After getting the block down, you must go over it with a plate tamper, the same one I used to pack the 3/4 minus gravel earlier. I’ve heard different ways it should be done, like spread the sand over it first then tamp it, or even leave it thick over the block while going over it with the tamper. I opted to use the method I read in the booklet that the manufacturer of our block put out… (click thumbs)

First, I tamped the block before sweeping the sand into the cracks. I went around and back and forth several times. They suggest this so the sand will fill the cracks from the bottom up. Perhaps if you fill the cracks with sand prior to tamping it won’t come up as far from the bottom?

Then I swept the sand into the cracks real good, first at 90 deg. to the cracks, then at 45 deg. angles to the cracks, then I went over it with the tamper again as before, making several passes in both directions.

Here is the brick path between the garden and patio, we did the tamping the same way.

Here is the finished patio! We are very pleased with how it turned out.

Here is a little old window we found at Morrow’s antiques and Nick knacks we placed on the back of the shed. Cheryl did a “reverse painting” of her cat Tucker peering out on the panes of glass.

This is a fountain we found at Lowe’s. We looked all over and this was the nicest looking one for under $300 we could find. It’s fully contained for the most part, just add water!

This concludes the block patio project. We are still not done though with the back yard. We need the new deck over the old existing patio and the pathway between the two, plus misc. landscaping.