Month: July 2011

Dirt has moved. A four inch layer of finished compost and expanded shale have been added and tilled to a six inch depth in all planting beds. Then in the areas where clay pavers and stone paths will be laid down, the dirt has been tamped down. Next Wednesday is the planned day for the stone and brick installation. Only after this has been done, can we proceed with the final phase of regrading and steel edging placements.

I have received word that my lace chain link fabric is slated to arrive at my house on Monday. Maybe, just maybe, the landscape crew will be able to install it next week.

Are you as bored as I am from looking at these backyard update photos? For a change of venue expect a post that has nothing to do with hardscaping, landscaping, and gardening. Hopefully I’ll have it posted by late tomorrow, but first some staging and photography must occur.

A brief update. Yesterday, Monday, they poured the garage concrete pad for the second time. The forms will stay on until Wednesday morning, and hopefully, this will give the concrete ample time to cure and not stick to the forms during removal.

note: If you notice a little square of exposed dirt between the garage and the greenhouse, this was deliberately designed to help absorb the runoff during a rain storm and to avoid water draining into the greenhouse.

A tragedy unfolds. Not a real tragedy in terms of the world and humanity, but a tragedy that turned into a pain in the derrière for everyone involved. Especially me. It’s all been downright intrusive and isn’t over yet. There’s more to come tomorrow, day 11.

Day 8. The concrete was poured only after waiting for the mixer truck for three hours. Three hours AFTER the scheduled time. First was the pad in front of the garage and greenhouse, and the second and longest pour was the complicated tiered back steps which now look like some kind of wedding cake. I was instructed to not allow my dogs on them until later that night. We coped very well and went to bed thinking that progress had been made and all was right. WRONG!

NOTHING. Nil, zero, zilch, zip, nada, diddly-squat. After getting up at the crack of dawn to move my car out of the driveway to make room for the crew’s equipment, I discovered – after a phone call, of course – that this team works ten hour days four days a week. What a blessing for them, because Friday turned out to be the hottest day of the week with temperatures hovering around 105 degrees.

I will only post photos on the days that something actually happens, and Monday the irrigation crew will start their thing. Then we will have to wait until the concrete contractor is available to do his portion. We are at a standstill until then. It could be two days this week or three weeks from now, so I will not be holding my breath. I have asked the landscape crew not to tear out the old wooden deck until the concrete guy gives us a definite date and has actually shown up to build the forms.

It’s 102 degrees in the shade, and the guys are still here toiling away on the surface of the sun. To the right you can see that a ditch is being dug. It was determined yesterday that because of a low spot close to the southeast corner of my house, two existing downspouts would need to be connected to a sub-grade drain pipe that would run from this corner to the alley between the garage and neighbor’s fence. I know… you’re probably thinking that it would have been easier to raise the grade. This isn’t possible, because we are keeping the existing original concrete and brick paving. So there.

Elsewhere, you can see the steel edging outlining the different beds and paths. This is being done prior to amending and tilling the soil so that the irrigation crew can start their work.

Looks kind of hopeless. As I post this, the little shed you see to the right in the above photo is being dismantled, and that big pile of concrete is waiting to be loaded onto a dump truck that has yet to arrive. If you’re wondering what that white pickup truck and trailer are doing in the alley, all I can say is that I hope that Mary and John understand that furniture is either being moved in or out of their house.