Well, it's been four weeks since I wrote about Project Wonderland (our plan to fix up the backyard and turn it into a wonderful space to both relax and entertain) and I am happy to say that Zac and I have made some progress. The backyard project is not always numero uno on our list of things to do (as we both have work and other things to tend to) but a few items have been crossed off of our to-do list.
Let's revisit that list shall we.....here's our progress:
- Clean off patio space and find proper places for everything.
- Set up sitting area on patio space.
- Add flowers and plants to the back wall. (Partially complete)
- Build latice wall on the back fence.
- Grow vines on the back fence latice wall.
- Hang votive lights from tree .
- Create overhead lighting for the patio space.
- Place solar power spot lights in front of trees.
- Finish digging out trench to add fish pond.
- Lay cement foundation for brick wall against back fence.
- Lay down cement blocks to begin building wall against fence.
- Cover cement blocks with stone.
- Cover cement blocks with stone.
- Lay cement foundation for additional patio entertaining space.
- Add electrical power from the house to additional patio entertaining space.
- Lay down paver path from patio space to additional patio entertaining space.
- Put in lines for water pump for fish pond and propane for outdoor fireplace.
- Build outdoor fireplace.
- Lay down pavers on floor of additional patio entertaining space.
- Build furniture for additional patio entertaining space.
- Add stone to outside of outdoor fireplace.
For not being able to make the backyard our main priority right now when it comes to projects, Zac and I are pretty happy with the progress we've made. I should actually say that I'm pretty happy with the progress that Zac has made. He's responsible for all of the hard work that has gone into completing our backyard projects. I come up with a few ideas (like the hanging votives lights project seen here) and Zac is handy enough (and awesome enough) to figure out a way to make it happen. I appreciate this ability of his more than I can express in words!
Anyway, back to the checklist. After we completed the votive light project, Zac and I got pretty excited to continue on with our list of backyard improvements. We concluded that the next easiest and least expensive item on our list was to clean off the patio space and find a proper place for everything that was currently cluttering the large space.
So we set to work and decluttered the patio space before Zac sprayed it clean with the hose.
Jim's fear of the yellow garden hose kept him in the house watching the action behind the safety of the sliding door.
After Zac sprayed away the dirt and spider webs that had accumulated on our patio, it was time to set up the sitting area so that we could finally sit on the patio and enjoy our backyard. My parents recently gave us their old glass patio table and two matching chairs, which we set up on our new clean patio. After a little rearranging we finally had a place to sit and relax.
In addition to the new lounge area, you might have noticed another patio upgrade in the picture above. In case you aren't all too familiar with our patio, I'll point out the change for you. Thanks to my handy-dandy Zac, we now have overhead lighting on our patio!
The lighting project was one thing on our to-do list that we were really excited about. Our back patio only has one small light that barely shines bright enough to see a one foot radius from the back door. Since we like to entertain and wanted to hang out on the patio after the sun went down, it was important to add some more light to the space. So Zac pulled out his power tools and went to work on adding some more lights above the patio.
Zac went to Lowe's and purchased four of these interior light fixtures for only $5 each. We realize that they are indoor light fixtures, but since they're going under the patio awning we don't have to worry about them being hit with rain, too much sun, or any other outdoor elements that would require a more heavy duty outdoor light fixture.
The plan was to connect all of the new light fixtures together so that they could all be powered through one electrical source. To make sure that we didn't have wires dangling everywhere, Zac decided to drill holes through the beams of the awning in a continuous line so that the wires could run a straight course to each light.
Next, Zac took down the only patio light that came with the house. Check out how small it was:
We decided that rather than replacing the light, we would just use it's electrical power to light the overhead lighting we were about to put in, and then cover up the spot where the light used to be. In the future we hope to get french doors to replace our sliders. If we kept the light (or added a new light in the same place) our future french doors would probably hit up against it when open. Plus, we figured that four overhead fixtures would provide us with plenty of light on their own. So Zac pulled down the light and used the power to connect all of the overhead lights and allow us to use the existing light switch inside the house to power our new fixtures. (See, I told you he was handy.)
