The Project that Never Ends

Yes, it goes on and on my friends.

But we completed one more step in the patio project that has been going on for almost two years now.

It was two years ago that we started ripping out our rotting deck.  It started with the hair-brained idea that we would repair our deck enough to have a high school graduation party for Chelsea **class of 2010** in our back yard. Instead we ended up tackling a much bigger project and having a party at a nearby park (and it was fabulous, I might add.) A more realistic goal should have been Sam’s graduation **class of 2012**. 

I've  been blogging about our project along the way  here.

After ripping out a deck, repairing rot along the house, cutting down some very tall trees, re-grading part of the back yard, and laying our patio, we are ready for the final phase.

With the help of one amazing landscape artist, we were able to get a plan on paper this winter. And today we started the final phase.

We created a path that will sit in the midst of the garden area along our house and patio.

If Dave and I can manage of get out of bed tomorrow, this weekend will be a success.

In April we'll be on to the next phase ... planting! It’s going to look fantastic!

Project Patio COMPLETE

And after almost a year, here’s another patio update (for those of you who ask me on occasion.)

The last time I blogged about our project was in December 2010.

Well, yesterday for my birthday, we made significant progress. And now we have our new patio!

Here are some shots of the day.

It was a guy project, including the boyfriend….

Although one girl did help… sort of.

And here it is!

Next step…. landscaping a natural area. Since we’re in the heat of summer, that will have to wait a couple of months.

Project Patio Update

It’s high time for a patio project update.
 No, we’re not finished. It’s amazing how life can get in the way of a do-it-yourself project. Especially if you let it.

Despite my lack of an update, progress has been made. In August we had ten trees taken out of our front and backyard. While it doesn’t even put a dent in the amount of tree-age on our property, it does allow a little more space for our plan. And it allows for a little more health for some of our trees.

In September we dealt with the damaged siding on our house from the old deck and rot that was uncovered behind the deck.

 In November we had our back yard re-graded, raising the grade near the house and improving drainage while preparing a space for our patio and landscaping.

 In the process of removing the trees, and raising the grade, our dog discovered that it is all the easier to hop over our fence whenever she gets a dog’s itch to roam the neighborhood. I will disclose that our dog has always had a Houdini-like gift of getting out of any area she wants, including our fenced-in yard. Usually it's only when she gets fed up with being treated like a dog and not a human. But this past couple of weeks she has been asking to go out much more frequently, only for us, or our neighbors, to find her gallivanting around bringing traffic to a screeching halt…

 So the project today was to plant a pointy, pokey shrub at the sweet spot where she jumps. It will be much more effective when it gets a little taller and wider, but it’s a start. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

Next step for the patio project… a new back door, storm door, and back stoop. The posts holes for the stoop are already dug.

Project Patio

We have a project underway at our house. We’ve reached the point of no return, so I thought it would be fun to blog about our progress.

When we bought this house 4 years ago, it had a wood deck in the back yard. The deck wasn’t in great shape, and we knew it would need some work in the near future.

Well, the future is here. And instead of “repairing” the deck, we decided to remove it and start over from scratch.

Our plan is to give a more landscaped, yet still natural, look to the back of our house.

So after much sweat and hard work on the part of the boys in our house, the deck is gone.

And anytime you remove something from a house, especially one as old as its owners, you never know what’s waiting for you behind or underneath.

What did we find? Well, besides a little rot on the house, we found a concrete slab. About 4’ x 3’ and about 4” thick. I suggested we pay the “trash takers” who will come haul away our wood to demolish the slab and take it away. But Dave was determined to keep this project as low cost as possible.

So now we're ready for the trash-takers.

And we have our patio stones for the re-design.

But first we need a few trees removed. And we can’t do that on our own. Our trees are so tall you can’t see the tops of some of them. Like 80 – 90 feet tall.

So that’s the next step. Stay tuned for our progress....