Patio "Face Lift"

My Wife and I were tired of the old boring concrete slab in the backyard. We decided to do something about it. Here I will give you a step by step description of what we did to achieve this result. We learned a lot in the process, I will also annotate what we learned through trial and error and what I might do differently in the future. It was a fun project, and really did a lot to invoke more visual interest in the area. A detailed list of material is provided.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Trex-Select-16-ft-Saddle-Grooved-Composite-Deck-Board/1000709460 - we bought 22 boards. Only needed 20. This is a 126 sqft patio.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Trex-Universal-50-sq-ft-Coverage-Black-Clip-Hidden-Fasteners-94-Count/999910479 - we needed two boxes.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tapcon-75-Pack-2-1-4-in-x-1-4-in-Concrete-Anchors/3044509 - These are the Tapcons I wish we had available at my local Lowes when we began the project. I highly recommend the Philips head or Stardrive. With them I found there is no need to counter sink the heads.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Grip-Rite-PrimeGuard-Plus-8-x-1-5-8-in-Polymer-Deck-Screws-1-lb/1000118341 - we went with brown as it closely resembled the decking. But there are a multitude of colors available. We also had the 2.5 inch for a couple of spots.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Severe-Weather-Common-1-in-x-6-in-x-8-ft-Actual-0-75-in-x-5-5-in-x-8-ft-2-Treated-Lumber/4564826 - these are what we used as furring strips. We went with pressure treated wood. But if I had the budget for it, I would recommend these. - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Royal-Building-Products-Actual-1-in-x-3-5-in-x-10-ft-Common-Board-PVC-Board/50092326 - we have 14 furring strips in this project.

The tools used-

Drill/Concrete bits - if you have multiple drills, bring them. Will make life so much easier not having to change bits every few minutes throughout this process.

Miter Saw

Table Saw

Saw Horses

First step, lay the furring strips. For us we calculated that we wanted them every 13.25 inches. Except for on the ends, we have a pillar to work around so there are 4 strips on one end and two on the other. We planned for a "picture frame" boarder. This method allowed enough real-estate for our Trex decking to comfortably lay on. To aid with the layout we cut a block of wood to 13.25 inches and used that as a spacer between boards. We found it to be quicker than constant measurements.

Once we were done with the layout it was time to drill the concrete for the Tapcons. We marked each board where we wanted a Tapcon and then drilled a pilot hole through the board marking the concrete for drilling. Do yourself a favor and buy good concrete bits. Depending on the box of Tapcons you purchase they tend to come with a concrete bit to use. They are decent enough, but there are better out there, and it will make your life much easier.

We used three Tapcons per board. One on each end and one in the middle. Doing this again, I think I would have used at least 4. Just for piece of mind, like many people I'm overly critical of my work.

Once the holes were drilled and the corresponding board placed back in position we had no problem with the holes lining up and the Tapcons driving right in.

Next we started laying out the edges of our boarder. This is where the miter saw comes in. Everyone's patio will be different, in ours as you can see we have a pillar to work around which took some time to figure out. But ultimately you will be cutting 45 degree angles for sometime until you've framed in your deck.

What worked for us was to cut the decking you use for the frame to length first. Then miter the ends, making sure that the blade hit the corner of the board when making your 45 degree cut. I had plenty of practice pieces before cutting actual decking.

We only closed in 3 sides before we began laying the horizontal boards. In hindsight, you can probably close the entire deck in, before beginning Step 4.

This step is fairly simple. Just time consuming, if you've a back brace I recommend wearing it! Here we cut the remaining Trex boards to length and installed.

Installation involved a combination of the Trex Spacers as well as decking screws. The Trex Spacers were installed first. They were great in keeping a nice and consistent spacing between each of the horizontal slats. They fit in between the edge grooves of the decking and are secured with one pre installed screw.

Every furring strip got a spacer. It might not be necessary, but that is what we chose to do. It is also why we needed two boxes. Now there was no quick way of putting these down. Some slats we tried to install one at a time, in others we laid each of the spacers then drove the screw in. None of these methods were perfect and headache free. Sometimes the decking was not perfectly straight and the spacers would pull out while you installed on the opposite end or your decking would shift and they would drop free.

The decking screws were the primary method of securing the Trex decking to our furring strips. They were driven into the decking at an angle through the grooves at the edges of each board. To save time, and my back. Going down the line, we would alternate which furring strips would receive a decking screw.

On a side note, we were not lucky enough that we didn't have to rip one of the decking boards in half. This is were a good table saw and a few extra pairs of hands would be useful.

I would also note, that when cutting the decking. We would sometimes alter the length of the boards. This was meant to help keep a consistent spacing between the horizontal slats and the frame. For instance, when closer to the sliding glass door. We cut 165 inches, but the further out we got we might need 165 and 1/8th. This is entirely optional but we felt it helped.

Getting to do this with my Wife was a ton of fun. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to do it. She loves it and its holding up great. If you decide to build it, have fun with it, enjoy it! I'd love to hear and see what you did!