This was the big one. The front of the house had a tired walkway, sloppy beds, and a slope that wanted to slide. I planned out new flagstone landings, stone retaining walls, and a stair run on paper before I ever lifted a stone. Then I sourced pallets of flagstone, granite block, and fieldstone, did the masonry myself, and tied it together with fresh mulch beds and a seeded transition into the lawn. Took most of a season.
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Before Front yard cleared of the old plantings — exposed the existing stone so I could see what I was working with.
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During Pulled the old walkway pavers and started shaping the new layout.
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During Green safety fence along the stone wall while we worked the slope above it.
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During Brick walkway swept clean — the red shovel was basically attached to my hand that month.
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During Big flagstone slabs laid out in the mud so I could pick the right ones for each spot.
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Before Pallet of flagstone and a pile of fieldstone staged. From here it was all hand work.
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During Cut into the bank beside the old concrete steps to set a new stone landing.
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During Quikrete, buckets, gloves, trowels — everything within reach before I started a course.
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During Wheelbarrow of flagstone heading up the drive. Each piece got hand-picked off the pallet.
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During Small planting pocket between the new stone steps and the foundation, prepped with fresh soil.
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During Sorted slate pieces and a fresh pile of fieldstone — patio repair section in progress.
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During Slate and block staged on the existing patio so I could dry-fit before mortaring.
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During Roll-off across the street for the demo material — fresh stumps and salvaged slate visible in the yard.
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During Marked up a planning shot right on the photo to lock in stair and wall locations.
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During My helper son making a stone figure on the hillside above the lake road.
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During What my helper son made — a dinosaur laid out in stones on fresh mulch.
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During Sakrete, bucket, and trowel ready for the next stretch of stone wall.
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During Granite block on the pallet beside a partially built wall. Heavy stone but it sets up clean.
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During Unloading bags of gravel onto the new wall site for backfill behind the stone.
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During Knee pads, gloves, trowel — me fixing the uneven sidewalk at home.
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During Beds mulched, stones placed, slate staged for the last piece of patio repair.
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During Stonework underway with mulched beds and log rounds set aside for splitting.
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After Front yard fresh-mulched with the stone walls and steps doing the heavy lifting visually.
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After Mulched slope below the cottage — the new retaining wall holds it all in place.
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After Seeded transition where the new beds meet the woods, strawed to keep seed in place.
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