We’re covered!

24 July, 2012 1 Comment

This past weekend we finally finished the roof on the back deck. It rocks! It took us a lot of time to get the deck reworked the way we wanted it, but it was worth it. We sat outside the other day and just enjoyed the evening slowly enveloping us. It was great.

We’re not necessarily fast workers, but we’re thorough. Here’s the progress of our humble respite.

Our Deck Before Remodel

Ugly, ugly, ugly. A huge eyesore! (Photo 1)

Not Move In Ready

When I first saw the deck I immediately decided I wanted the steps moved so that they were beside the deck instead of sticking out into usable ground. The other problem was that they put the steps on the corner away from the house, which meant there was an area that got no sun and wasn’t good for much of anything except catching all the bits and pieces of “treasures” my husband had for his various inventions! It was a catastrophe and was soon overgrown with weeds in amongst all his findings. Not only that the wood was very tired looking. It was only six years old when we moved in, but it had not been preserved or cleaned at all during that time. So the color of the wood was a dark grey and it looked very unappealing. Worst of all it was set so that it is in the blistering sun from around 8 in the morning until 5 or so in the evening. Meaning that it was unusable. We put an indoor/outdoor thermometer out there and the average summer temperature was over 110˚F!

Our deck was still an eyesore 5 years later!

Five years later it still looks pretty unappealing! (Photo 2)

Inside First

When we first moved in we didn’t really have time to spend outside as we were remodeling the inside of the house. We don’t have any outbuildings or a garage on our property, so we tried to put up a tarp over the deck so that we could cut the flooring and other outside and to keep down the sawdust. Photo 1 is of the deck after a big windstorm tore our tarp to shreds and left us with a 20th century looking sculpture in its place. As you can see we had a lot of stuff stored all around the deck, because at least under the deck provided a bit of protection. I also had all the plants I’d brought from the other property setting back there waiting for me to find them permanent homes.

At Long Last The Yard

Five long years later (Photo 2) you can see that not much has changed. We have picked up most of the mess and I’ve planted most of the plants, but it is still a very sad looking excuse for a deck and we still never use it. This is the first year we really did anything on the yard as we worked on the interior for the first three years, then spent two summers in India. Finally a summer to get some real gardens in.

Power washing made an amazing transformation.

Here’s the difference between before and after power washing. I want a power washer! (Photo 3)

Last summer we power washed the entire thing (Photo 3) and moved the stairs to their new location (Photo 4). It made a huge difference. The deck no longer looked so tired. Then I started to paint it. I only got that partially done, due to the fact that it kept raining and the wood would never dry out long enough for me to do much.

Commitment To Completion

This spring I begged my husband to work with me until the job was completed and I’m glad to say he did. I’ve always promised to be honest about our projects. This one took much longer than it really needed to. We only worked on it about a hour a day until we got ready to put up the rafters and put down the roofing. There’s so much to be done on the property that we felt that we couldn’t just give all our attention to the deck. So each day we would put up one board. Of course there were some days we couldn’t work on it at all, and some we spent a little more time, but it took us about 2 months to do what could have been done in one or two weekends if we’d really given it our all.

Moving the stairs made a huge difference.

Now the stairs are an asset and help to set off the herb garden that is at their base. (Photo 4)

We found some interesting things. First, they didn’t cut the railings the right length on one corner. That was the reason the railing on the other side was hanging by a thread. We cut the board properly and now it is much more secure. We had a lot of niggling to do to get everything together as the wood was old, had warped and often didn’t want us to screw something tight to it. We measured and remeasured and still made a 1/2” mistake on one corner, but you can’t tell. None of it was terribly hard, except getting my husband and I on the same book and page. We have very different styles of doing things and I finally had to just let go of my laid back, throw it together style, because he was going to draw perfectly scaled pictures before he cut one piece.

A Bit More To Go

The white really brightens up the deck.

