Sealing the Basement Walls, and Backyard Fence Prep Day 2
Did I mention that we encountered some brick during the course of our work?
Posts Tagged "backyard"
Sealing the Basement Walls, and Backyard Fence Prep Day 1
We’re working with a company to handle the old fence removal and new fence installation. Though we’ve gotten more used to the idea of us doing most things ourselves… nearly everyone we’ve spoken with has recommended we hire someone to handle the actual fence installation.
Garden Box Construction, Part 11
“Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.”
Garden Box Construction, Part 10
Wow, we’ve hit the double digits now. Well… after a brief hiatus, Liz and I were finally able to head out in the backyard after work today. Though we had a full weekend, we felt we needed to get this moving again, and began work on filling the back garden box (which has sat, somewhat empty, since we got the drain tubes installed).
Garden Box Construction, Part 9
Stapling in the pond liner was easier this time (though it was a lot hotter, due to the sun). All in all, it was a really beautiful and warm day out – and pretty ideal, for what we were doing.
Garden Box Construction, Part 8
After work on Friday, Liz and I decided to take advantage of the nicer weather and put in a little time in on the garden box. I got a coffee on my way home (I needed a second wind), and we got to work doing what we could, in the bit of light before evening.
Garden Box Construction, Part 7
I was definitely nervous about getting the hole placement wrong. And doubly nervous about cutting into the pond liner. I wante to make sure the hole wasn’t too large, because otherwise… we’ve just punched a hole into a very large swath of very expensive material, and made ourselves a custom water leak.
Garden Box Construction, Part 6
Last night, we decided that we needed to focus on just getting one of the garden boxes set up – as Liz has a certain planting schedule she’s trying to keep. So while we’ve been working on two boxes, we shifted to just work on getting one fully up and running.
Garden Box Construction, Part 5
Once we were ready to take things outside, we were greeted with… a small snow shower. This would be a recurring thing on a very unusual day, weather-wise.
Garden Box Planning Mode
We’re using this set of instructions as our primary guide, taking some tips from this guy’s implementation. For the most part, we know what materials we needed… it was just finalizing the overall dimensions (which would inform how much wood we would need to get).
Scoping Out the Back Yard
We’ve done a lot to convert the space back here into an actual yard. And this spring, we’ll be hopefully making it into a space where we can spend more time – with one another, and with friends. We’ve done plenty of removing. Looking forward to adding more this year.
Busy Backyard
With all the sleet that fell earlier this week, coupled with a day or two of snow, most of Chicago is covered in a layer of white. I assumed most everything was solid, but it turns out… the snow still seems to be tracking the animals that walk through/across our backyard.
Fall Yardwork
Liz ended up sweeping out the leaves with a broom (she didn’t want to risk damaging her plants with a rake), and I ended up using two dustpans to transport everything from the ground to the bag. It turned out to be a pretty good workflow.
Unattended Lawn
The bag on my lawnmower is a small one, and gets filled rather quickly. On top of that, I didn’t have the foresight to re-adjust the height of the blade (which was set to a fairly low setting). What this meant was that I could manage maybe one pass of the yard (from the back porch to the wooden fence), and I’d have to stop and empty the thing out. It made for a kind of slow process.
Outdoor Coding
I’ve never really been a fan of laptops, as I’ve always loved the tactile feel of a Mac keyboard. My hands are used to the sensation, and the whole muscle memory of it all. Typing on a laptop feels weird and alien to me, and it just doesn’t feel right.