So I am PAINFULLY behind on my Project 24 blog posts . . . mostly due to beginning homeschool for a 1st grader but also in part due to a rather strenuous undertaking that we began in September. After almost 5 years in our own home, we finally were able to take out the hill that we planned on removing our first year here. We blame job changes and the arrival of twins for THAT particular delay. And as any "good" home improvement project goes, it took longer than expected and presented unanticipated issues. Of course.
Here is the hill just before we bought the house.
As you can see, it consumes half the width of the yard, excluding the sidewalk. We knew that we wanted to put in a wall to push back the yard and give us more room . . . and almost 5 years later, we got to begin that process!
The first obstacle was dealing with the city and building stuff, etc . . . I won't bore you with all of THAT, but suffice it to say, it was a lesson in futility.
Finally, we began! Here is the BEFORE picture from September 2013.
Then out came the mammoth rocks that lined the bottom of the hill (the ones that I dreaded my kidlets falling onto), to be distributed between two family members (it is AMAZING how much people want plain ol' rocks!). We brought in my dad's backhoe and began to dig . . .and dig . . . and dig. And we realized that instead of nice dirt, the hill was compacted clay -- what we "affectionately" began to call clay concrete. So we borrowed my uncle's jackhammer and continued to jackhammer and dig . . . jackhammer and dig . . . jackhammer and dig. The process that we hoped would take a weekend consumed a weekend, an extra day off on Monday and every evening that week. So pretty much like every other home improvement project.
FINALLY all the dirt was out, and we were ready to lay the footings and the first layer of blocks. With a few more recruits (my hubby and my father were the only two moving dirt, bless them!), we took a Saturday and got things started.
What then remained was the long, slow, tedious process of placing bricks and shoveling backfill, over and over and over again. This is the when I finally got in on the backyard project as more than support staff. I can seriously shovel when I put my mind to it. Remind me not to put my mind to it again for a very long time!
It took about another month to find the spare time to finish the stacking, but FINALLY "Phase 1" is done!
We aim to continue a shorter version along the side yard, and our next tax return is earmarked for top soil and sod. In the meantime, the kidlets get to enjoy a massive "sand box" for digging and a new climbing wall (please, Boy-Twin, not to the top!).
So what is the moral of the story? Architecture, even something as "simple" as a wall, is a time-consuming challenge, perhaps better left for professionals. Next time, eh?
EXTRA FUN!
Here is the hill just before we bought the house.
The first obstacle was dealing with the city and building stuff, etc . . . I won't bore you with all of THAT, but suffice it to say, it was a lesson in futility.
Finally, we began! Here is the BEFORE picture from September 2013.
Then out came the mammoth rocks that lined the bottom of the hill (the ones that I dreaded my kidlets falling onto), to be distributed between two family members (it is AMAZING how much people want plain ol' rocks!). We brought in my dad's backhoe and began to dig . . .and dig . . . and dig. And we realized that instead of nice dirt, the hill was compacted clay -- what we "affectionately" began to call clay concrete. So we borrowed my uncle's jackhammer and continued to jackhammer and dig . . . jackhammer and dig . . . jackhammer and dig. The process that we hoped would take a weekend consumed a weekend, an extra day off on Monday and every evening that week. So pretty much like every other home improvement project.
FINALLY all the dirt was out, and we were ready to lay the footings and the first layer of blocks. With a few more recruits (my hubby and my father were the only two moving dirt, bless them!), we took a Saturday and got things started.
What then remained was the long, slow, tedious process of placing bricks and shoveling backfill, over and over and over again. This is the when I finally got in on the backyard project as more than support staff. I can seriously shovel when I put my mind to it. Remind me not to put my mind to it again for a very long time!
It took about another month to find the spare time to finish the stacking, but FINALLY "Phase 1" is done!
So what is the moral of the story? Architecture, even something as "simple" as a wall, is a time-consuming challenge, perhaps better left for professionals. Next time, eh?
EXTRA FUN!
Clay "concrete."
My front-yard project with the rocks that I re-purposed from the dirt (a LOT of hauling!).
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