Our 2008 Backyard Makeover

[TheOtherSide]

We moved into our house in November 2007 and one of my biggest uglies was the backyard. The builders did a terrible job of landscaping... and the 2 trees in the middle of the yard were not even rooting in after 2 years.... not to mention the ground settled and a lot of the sidewalk areas sounded hollow if you jumped on them as the ground had sunk under them.

We started in March 08 by cutting up the sidewalk areas in the backyard.... and finished in May 08. It was quite a job cutting up the sidewalks and breaking them up... lots of jackhammering and lucky we found a place taking concrete filler so I only had to rent a truck to haul it away. The yard was leveled off and raised about 6"-8" at some points. The deck was widened out to the fence... a whole new fence was put up with 3 new post cemented in for the 2 higher sections. We also built a new path between the houses on the side where you walk to our backyard... it originally had 1' round paving stones laid on top of the grass... so when it rained it was a mud pit. We carved out a walkway with landscaping ties on the sides and rocks in the path... for a nice dry walkway now.

Some materials:
- 3 yards of 3/4" clear crush rock
- 5 yards of 50/50 sand/topsoil mix
- 55 rolls of turf (did new grass in front too)
- lots of pressure treated lumber
- several bags of cement mix
- rental of a 3/4 ton truck twice, power 8" auger (Steve hurt his shoulder when it caught something... ouch), hammer drill many times, cement cutter, jack hammer, and more I'm sure...

Had lots of help from Nathan & Steve from this board... and other incl my Dad etc not from this board. Was quite a job... and we love it!

Anyhow... here are some before & after photos of the yard... I'll look for some during photos and post them at some point.

Before & After from the corner of the yard to the house. Nathan taking a rest just after we finished the front turf... and it seems he's in the before & after photo too.
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0001.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0002.jpg

The before photo is on the day we started cutting the sidewalks up... Steve is working the concrete cutter. AND it hailed that day too. And the after photo.
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0003.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0004.jpg

From the house back to the garage/coach house. Nathan again...
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0005.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0006.jpg

And a during photo when we were a little over 1/2 way done framing. Still had to go to the left in front of the coach house etc.
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0007.jpg
http://www.overlandcanada.com/net/yard/0008.jpg

After it was finished in May... we waited until September to stain it. Not 100% happy with the stain color choice as it said semi-transparent... but ended up being a bit more non-transparent.

Unfortunately the grass this winter has really thinned out... so I have a bit of work to do come spring time to bring it back to super green and thick again.

Enjoy!

[BigWhiteFord]

Going to try something like Scott's TurfBuilder? Put down more sod? Or just keep sprinkling grass seed?

Looks real good.

[TheOtherSide]

Going to try something like Scott's TurfBuilder? Put down more sod? Or just keep sprinkling grass seed?

Looks real good.

I have the Scott's turfbuilder for spring time... but need something earlier... maybe have to lime it or something to avoid the moss. The sun doesn't shine on the garage side of the yard since the garage is so high.... so have to try and prevent mega-moss. Other than that, may drop a few new seeds... or just hit it with the turfbuilder and grow it like mad. I was cutting it twice a week after I put turfbuilder on it when I rolled the grass in... it was nuts!! But looked good.

[Sero]

Lime it now. I did in the fall and there's not much moss there at all, I usually have way more this time of the year. I'm going to hit it again soon. Last Spring a friend and myself rented a power rake from home depot and while one power raked the other picked up and bagged. I think I had around 12 bags full just on my front lawn :wow:. I'm hoping on having half that this year. Then I'm seeding, fertilizing and adding some good soil as my front yard is alot of clay..the grass doesn't like to grow even when the moss is gone.

[Sero]

Did I mention I don't like lawns...too much work every year!!!! If I only made a little bit more money I'd hire someone to do it for me....

[TheOtherSide]

Did I mention I don't like lawns...too much work every year!!!! If I only made a little bit more money I'd hire someone to do it for me....

How much you paying and what do you want out of it? Maybe I'll get into the lawn business!! I'll give you the "family" discount....