Although the base of the deck still needs a lot of work, we now have a lovely place with lots of loving memories hung about it to spend our summer evenings. (Photo 5)

Of course it’s not completely done, as the first paint I bought was not very good (Valspar) and a good portion of it peeled off over the winter. So, we found another paint that has polyurethane in it (I didn’t win the battle for latex paint), and we’ll give that a try.

What you’re seeing in the after photos is about 75% complete, as the painting will take some time.

I’ve already dressed it up with all the gifts friends and family have given us over the years (Photo 5) and once the painting is done I’ll get the plants back on it. Hopefully within the next week, so we get a chance to enjoy it completely decked out (pun intended).

Share Your Handiwork

Have you ever reworked an eyesore on your property and been thrilled with the results? Share you story with all of us. I love to hear them.

Missing Out On Gardening Time

20 March, 2012 Reply

There’s nothing more aggravating than having an unreliable car. In today’s world a car is no longer a luxury. Gone are the corner grocery and drug stores. Now you have to drive 5-10 minutes to get to a super-grocery or department store. When your car repeatedly fails you, it can create tremendous amounts of stress and cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

Not only that it can cut into time you’d ordinarily have to enjoy yourself. Putting in new gardens, painting a room, designing the pond next to the entrance, etc., can be seriously hampered if you are repeatedly spending all your spare time at the repair shop.

Lemon Car

Not Again!!!???

So, what’s a person to do? You just bought the car of your dreams, but it has turned into a nightmare. You have been in the repair shop almost as much as you’ve been at work. Your boss is grumbling. Your kids are whining because you come late to pick them up, or worse you don’t get there at all. The final straw is when you have to leave a trailer full of hardscaping materials by the side of the road, because the car broke down and had to be towed again, and you go back and some of the stuff has been stolen.

That’s when you start thinking about your legal rights, and you have some. In every state there are “lemon” laws to protect consumers from cars that just don’t work correctly. In California Lemon law lawyers help consumers understand their rights and whether they have a claim. If it looks like there is justification for filing a claim they’ll be right there with you through the process, helping you through all the red tape. There are not only Lemon Law attorneys in California but every state, who will know if there are provisions for “certified pre-owned” used cars, as well as new. In some states you even get the same rights if you lease you car.

If you find that you’re spending more time at the garage than in your garden or workshop, then it might be time to give your local lemon law attorney a call.

Excitement Dimmed

2 February, 2012 Reply

Day before yesterday I finally made arrangements to get a load of clean fill dirt so that we can level the area for the greenhouse. He said if it didn’t rain he’d be able to deliver it on Friday. It rained buckets yesterday!

This is how it goes with people who work outdoors. When you make plans for something you need to allow for the fact that Mother Nature may not cooperate. Even during times of the year when you don’t usually have any problems, a freak storm could cause delays.

Whenever I do an outdoor project I try not to put a completion date on it. When I do, it seems that Mother Nature conspires to drive me crazy. We’ll have unusually cold or hot days, massive thunderstorms, winds that nearly blow you down. At least she’s never resorted to a tornado or flooding.

So, have alternative plans in place, just in case you can’t do the work you’ve planned. If it is too wet to work in the yard this weekend I’ll work on the video of completing my reading corner and window seat. If that doesn’t work, because right now I can’t find the zipper pulls I bought for the continuous zipper I’m putting in to get the cushion in and out, then I’ll find another project that is on my list to complete.

In this way you don’t have to see a whole weekend wasted because you can’t do what it is you were planning to do. There’s always something else in the hopper.

Also, if the work is being done professionally, cut them some slack if the weather isn’t cooperating. They can’t help it and they know that working under certain conditions will render your project less functional, whether it be that it won’t last as long, look as good, or work as well.

If you have a deadline, such as a garden wedding, outdoor barbeque, 4th or July celebration, etc., get the work completed way ahead of time, so that you aren’t serving those hotdogs while standing ankle deep in mud from all the construction mess.

I think one thing I will do, is start the seeds for my early spring crops, such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. They won’t need the green house for at least a week, maybe two until they’ve sprouted. Surely by then I’ll have the greenhouse up!

