Mike and Barb's Backyard

Best shot of Patio in Progress

2008-05-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Not finished yet, but getting closer. Sunday afternoon we built the landing, finished the walkway edge past the landing and semigraded the slope of dirt (soon-to-be-flower-bed) between octogonal deck and landing. We also put in a nice 6X6 timber to help frame out the newBarb was a mason for the first time, laying the second course of cement block retaining wall. We have ideas to finish off the landscape of that new flower bed.

New landing to upper deck

2008-05-05T17:01:00.001-07:00

Standing on the rectangular patio - the walkway to landing to the upper deck. The next shot like this one, you'll see the finished new flower bed to the left. The pathway will continue on the right to the firepit.

The new landing

2008-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

You can't see much of either deck, but a good shot of the landing and the newly planted small flower garden (3 hostas and impatients for color)

Camara rose getting bigger

2008-04-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Camara rose that Matt and Nicole got me (Barb) for Mother's Day last year handled the winter just fine all snug under a mound of leaves and a plastic flower pot. It's got lots of new growth and you can tell it is excited to bloom again this season.

Before-old siding and new deck spot

2008-04-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of the back of the house. The old brown siding is ugly, and you see the space where the old shed stood. This is the spot for the first new floating deck.

Mike, Matt and Nicole (sort of)

2008-04-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

We built the 1st of two floating decks using the Dek-block system. Perfect for do-it-yourselfers. Matt and Nicole spent the weekend. We had just started on the walkways and Matt helped to layout some large paver stone. I was taking pics of how the stone were set because we had to remove them and re-lay. In snapping this shot of the stone, I almost got the 3 of them completely in the pic.

Octagon Deck hole-working on deck floor

2008-04-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Almost finished screwing down the deck boards on the 2nd floating deck. For this one we dug down quite a bit due to the grade of the yard. We only wanted a one step-up landing instead of two steps. Typically, when building these Dek-Block type decks you don't have to dig much at all. But we moved a LOT of dirt. We are reinforcing part of the grade with standard cement blocks. once this deck is completed, we'll add a second course of cement blocks to retain the natural grade. WOW, did we move dirt. We're almost done!

Oct

From middle gardens to new decks

2008-04-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a look from the middle flower gardens back to the new decks and walkway

2 decks and walkway

2008-04-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

A wider shot of the two decks and walkway. In the background you see the grill and the chiminea (covered in green). This area in front of the octogon deck will be the new home of our firepit.

2decks

2008-04-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

Here are the two decks. Due to forecasted rain, we covered the graded dirt because we haven't put in the second course of cement blocks yet. Also, you still see a patch of grass between the walkway and the octogon deck. This is where the one step-up landing will be built to adjoin the octogon. Also, on 3 of the sides near the 3 trees you see we will build Michael's outdoor kitchen. We hope to start that in June.

Michael on the finished Octogon Deck

2008-04-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here's Mike on the newst deck. To his left (your right) will be the outdoor kitchen. In front of him, you'll step down to the firepit area. Were almost done! :) With each wheelbarrow full of dirt, or next dek-block, or next deck board, Mike would encourage me saying, "We're almost done". We really do enjoy these projects.

Hockanum River beyond gardens and woods

2008-04-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the back door, past the gardens, through the woods to the Hockanum River. If you look closely, you can see our green bench where we sit to overlook the river.

End of April-blooming bleeding hearts and archangel

2008-04-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Both bleeding heart plants and the archangel are blooming already this last week of April. (click on all of these pictures to enlarge them. Then use the back arrow to go back to the blog posts.)

Shed with star (Christmas gift from Curt)

2008-04-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

One more shot of the shed we built last year. Curt gave us the star for a Christmas gift and it looks great!

Almost done!

2007-08-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

Needs a little more paint, a ramp and a few pieces of trim, but here it is. Seems like it took twice as much work and twice as much money in materials as we thought. That seems to be true of any worth while project whether at work at home. All in all it was fun and rewarding. The lawn mower and other tools should be safe for many winters to come.

Weekend 2 Day 2

2007-08-14T19:00:00.001-07:00

It is now starting to look like a shed. Some of the siding is up, the windows are in and it might even protect the ladder and building supplies from the weather, but still a lot more work ahead.

Cosmos

2007-08-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

These Cosmos are over 5 feet tall. Think twice before you use MiracleGro Twice as Big fertilizer.

The Dahlias

2007-08-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

Here is a close up of the Dahlias in the center garden.

Panoramic view of the gardens

2007-08-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

Here is a view of both the center garden and the wildflower garden near the woods.

Our pond

2007-08-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

The sun shining on the fountain and surrounding plants makes for a nice picture, but it is a hot day for shed building. Wish the pond was deep enough for a quick cooling dip.

One big Oriental Lily

2007-08-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is several Oriental Lilies that formed a single plant. Our neighbor across the street said she could smell the sweet aroma at her house.

Patiently waiting for all the pics to be taken

2007-08-14T18:23:00.001-07:00

Mike is one tired shed builder wondering when Barb the picture taker will finish playing with the new toy so more shed building can be done.

New Camera

2007-08-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

This is about the time that our old camera broke so we combined a trip to Lowes for more building materials with a side trip to Circuit City for a new camera. There was little progress made on the shed until Barb (the picture nut) played with her new toy. This is a view of the center flower garden.

Weekend 2 - Day 1

2007-08-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Solid deck, framed walls, support roof beam etc for roof and now shingles. We developed an appreciation for skilled roofers.

It's a start

2007-07-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

We're smart, talented people with a garage full of fun tools, plus tips and tricks to be found on the internet. We CAN build our own garden shed.

Ya think we need a new shed?

2007-07-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Previous owner built this "sort of" attached shed. Quite apparent that it now lacks the "attached" section. One good snow storm this winter and our lawn mower and other assorted tools would be toast.