Backyard Redo: Before & After

When I moved into my little house, I liked(ish) the backyard, but it needed work. First, the balcony: For some reason, the previous owners thought it smart to put tile over plywood. Plywood gives, tile does not... well, it is not supposed to, so it cracks. Cracks lead to water leaking and... well, you get the picture.

We had to be careful walking along the balcony due to dry rot. In fact, it got to the point where I would tell people not to walk past the table as was unsure of the ability of the plywood to not give way. The table originally was a bit farther down... slowly it moved to closer and closer to the door.

I liked our outdoor furniture, but Fred was not a fan. I got the set from my parents when they died, because nobody else wanted it. My parents got the set from my great-aunt when she died, because it was free. I always thought it was kind of groovy in that Mid-Century Modern Sunset Magazine-ish "outdoors is indoors/indoors is outdoors" sort of way.

They looked good and were comfortable... but not really comfortable, if you know what I mean. (i.e. fine to just sit on, but never a desire to lounge...) 

And then there was the effing bougainvillea. Pretty when it was blooming, but otherwise it just created a mess. However, it was also acting as the primary support for the canopy. I was told when I moved in that the whole thing needed to be replaced, so I managed to get three seasons out of it, but it was time to go. I also hated all the shrubbery in the backyard.

There was one advantage to all those crappy, out-of-control plants...

They hid my neighbor's crumbling garage which butts right up to my backyard. 

As luck would have it, one day I was perusing the internet when I saw a picture one of my outdoor chairs. Well, I saw that it was being auctioned for a lot of money. A. Lot. Of. Money. Turns out my hand-me-down furniture was a mid-century-modern find! 

Quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle" they were stacked up, packed up, and up for auction! 

One word for the settee: Ca-CHING! Sorry to see them go for sentimental reasons, but they pretty much paid for the new backyard! 

Soon after, Hector and his team came in and started tearing the place up. FIVE big truckloads of materials were removed. That, in and of itself, was worth the cost. 

This was a happy day. Bye bougainvillea!

This day was even happier! 

As a cost saving measure, I originally decided to keep the original railings for the balcony. I was not a fan of the glass, but it was okay. The main thing was the flooring. I could live with the railings. 

Demolition continued and I was happy with the progress...

Then this happened: They dropped one of the glass panels. Now I knew that it was going to be hard to find the replacement and since I already was not completely happy with the railing, I decided that we would just go with a new railing. Best. Decision. 

While they were at it, I had them remove the awning over the balcony door. It was also not great: plastic corrugated panels that were painted to match the house. Whenever there was a wind (and I am on a hill, so there was always a breeze), it would rattle. You can sort of see the awning in this pic.

The awful awning... 

As of late last week, a little over a month after they started, the lawn was in, the deck and balcony stained and my final check was written. 

We are still working on some lighting ideas, but I am pleased with the results. 

We also now have a BBQ area! 

The balcony feels much bigger than it was before. We have a table and chair set that we are going to put out here, but they need to be power-washed and painted. You can also see a spot on the wall where the paint has bubbled and will soon be peeling... Painting was part of the ten-year plan, but is being moved up.

On Saturday morning, an hour earlier than expected, the furniture we ordered was delivered! It is extremely comfortable and we really like it.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do to disguise the garage next door. Maybe I will train their ivy to cover it all! 

I need more closeups on the furniture! The brand is Classic Teak. It is solid and soooo comfortable. 

This was my view Saturday night as I was enjoying a smart cocktail while watering the lawn.

J'acuzz

The husband wants a hot tub. Actually, he wants a pool, but will settle for a Jacuzzi...

A few years back, I was at a home improvement show and they had these really cool "portable" hot tubs. I can't remember the price, but they were pretty inexpensive. They were filled with air and were supposed to be light enough to put on a deck and they were "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

Thinking back on it, I realize that last line was B.S. as NOTHING is ever "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

The subject of hot tubs came up again with some friends recently and few days later, I got a text from a friend: "Amazon is having a sale on hot tubs!" Amazon sells hot tubs?

Low and behold, they do! Those portable ones! Definitely NOT recommended for decks and apartments.

The best part was that the Coleman was on sale for less than $300!  With FREE SHIPPING to boot!

The Husband is happy!

I'm happy!

We've sat in it about three times in the last five days. It really is quite relaxing. It works well, and if we keep using it on a regular basis, we can think about upgrading to a more permanent tub. Perfect for two, three is fine, four is manageable--but not great, beyond that: no. Just no. 

I've been on an anti-Coleman rant for a while, but this gets me back on the Coleman train again... we'll see how well it does over the next year.

Let me know if you have a brand you like (or dislike). 

Have a great weekend! 

Spring Flowers

We did a little gardening a few weeks back and I thought I would share. 

First some flowers for the front porch... I love those little pots!


The Husband Rearranged the furniture: SO much better!


The Husband filled every pot we had with flowers.


Here's my Instagram "filtered until near death" image of the back.
We had dinner out there with my sister and it was perfect for cocktails and dinner!

Happy Summer!