Since there are 5 posts that support our awning from crashing down on us, it was an easy decision to put the lights evenly spaced between each post. Zac cut wooden blocks which he then connected to the awning. These wooden blocks would act as the base for the new light fixtures.
Next, he took the wire that he had connected to the old light fixture outlet (seen two pictures above) and began threading it through each of the holes he had drilled earlier, using a staple gun to keep the wire in place as he worked.
After the wire was in place, it was time to attach the new light fixtures to their wooden bases....
....and connect the wires.
We were pretty excited when the lights went up and we could successfully use the inside light switch to turn them on and off. You might also notice in the photo below that the wires seem to blend right in with the awning. This is because the previous owners were kind enough to leave behind a can of paint they used when they built the awning. Thanks to Lowe's we were able to color match the paint and Zac painted the wood blocks and the wires which really made the look come together nicely. The lights look as though they've been here all along.
As a little surprise to me, Zac traded out our old light switch and replaced it with a dimmer switch. I was thrilled with this change. It was such a great idea. Now we can control the amount of light on the patio and create different moods. (The night that Zac showed me the final product he lit candles on our glass patio table, added some flame to the votive lights in the tree, poured some champagne, and set the new overhead lights to a soft glow. It had the perfect romantic vibe.)
As for the hole in the wall that used to be our patio lighting, Zac was able to patch it up using a replacement panel that he purchased at Lowe's. The texture is slightly differently than the existing panels but the difference if hardly noticeable. Zac used the the paint to color match the new panel after he put it in place. There is a tiny seam that can be seen when you look up close. Zac did such a great job of patching the spot if you didn't know that the panel had been replaced you wouldn't even notice.
The light project, which only took one day to complete, made such a change to our backyard's evening look. Looking at the list of things to get done, we saw that we could get even more light in the backyard by crossing "Place solar power spot lights in front of trees" off of our list. We picked up two solar lights for $14 each at Lowe's and put them in front of each of the cypress trees against the back fence.
The solar lights get plenty of sun during the day so they put out a nice spotlight on the trees in the evening. We'll definitely be adding a few more spotlights on the other trees in our backyard a little later in the future.
Next came laying down the cement so that we had a foundation for the stone wall that will go along the back fence. To start the project, Zac dug out a trench along the back fence where he wanted to lay the cement. He piled the dirt up against the area between the trench and the fence to add some heighth to the future flower bed.
Zac purchased a bunch of wood from Lowe's (some of which he used for the light project) and planned to use it to line the trench and prevent the cement from seeping into the grass area.
The wood was also really important for maintaining a straight line and making sure that the new foundation didn't turn out crooked and crazy. It also helped Zac determine how high the concrete would go once he poured it and allowed him to have a reference once it came time to level the concrete.
Next, Zac used some posts to shape the rest of the trench including the rounded areas.
The concrete was poured in stages in the early morning and evening when the weather was cool outside. In the right corner of the yard, Zac had Jim imprint his little paw prints. He wrote in Jim's name and the date as a permanent reminder of when we got our little pup.
After a few days, the concrete had time to settle and it was time to remove the wood.
Zac filled in the hole along the trench left from wood that was removed (the grass will eventually grow back in this area) and began lining cement blocks along the new concrete foundation. Later these blocks will be covered with stone that will match the future fireplace.
We started adding flowers to the new bed behind the concrete wall. We aren't crossing this item off of our list just yet because we plan on putting in a lot more plants and flowers.
The lillies have really taken off and are quickly becoming some of our favorites.
So there you have it, a little update of our Project Wonderland progress. We're excited to get everything done and Zac is amped to add a few more projects to the list (including moveable planters). We'll share more details as we complete more projects and cross them off of our list.
Anyone else have some summer projects going on? Feel free to share!
No comments:
Post a Comment