Yard and Outdoor Projects

This is what has honestly taken up the most of my time. And it was the one thing I really expected to put off until nest year. But the doghouse was really annoying, and the grading on the side of the house caused the basement to get wet, so something had to be done pronto. We got rid of the doghouse (that was a chore) by giving it to some people who agreed to come get it. Then we dug out the old window wells (I use the term "we" a bit loosely, I'd like to brag that it was really me that did most of the work...) and replaced them, re-graded the side yard, put window well covers on the wells, and lastly, dug a crude swale. The swale will need some fine-tuning to make it look "pretty," but I figure that can wait until we delve into re-landscaping the front yard. There's a "hump" that needs to be graded down and I plan on removing a lot of the landscaped area in favor of more grass.

In the backyard I laid a paver slab for the shed we bought and are in the process of assembling. However, there's still tons to be done in the way of landscaping in the backyard, including moving the pond, possibly creating a secondary pond/waterfall, removing the rest of the internal fencing, removing the bark areas and making them grass, and general landscaping to make it look a little less... trashy. I'd also like to make use of those stupid posts sticking up from the patio by coving the concrete portion of the patio with a "roof" and also removing the brick "patio" area - too many different materials! The fire pit is gone, and maybe next year we'll buy a metal 'pit' to set on the patio.

The backyard at the inspection:

The Doghouse Project

People did not believe me when I told them about this doghouse. Seriously, it stood a good 8 feet tall. It was enormous, and tacky. We think it might have been a child's playhouse at one time? But I have no idea. It was heated, and had lights... inside and out...

The interior...

How the dogs got in and out (a fun slide!)...

I didn't get any pictures of the removal of the doghouse, but it took a whole afternoon, a bunch of people, and was NOT fun.

The doghouse is GONE! Yay! Yes, those are the stupid posts. Yes, the previous owners left the lights. They LOVED those little christmas lights - they were ALL OVER the place!

We also have to dig out the fencing around the doghouse... it's... partially done... There were FOUR layers of difference fencing material, each having to be snipped off. Here are pics of one of the posts being removed. It was encased in THREE levels of concrete... I ended up just sawing it off a foot below grade.

The Shed Project

Well, since there was no good way to get stuff from the garage to the backyard (either we'd have to try to work it out around the cars through the garage door or run it through the family room!) we needed a shed. I don't think this will be our 'forever' shed, but it'll do for now. It was cheap, and it works. Eventually I'd like a nice big wooden one in the back corner of the yard... But that's a ways down the line, well below a lot of other things I need to spend money on first!

This is the slab I loving laid for the shed we're working on. Yes, I know the materials don't match, but it's vaguely level and I didn't have to buy anything but 300 pounds of sand to complete it - the rest of this was already cluttering up our backyard. So I was recycling, too!

I've since added some planting at the base, but it looks like crap right now, so no picture!

The Side Yard and Flood Control Project

First big rain and... our basement got wet. The window wells filled up, the downspout disconnected, and there was water, water, everywehere (luckily it's just a concrete floor, so not much damage, really, other than some unfortunate paperwork that was left lying on the ground) First, let's look at teh problem pics (sorry, they are large so you can read the writing...)

The solution - a multi-part approach. We had to replace the window wells (they were actually two latered pieces of window well), put gravel drainage in the botton, put on covers, re-grade the planting area and re-route the downspout. This was enough to keep the basement from flooding during the lighter rains (relatively speaking), but we had a giant lake that would form if it rained for a long time, and so we had to grade a swale in (we're going to re-grade the whole area when we do the front planting area, so the grading is crude right now, I admit). Of course, we realized we had a swamp (insert obligatory Monty Python Swamp Castle reference here) at 2 am one stormy morning and we went out there and chunked up the yard. I sank - I kid you not - up to me KNEES in mud in the freshly dug areas. It was lovely...

And the crowning (sort of) touch - the rock border, bark, and plantings. The rose bushes need to be trimmed and the area around the air conditioner needs to be weeded, but... honestly, it looks better in person! I also still need a down spout diverter for my rain barrel. I'm also thinging about changing out three of the rose bushesto match the one next to the fence. It's the one most like we wanted - the others SAID they were shrub roses, but... not so much.

The Pond

We did like the pond - at least the idea of one - when we bought the house. But then the pump thing went all gafarb-y and, well, we devised all of these grand plans... which we are working on, really!

Misc Yard Pics