Potting Table

I didn't take a lot of pictures during the process for this... D'Oh!

I had a computer desk I had long since stopped using and had put to use in my garage as a quasi-workbench. Once I got my workbench built, the desk went outside as a quasi-potting bench.

From the "Workbench in the Garage" era.

I remember my parents' old potting bench in their backyard, assembled by my grandfather from found materials. It was battered and old... but really neat. 

I decided to create something similar from found materials. A few 2x4s, a couple of extra composite boards, a nail gun, a few pocket holes, and a whole lotta barnyard paint later: a potting table was born! The nice thing is that I can use the former slide out keyboard drawer to hold tools!

I learned a few things from this project:
1) don't improvise and
2) slow down when painting, otherwise it will go everywhere.

It's not going to hold much, but it's form over function for this...

Meanwhile, The Husband made a bird house! 

Still under construction in this pic, it's pretty adorable.

More! More! More!

I decided I needed to add some shelves for storage to my workbench. I like having everything in reach. I removed the peg boards that held all my tools (it bugs me that every time I touch them, the pins pull up and fall off.  However, when I started removing the pins, THAT'S when they wouldn't come out!)  I got to use my trusty Ryobi tools (love them SO much! I even bought two more batteries, because I need extras for no other reason than I like having extras).

The shelf was pretty straight-forward, but my math skills were put to the test for the braces. Angles... why did it have to be angles?!  So much trial and error... mostly error. Also, I used my Kreg jig for the cross-supports, but the Kreg bit is really long and there was not enough space to drill the screws in properly. It's too bad they don't have a half-length bit. I ended up adding a bunch of extra screws for support. 

The white bins with the blue above were leftover from a project inside the house. I used them in the closet in the guest bath but replaced them with sliding shelves. I don't think I'll keep these here, either. The bins need to be covered (SO much dust) and transparent so I can see what the heck is in there.

Note the transparent bins below. I need more of those.

It's slowly looking a bit neater. I got all my Ryobi tools hung up. I bought these really cool hooks, but the screws they came with were disgustingly cheap. I sheared off the heads of them three times. 

The black bar on the table top is an LED light fixture which I will install at a later day (tomorrow?), I was tired... 

On a weird note: my circular saw is not doing well. It's not cutting. It's not smooth when I turn it on, often sounding like it's grinding. I'd be surprised if it's under warranty... or if I could find any of the original purchase information from Home Depot, so I may have to chuck it and buy a new one. They aren't super expensive, but it feels like such a waste. I can't seem to find anything online that tells me what the problem could be. That's tonight's project... 

Workbench Part Deux (Part Two!)

Previously...

It's done! I finished on Sunday. I made one stupid error: I didn't line up the support post to ensure that the side supports were true to the wall, so it's slightly off. So the board on top doesn't line up quite right. If you look closely, you can tell. I'm not that worried. It's level! That was my concern, because the floor isn't. 

I'm pretty happy with the added storage. I have a bunch of paint cans that I need to find a nice cool place to store them, so this will help. 

I bought those black bins at Home Depot and they fit pretty well. I know that OSH has a lot of different sized bins and that will add a lot more storage. 

Project #2 complete. Lessons learned: measure again and again and again!

Why Have One Workbench When You Can Have Two?

So the corner in the back of my garage is kind sad. I put up some pegboard and thought that meant I was organized. But the cruddy table I was using wasn't doing it and the new workbench I made (which I LOVE) was not the best place to build certain items because the garage itself is not level.*

I did not have plans, I decided to "wing it". An idea I do not recommend. I measured 20" from the floor so I could slide my shop vac under, but set the top of the bottom shelf at 20"... dumb. It wasn't until I was sweeping up tonight that I realized what I'd done. We really do learn from our mistakes!

It's been raining a lot lately and the wood was wet. I've had it drying in the garage for about four days, but it's still not dry. My circular saw did not like cutting through it. I made it work. The support posts were a bitch to cut, but I think they give it a very sturdy look. There are so many screws in that thing (I love overkill!).

My Kreg Jig worked flawlessly--I love that bad boy! And all my Ryobi tools were perfect!

The red carpeting is from my camping days.**  I used it to kneel on so I didn't destroy my knees any more than they already are.

It's level and that was my biggest concern. I did a little more work after these pictures, with the cross supports

The tops of the shelving go in tomorrow. The big problem will be cutting the wood around all the posts. Now that will involve some very careful planning...

*The structure is level, just the foundation sunk--I'm on a hill and the garage is at the bottom. When the house was remodeled, they also took care of the garage. I'd say it's about 70% new materials, with true walls and a level roof... it's the floor that's been a bother.

**More like glamping: The group I camped with had a full outdoor kitchen (with steam tables, and a butane powered oven), as well as a full bar! We used to feed over 100 guys breakfast and dinne! Since I needed power for my CPAP, I had an Aerobed and an electric blanket. I was also in a 10-man tent for just myself... I had a sitting area AND a dressing area near my sleeping area. We did camping right! 

Click HERE to see how it turned out!