be arriving this week and up they go, and then pictures of our (finally) finished patio/grill/smoke zone will be posted!
 
And the patio is complete! At least for this year. Lights arrived today, which I promptly hung upon getting home from work.

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