A back yard renovation

 

 

The construction was delayed. Then delayed again. That was after we ripped out the deck and were at the point of no return.

After years of dealing with mole holes, weeds, and chair legs that sank into the mud when someone tried to sit down, I was ready for a concrete pad, and thought I started the process plenty early to get it finished before Birdsong.  

Finally, weeks later than I had thought it would be, the digging began.

I was thrilled to get it started, but it was just a little more than a week before the party!  Thunderstorms were forecasted every single day. And now NONE of the yard was usable.

Luckily, the storms held off and in just a couple of days, the whole thing was done.

The guys we hired were just wonderful. Friendly, helpful, fast, and good at what they did.  Matt helped Sugarwings put her hand print in the wet cement.

Dewdrop was a little shy and wanted me to help her.

I did some imprinting in wet cement myself.

Once the guys were done, then our work began. 

AT&T and Directtv had moved the wires that used to be under the wooden deck. Those had to be cammofluaged with white paint.  While I was at it,  I scraped and repainted the walls from about 3' up, then went all the way around the whole house, scraping and touching up where needed. I've found that patchwork painting keeps the peeling under control and we can go much longer between paint jobs. 

We also needed a retaining wall to make a transition between the levels.

Not to mention all the landscaping and clean up that had to be done.  Plus the intire house needed a power wash to get all the concrete dust off, from where the guys had to use a saw to cut out old cement.