Finding The Right Address

30 December, 2011 Reply

We live in the country. Not way out there, but far enough out that at night it is quite dark. One of the biggest complaints we get when people are coming to visit, is that they can’t find the addresses on houses in the dark. I’ve been considering getting a new address plaque, one that is large enough that people can’t miss it. Online I found that they have what are called estate plaques. That may be just the thing I’m looking for.

House address plaques can actually be very important, should you ever need the assistance of an emergency crew. If the police, fire department, or EMS crew can’t find your house it can spell catastrophe. I’ve heard of emergency crews driving up and down a street to locate the house and wasting up to ten minutes, because the house was not properly marked. This could be the difference between a parched kitchen and the complete destruction of your house, or even life and death.

This ornate pansy plaque is just up my alley. It would really dress up our home.

I really like the address plaques that look like they might be used in the Victorian era with scrolls, filligree, or anything that makes it look artistic and antique is just up my alley. If you saw my furniture you’d know that the more ornate something is the better I like it.

It think that out here in the country address signs that are done in the reverse of books stand out better. Dark background with a light colored numbers seems to be much easier to read at night. However, if you live closer in, where there will be street lights to assist people looking for your home, then you can probably go with any color combination you want, or even all brass or silver.

Now that it’s the new year, it might be a good resolution to make sure your house is well marked for both visitors and emergency vehicles.

Elegant Pools And Ponds

24 December, 2011 Reply

This beautiful iridescent tile would certainly create a fairyland effect at night.

Now that the gardening season has come to a close for most of the United States, we can all start making plans for improvements for the coming season. Many of us may be considering a water feature for our yard. Pools and ponds are outdoor features that add a lot of value to your property, not to mention the enjoyment they bring.

There are a lot of different styles to choose from as well. You can go totally natural, to highly sophisticated, to renaissance elegance, creating just the mood you want.

On a home improvement show I saw an ornate glass tile scene added to the bottom of a newly installed in-ground pool. The owner’s house was two stories high and when you looked from the upper story you could see an ocean-like bottom complete with dolphins and whales, fish and anemones.

Not all of us desire, or can afford, to go that ornate. The addition of glass tiles around the border of either a pool or pond can add a more subtle touch of elegance. Add underwater lights and you have a sparkling fairyland at night. It really looks and feels magical.

Glass mosaic tilecan be used in other areas, as well. They can be added to an outdoor sink area, cooking areas, in the base of a fountain, even added to a brick or stucco wall with solar night lighting highlighting them. They can give you that extra touch of elegance you’re looking for.

For those wanting a more natural look, obviously buying a load of rocks and stones will work for a pond, but now they even have stone mosaic tiles for your pool! For a more sophisticated, modern look you might want to consider metallic mosaic tile. They would look great not only in a pool, but as a backsplash for a cook-out area.

So, during the snowy winter months, when your yard is asleep, you can be creating exciting new additions for the spring. You can get everything in order, including contractors and supplies, so that you can jump into it quickly and easily when the warm weather returns.

Grand Entry

10 November, 2011 Reply

Stone entries add beauty, are eco-friendly, and add value to your home.

So many of us who love plants have a keen eye for placement in the landscape, but often we forget the overall picture. When we step back and look all we see are foliage and flowers, but we neglect to see the hardscaping that could really set the plants off.

Stop for a minute and look at the entry to your house. Is the driveway or walk cracked? What about discoloring? Has the wooden porch rotted, or is in need of repair? You can have the most beautiful gardens and it can all go unnoticed if your visitors have to pick their way across uneven ground or hazards.

Many people will immediately think of having a concrete slab poured and be done with it. However, a much more ecological and beautiful approach is paving stone. Stone driveways and walkways allow rain to seep into the ground below causing much less runoff that can carry toxins into our local waterways.

