The Great Yard Project

Six months ago, I decided it was time to redo the front yard. Pluck out the overgrown shrubs, get rid of the uninviting rod-iron fence, and reorient the front porch to be accessible from the street. I knew it would be a big undertaking, but Scott had the track hoe and so last May we ripped out the side steps and cut a hole in the retaining wall so that we could build new stairs from the sidewalk to the porch.





Oh and while you're here, could you tear out my back yard, too? Sanks!



OK so now I have a big hole in the wall with dirt for about 3 months while I shop around for someone to pour me some concrete steps. I learned three things during this process. (1) Conrete ain't cheap, and (2) you get what you pay for, and (3) I probably should have spent even more to do it right. In addition to forming a new stairway, we extended the porch by 6 feet on either side, but it was a hot 4th of July weekend, and the way they set the concrete, the top layer had a tendency to crack and flake off. I made them redo most of the cracking surfaces, but after a while I just decided I'd withhold the final payment and get someone more professional to fix anything that needed fixing later.






OK. So now I need some good craftsmen to help build some columns around the new stairway, and resurface the wall for a finished look. While I'm hiring out for that, I decide that the driveway is just too ugly and wouldn't pavers look much nicer?? Besides, I need more parking space to double as entertaining patio space in the back yard. So there goes the rest of my home equity loan.







So here's the status of our yard as of October 8. Hoping to have much more completed by Halloween. We'll see!