The Patio

The outside section of the house that connected the original cape to the woodshed was not only the most depressing spot on the property, it was in the worst condition.  As you can see from the photo below, the farmers had pushed sod (among other things) up against the side of the house.  This, combined with the massive amount of rain and snow coming off the roof, had caused severe rotting.

After digging out all the soil, jacking it up and replacing the sill I ran both Tyvek and several layers of plastic down the side of the house and out onto the lawn. I wanted to get the water as far away from the crawl space as possible.  The problem was that the sill was actually below the grade.

I had recently been to the granite quarries in Barre and had learned that I had access to an unlimited supply of granite shards from counter tops.  I decided to build a patio pitched so the water would run away from the house.  I back filled the area with about 10" of sand, tamped it down and laid the granite down.

I collected a variety of boulders from around the property and built a border. 

I ended up putting granite counter polished side down.  This made the surface less slippery.

I was amazed that I could find pieces this large.  Unfortunately I ended breaking them up in order to make it easier to arrange them.

To the left of Ewok (the dog) you can see the sand surface.

I filled the cracks with left over sand.  I've had some problems with the sand washing out.

I found a large flat cut granite slab, probably from a foundation in the neighborhood, that I used as a step.

 This spot is currently one of the nicest places on the property.