Likewise, in some areas of the country a patio means a porch, and nothing else will do. However, high humidity means wooden porches and decks need constant repair and replacement. One way to get away from spending your summers in painter’s overalls is to install patio pavers. Once installed they’ll need little maintenance, other than a good hosing down once in awhile. This is also an eco-friendly choice, since you won’t be cutting down valuable forests, using toxic paints, and filling the landfills with rotted wood and concrete. They also percolate much of the rain beneath them, helping to keep you yard watered, rather than having all the rain run off.

Another eyesore is bare dirt. Maybe your yard has some areas that are in deep shade, or where the soil compacts to be like concrete and you’ve never been able to get grass to grow. Most gardeners feel installing artificial grass is a fate worse than death, but today’s artificial turf looks very real and could be the answer you’re looking for, to make that unsightly area look inviting. Also, if you have children or pets that are allergic to grass you no longer need to cover your yard in gravel or mulch, as the new eco-friendly artificial turf can look as natural as a well-tended lawn, without any of the hassles.

Last take a look at your yard after dark. Will visitors be able to see the house numbers? Is the walkway safe to navigate? Do you have any specimen plants you want to highlight with up-lighting. With proper landscape lighting installation you can not only have a safe entry to your home, but draw people’s eyes to nighttime attractions.

Look beyond the plants and paint the total picture of beauty in your yard.

A Different Sort Of Green

28 October, 2011 Reply

When people think of green in relation to gardening they usually think about foliage. Whether a plant is evergreen or deciduous. What is the color of the foliage? How will it complement or set off the plants around it? And so forth.

A beautiful sunny patio, making energy while you relax.

There is a different kind of green coming to our landscapes, green energy. Now when you think about landscaping your yard, you should also thing about how to use solar energy. I’m not talking about the little solar powered yard ornaments, either. Including solar in your design is only sensible if you live in a sunny climate. You could be heating your pool or greenhouse with solar; heating hot water for the house or even providing part, if not all, of your electrical needs. Because solar panels have certain requirements it is always a good idea to plan for them before you put any gardens in. It makes more work if you plant and then decide to go solar, only to find out that you’ve planted right where the panels need to go. There are new developments, though, where they are creating solar panels that let the light through, so that you can, in fact plant under them, but they are a fairly new technology and not applicable in all instances.

If you live in California photovoltaics should not be an option, but a requirement when planning your landscape design. With so much sun there it is easy to meet your needs in many areas. Residential Solar Power Orange County is very inviting right now, because there are rebates and tax credits still available. During the cooler winter months you can bring a little more sun into your life, in the form of energy saving PV electricity. It could be the best holiday gift ever, as it keeps giving back in the form of savings for years to come.

I Think I Must Be Part Fish

17 October, 2011 Reply

Every child should have a pool to play in.

Or at least as a kid I must have been. From the first day that the local community pool opened to the last day when it closed for the season, I would spend every possible waking hour swimming.

It started in the early morning with swim lesson or swim team, once I’d learn to swim well enough. Then it was home for breakfast. Yes, I was up swimming before breakfast, sometimes dragging my towel behind me with very sleepy eyes, but I loved it so much I didn’t care.

As soon as the pool opened for public swim I was back up there until lunchtime. Then the torturous wait of one hour after eating, since back then it was felt you’d get stomach cramps and die if you didn’t wait an hour. Then it was back up to spend the whole afternoon playing dolphins, Marco Polo, pretending to be mermaids, or seeing who could swim the farthest under the water.  Sometimes we would snitch the pool filters plastic leaf catchers and play games with them, then try to sneak them back in without getting caught.

Of course if we got tired of all that, then there was the low and high dives to jump off of. I’d go home every night, after swimming with the pool lights on, smelling like a chlorine bottle from the pool chemicals, but I didn’t care. It was pure bliss to me. Luckily the use of pool chemicals has gotten less smelly over the years.

Nowadays I see our neighbors with their yard-sized pools. I hear the screams of laughter and see pool toys bobbing around. It always takes me back to those wonderful summer swims. Every child should have a pool at their disposal. I think we’re all part fish at heart.

