Backyard project guides
How to build it, how deep to dig and how much to buy. Every guide links to a planner that works out the numbers for your exact project.
Patios & pavers
- How to Build a Paver Patio, Step by Step
The whole job in order: layout, digging, base, sand, laying, cutting and joint sand, with the quantities worked out for a real patio.
- Paver Patio Base Depth: How Deep to Dig
How deep the gravel base should be for patios, walkways and driveways, how soil changes it, and how to work out your total dig depth.
- How Many Pavers Do I Need? (Patio Size Table)
Paver counts for common patio sizes in four popular paver sizes, how much extra to buy for cuts, and how to measure odd shapes.
- Paver Patterns: Running Bond, Herringbone, Basket Weave and Stack Bond
How the four classic paver patterns look, how strong they are under traffic, how many cuts they need and how many extra pavers to order.
Gravel & driveways
- Types of Gravel Explained: #57, Crusher Run, Pea Gravel and More
What each common landscape stone is, what it is good and bad at, and which one to use for bases, paths, driveways and drainage.
- How Much Gravel for a Shed Base? (Size Table)
Gravel for every common shed size, in tons, cubic yards and bags, plus how to build a gravel shed pad that stays level.
- Gravel Driveway Layers: Base, Middle and Top Stone
Why a lasting gravel driveway is built in layers, which stone goes in each, how deep, and how much a typical driveway needs.
- How Much Gravel Do I Need? Formula and Coverage Table
The simple volume formula, how far a ton or a cubic yard of gravel goes, and a table of tons for common areas and depths.
Concrete
- How to Pour a Concrete Patio Slab
Forms, base, reinforcement, the pour and finishing for a DIY concrete patio, with materials for a 10×12 slab worked out.
- How Many Bags of Concrete Do You Need? (40, 60 and 80 lb Tables)
Bag counts for common slab sizes and post holes in 40, 60 and 80 lb bags, and when to switch to a ready-mix truck.
- How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be? Patios, Pads and Driveways
Typical thicknesses for walkways, patios, shed pads and driveways, and how much more concrete a thicker slab takes.
- How to Set Fence Posts in Concrete: Hole Size and Bags per Post
How wide and deep to dig, why gravel goes in the bottom, and how many bags of concrete each post takes.
Retaining walls
- How to Build a Block Retaining Wall (Under 4 Feet)
Planning, trenching, the leveling pad, the buried course, drainage and caps for a small segmental block retaining wall.
- Retaining Wall Drainage: Gravel, Pipe and Fabric
Why water is the main enemy of retaining walls, and how drainage stone, a perforated pipe and fabric work together behind the wall.
- How Many Retaining Wall Blocks Do I Need?
Block and cap counts for common wall lengths and heights, including the buried course most people forget.
Garden beds, soil & mulch
- How Much Mulch Do You Need? Depth and Coverage Table
How deep to mulch, how far a bag or a cubic yard goes, and a coverage table for common bed sizes.
- Raised Bed Soil: How Much and What Mix
Soil volumes for common raised bed sizes, simple mixes that work, and whether to buy bags or bulk.
- How Much Topsoil Do I Need? Lawn and Garden Table
How deep to spread topsoil for lawns and beds, a cubic yard table for common areas, and why to order extra for settling.
Drainage
- How to Build a French Drain in Your Yard
Where to run it, how deep and how much slope, the right gravel, pipe and fabric, and the step-by-step build.
- How to Build a Dry Creek Bed for Drainage
Where a dry creek bed works, how to dig and line it, which rock to use, and how much river rock a typical bed needs.