Hi ya'll

[Daddymem]

Well, it has been a long time.  Gone through a lot too.  Quick catchup. 

• Still have the second house but after draining us for a year we got a renter to at least break even.  Then renters up and left owing us money  Then we found a new renter, a friend I went to school with.  She's awesome and we are breaking about even on it.
• Got caught in the major layoff sweep at my office.  Found part time work which was good that I earned money instead of unemployment but he wanted to pay me as a contractor full time for less money and no benefits.  I hung on part time until I got a job working as a staff engineer for a town in the engineering division.  Under employed big time but getting by. Mommymem bringing in money here and there with odd jobs too.
• Added one more ankle biter, born just before I got laid off
• Beat colon cancer, 1 year this June.  Right hemi-colectomy makes me a semicolon  .  I have Lynch Syndrome which means all kinds of screening for the rest of my life.  Already found a polyp 6 months post surgery.

If further interested in our sap story, new blog: http://littlehouseonthesandpit.wordpress.com/

We're getting by.  Still working on the house here and there which brings me to why I am back.

We'd like an outdoor space.  Our yard is all sand and just not comfortable to sit out there with chair legs sinking in etc.  I think a patio is in order.  Found out that if we aren't attached to the house, no permit is needed.  Sounds like my kind of construction!  So now we are deciding what material to construct with.  Concrete pad or wooden platform on blocks (or other).  Looking for as inexpensive as possible, something DIY, and durable enough for three kids.  Any suggestions appreciated.

In addition, we'd like to fix one flaw in our FirstDay Cottage, the doors.  From inside to outside construction: 2x4, 1-by tongue and groove pine, 2" foam insulation, 1" foam insulation, strapping, 1-by shiplap.  The door frames are much narrower than the wall is thick.  Our doors are secure but how we have them installed does not make a screen door easily installed.  We were thinking of building a platform and enclosing that with screens and plexiglass panels and put a screen door on that.  We could open our door in the summer and let the breezes in.  It would also serve as a buffer in the winter.  We'd put a bench to sit and remove shoes so only has to be big enough for that and fumble for keys in inclement weather under cover.  Attachment of this to the house is our big question.  Strip down to the 1-by tongue and groove or some kind of gasket against the 1-by shiplap?  Any tips appreciated.  Plans even better! 

[glenn kangiser]

Hi Daddymem.  Nice to see you here.  Sounds like you have been busy with all sorts of things... good and not so good.  Hope things keep going better for you.  You are too young for all of that stuff to happen to.

On the patio thing....

Have you thought about sand set bricks or pavers?

You simply grade the ground smooth and compact, lay bricks or pavers on the ground in any pattern you like - straight, herringbone, etc.  You can put a frame around it with wood or simply use the bricks without a frame adding extra sand around the edges to keep them straight. Put sand over the top, rake or sweep it around and wash it in with a water hose.  It makes a patio that will last forever and does not need cement to keep it in place.

Also there is the light duty concrete floor - about 1/2 inch thick with jute reinforcement and troweled in colors on top.  Let me know if one of these interests you and I can supply more details if needed.  Tell Mommymem hi for us too.

[Daddymem]

Hi Glenn, long time no tal...erm...type. 

We've thought about patio blocks too but thought concrete or wood may be cheaper?  We're all sand here so no drainage or compaction issues and we are mostly flat where we want it so might not be a bad thing.  Just have to be sure to construct for frost heaves especially since it would be right up near where the roof drains off with no gutters.  I'd be interested in looking into them.

[glenn kangiser]

Even though I hadn't heard from you for a while, I was hoping you were all well.  Every so often things would remind me of you guys... like thinking how good it was that you didn't get that job in Pak.  Crimoney... you are young enough to be my son..... Your kids must be really growing now.

Still doing the Lasagna  garden?

Nice thing about the sand set  bricks is that they will not be damaged by frost heaves.  They may be rearranged but an annual readjustment should be the most that is required.  We have tree roots move them over the years but no damage because they are loose.  When we are tired of the bump we can pull out the uneven ones and reset them.

I was taught about this technique by a man from Guam when I was about ten years old.

We first put them in as driveway and patio in about 1985 or so at the other house.  They are still there and have had the car driven on them with no problem all of the time since then.

The sand will fix them in place just like cement will except that it can be dug loose with little problem.

The light duty concrete floor would sustain some damage from the freezing spalling the surface and cracking it a bit though it would follow the heaving and still be pretty decent.  You would not use the plunger piers in this case.  Just on the surface of the sand.  We have a little frost heave but nothing like you would have so I can't say for sure how well it would perform.

[glenn kangiser]

If you do concrete you need some way to keep water from getting under it to prevent frost heave.  I am not sure what is common in your area.... deep footing to keep it from under the slab?

[Alan Gage]

If you're sitting on sand I wouldn't think frost heaving would be much of an issue. It won't hold much water and shouldn't expand much when it freezes. Just what I've read.

Alan

[Daddymem]

Yeah, everything around here has 4 foot deep foundations or sunk poles because of frost heaves.  It only takes a little fines to trap enough water to cause problems.  That being said, plenty of flush patios on native soil have not heaved, it is just a question of risk.

On to the "breezeway" at the door.  Would the structure be best attached to the house stripped to the interior 1X material or is there some sort of gasket that could go against the exterior siding?