Designing Gardens

14 October, 2011 Reply

Anytime is a good time to design new gardens. Even in the dead of winter you can be deciding where to put a garden once the ground can be worked. In some parts of the country fall and winter are excellent times to prepare a bed. Then let it sit and “mellow” a little before planting it in the spring, especially if you need to add amendments to correct soil pH.

Let a sprinkler system do the work for you.

Nowadays, even in areas that get ample rain most of the time, putting in a drip irrigation system is being recommended. There are several reasons for this. First it uses less water, which conserves what we have, and costs less money for those on municipal systems. It gets the water to the plants and not the weed seeds, so there is less germination of unwanted weeds. That means less manual weeding, which is a plus for any gardener, as we’d all like to be planting, nurturing, and harvesting, rather than getting rid of unwanted plants.

You can give different amounts of water to plants in the same beds. That means a plant that needs a drier soil can be planted near one that needs more water. By using different emitters you can give one of them ½ gallon of water, another 1 gallon in the same time frame. Also, if you travel you can rest assured that your plants are getting the water they need, as long as you had the system in long enough to make sure all the plants are getting watered.  Just add an electronic timer to your system.

If you have a large lawn include lawn sprinklers in the design. Again this saves water and gets the job done without having to drag hoses and sprinklers all over.

When considering the irrigation supplies you’ll need, make sure you look at the add-ons and see if they’ll be useful. I spoke of electronic timers. This means that the gardens get watered on schedule and you don’t have to do a thing, except change the batteries as needed. There are also water gauges that can be added to some systems. If it rains enough that the plants don’t need any water it doesn’t turn on until they do. This can really save on overwatering during a rainy period.

Also, consider whether you need drippers for each plant, or if you an area that will need emitters that will water several plants at once. Larger shrubs and trees usually need their own dripper, but flower gardens can sometimes be watered with emitters that work like miniature sprinklers, with various patterns to make sure you cover the entire garden.

Speaking with someone who can guide you to buy just the system you need can really help, especially if you’re looking to do a combination of different types of plantings. That way you’ll know that your investment of both time and money will be well taken care of.

My New Favorite “Toy”

5 August, 2011 Reply

I never in my life would have thought I’d be enamored of a power washer, but I am. Every day I’m out cleaning something else up. I started with the back deck. After ten years it was looking pretty shabby. Unfortunately we didn’t own the property when it was put in and there was no sealing, stain, or paint put on it, so by the time we got ahold of it, it was already looking a bit shabby. Add three years of interior remodel, two years in India during the summer, left us thinking we were going to have to replace the entire deck.

My girlfriend just happened to mention that she power-washed some things when visiting her dad. Big light-bulb moment! I asked if she had it here and she said, yes. I asked if I could use it the next time she went to visit her dad and she agreed.

Deck before and after. Difference is even more dramatic after it's dry.

So, I’ve cleaned the entire back deck and it looks almost like new. Then I started some power washing of the house. I knew I wanted to power wash the front as it points almost due north, in a hot humid climate, so every couple years we have to scrub it down to get rid of the green grunge. However, I tried washing a small spot on the back of the house, that actually looked pretty clean. All of a sudden it was dazzling white! I added washing the entire house, instead of just the front to my list.

I also found that it does an excellent job of removing paint from the car. Our paint job failed and it has been slowly peeling off the car for a few years now. In one blast I can get rid of the rest of it and prepare it for a new paint job, saving us a ton of money.

You do have to be careful about how close you put it to bare wood, as it can dig down into it, but that’s what makes it powerful enough to get rid of ten years of moldy stuff from deep inside the wood pores, too.

The one I’m using is a Task Force with max 2000psi. Unfortunately I didn’t find it available on the Internet, so don’t know if it is still being made. However, I’ve got getting some kind of power-washer at the top of my wish list. Strange, I know, but I’ve found so many things that it’s good for cleaning, and fast, saving my back and arms (although my hands got pretty tired holding the nozzle on all the time).

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