Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Completed Patio and Ornament Tree

We now have a couple of projects under our belt, well almost. Still have a bit of cleanup to do along the edges of the patio but here it is finished.

Gary finished the patio while I was working at ArtWorks on Monday. He didn't remember I wanted to add some pottery shards to the mortar so it will have to be as it is. I plan to make a totem as an accent near the door.

Here's my diy ornament tree. The cost was really under ten dollars since I had the base plywood. (Plywood from my lavender farm sign in California). For the holes drilled for the dowels we used a 27/64 drill bit and honed it out just a little and then hammered in the dowels with a rubber mallet which makes the dowels fit snugly. The half inch drill bit recommended by the site is really too large.

I also made the base 16 inches instead of 8 inches. We added additional supports around the base to make it more secure; that way we could add additional screws from the topside down rather than rely on one screw holding the base to the center. I still have to paint the tree but wanted to let you know about the drill bit and base sizes in case you decide to make the tree. I'll also use a cloth around the base to spruce it up. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

10 comments:

  1. The stone work is lovely! What a nice change.

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  2. I think the patio and the tree look great.

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  3. Patio is beautiful! Want to come do mine! HA! I like your tree as well. What color are you going to paint/stain it?

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  4. Hi Joanne, thanks, it turned our really nice and the stone has a bit of roughness to it so if it's icy it will be better to walk on.

    Hi Lori, thanks, now maybe I can get to glazing.

    Hi Pam, thanks, I think I am going to paint it a brown color so I can use it any time of year and it goes with my flip up shelves for my pottery booth.

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  5. Love the patio - and am looking forward to seeing the ornament tree 'fully loaded'.

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  6. Hi Sue, thanks, I just painted the ornament tree, so stay tuned.

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  7. Your husband did a nice job...the patio is lovely and I look forward to seeing your ornament tree.
    Tis the season...:)

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  8. that ornament tree looks very useful and could be used for jewellery too. Looking forward to seeing your totem.

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  9. Hi Dee, thanks, yes the patio is getting better every day as he is continuing to wash it to remove the excess sand and mortar.

    Hi Anna, thanks, you know I was just thinking I can make a similar tree with only dowels facing in one direction for a hanging pendant display, glad you mentioned this because it got me thinking about the pendants.

    Hi Barbara, thanks, we're thinking we make make a small entrance step to our stairs with stone instead of the square concrete steps we have there now.

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I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment