We rented a 14" electric dry brick saw, BX-3. It came with a 14" diamond C1 blade. The cost was $65 for 4 hours. The saw required a 20 amp service. It worked really well, but it was quite windy, and the dust went everywhere. We did the border first, installing the pavers vertically. Then we laid all the horizontal pavers that didn't need cutting first, so that we could minimize the time we needed to rent the saw. We had never done this before, but we are quite pleased with the results. We had intended to sweep sand into all the crevices, but I like the look of it without the sand, so the jury is still out on that. I'm sure it would be more stable with the sand, but not as aesthetically pleasing to me. We'll see.

I should be applying joint compound but I have never done this so I am hesitant . The grill is gas or charcoal? HUbby says he will never drip grease and he does. When we redid the patio in NJ I boxed in the gas grill with 1 and a quarter inch stone .PEa gravel gets kicked whereas the bigger stone laid placed. Husband hated the idea in laying the large stone where the gas grill was . There was no disruption to the pavers when I needed to replace the unit and no stones were ever kicked from around the grill. I added the stones cause I did not have the money to replace the grill . Do telephone "call before you dig" before even sketching a design. I did see the link . I think you have a very beautiful home with a nice sized yard. The patio will be a welcomed retreat. Think about your view from the deck. Most flowering plants need sun but hostas tolerate shade and give off a nice bloom . The hedges along the split rail have a border plant? Think about the entire yard not just the patio space. Think not as one looking in at the home but what you will view sitting. You do not need to spend a fortune. You can also do this in stages. Grass and plants absorb water................ will the pavers cause an irrigation issue. Will you lay the pavers up to the home? Will you have a garden and then the pavers. I bought a home where the previous owner used the garage wall to hold the topsoil. I removed the topsoil and installed colored stones and urns along this 18 foot section. I have a floral garden and herbs in some of the urns. I do not need to weed or mow this area. Just think about function and see what ideas you find on the internet. Houzz has great photos too. Have fun. Joint compound is calling me.

I have a finished concrete floor that i need to, uh, finish. its colored (charcoal) with davis color mixed right into the concrete if it matter. I guess the finishers burnt it and its nice and smooth for the most part. the concrete company recommended Bellatrix by WR Meadows ... i had purchased 10 gallons ($1000 worth or so) last fall but unfortunately i got caught in the middle of the Northern CA forrest fires last october and it all burnt. The company treated me like shit after that so i'm hesitant to give the more of my money. Surecrete has been awesome and recommended DK 400WB but they also recommended sanding my entire floor with 180-220grit sand paper first which just seems wrong. It's also almost $2k worth of product. My budget is tight after having to deal with the fires but i want a good product. I will be using their Surecrete XS-327 Polyurethane Sealer for my shower floor. Any recommendations for a sealer? also, whats the deal with them suggesting i sand it first? i've done the orbital scrubber to clean it and even using the green pads was too coarse and seemed to take away the smoothness and made the test area look like it was exposed aggregate kind of. the white pads were fine. i've talked to a few concrete finishers and they had never heard of that. Surecrete said if i dont sand it i should at least etch it.

Asking a contractor to match concrete is akin to calling in a baker and asking them to match the wedding cake, that you happen to have a sample of in your freezer from a couple of years ago. While they can get it close enough that everyone will agree that it's white and cake, there are going to be differences that the more discerning palates will undoubtedly notice. In your last picture, it looks to me like the contractor used a coarse broom finish, which is an extremely common finish. How rough it is depends a lot on the broom and the broom operator. There is no way to grind/"sand" this smooth without changing the character to yet another version of concrete that doesn't match your steps. If your contractor thinks there is, I suggest you'll be in for another surprise. (You had best get a sample of the end result before committing to the change.) Myself, I much prefer a ground finish over a broom finish. It's smooth and starts looking like low contrast terrazzo. (BTW, do not use an aggressive diamond blade for grinding or you'll be grinding it a second time in order to remove deep grooves. Grinding with carborundum stones would be all you need for smoothing. Also, keep in mind that it's not a 1-hour job. It would be more like a day of grinding ... so would cost extra.)