Before I begin today’s update let me remind you what this are looked like on Day 8 after we had been clearing a path through it. It took weeks to clear out the rotted doors and furniture as well as all the bits and pieces of broken flower pots etc…

I’m trying to do daily updates to keep my spirits up.  We are back to the point where my cuts have cuts, bruises have bruises and joints swear they are 90 years old.  Once again I say, “This is not what we agreed to or signed up for”.  Anyway, on to today which was grueling with 80 degrees and 90% humidity, but also having to do the digging around the old stump with a salad spoon.  Yep, I said a salad spoon.

The roots were let go for so many years that they are everywhere! On top of that while digging out the area so the boards for the fence would go in properly I also encountered about 200 pounds of volcanic rock, you know the kind that goes in barbecues?  I can’t say why it was there, but can say it was there long enough that the roots had grown around it.

I was able to rake most of the volcanic rock into areas that will be leveled with sand so at least we won’t be having to try and dispose of them and they’ll help make a base under the sand.

Hubby did a wonderful job with pre-drilling all the screw holes so we could install it more easily.

I played the grunt today, cutting boards to length for hubby and holding them in place level so he could do the 6 screws per board more quickly.  Things tend to warp around here because of the rain and humidity so by pre-drilling and installing screws more evenly this fence will last a lot longer than most.

Somehow we ended up a few boards short, but that was just as well because the play-offs were about to start and we were EXHAUSTED so it was a good place to stop for the weekend.  We have not found anyone who will come and grind the stump out because their machines will not fit through the gate and quite honestly we are concerned about rocks etc… that are still intertwined around those roots so we are going to use stump killer on the stump and then build a planting box around it.  Not our first choice, but our best choice.

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We are anxious to get the backyard done in time to enjoy it for a bit before the weather gets any hotter which won’t be long here.

This is today’s rock and brick find.  My fingers will NEVER be the same. Even with gloves on and using tools to dig everything has been buried deep and the roots from the overgrown Magnolia tree we had to take out. It is also slow going because of the roots and the clay base. At one point I was using a serving spoon to try and get into some tight areas.

When the last repair was made here, it was a serious crap job sloped and mounded and made of low quality cement. It was a serious accident waiting to happen. Hubby is installing everything to code and keeping it level to create a regular step that is safe. Because of the humidity and moisture here he did a little overkill on the bolts to keep all the pieces together.

He has the step framed and I was able to use most of today’s brick and stone finds to help hold the brace board (the board we will be leveling up to from the rest of the yard) in place. We’ll order the sand this next week.  We think it will take even more sand than we originally thought so will be doing this like an archaeological dig and cordon the area off in sections.

Tomorrow’s job is to start getting the fence planks below into place for the “inside” “PRETTY” side of the fence.

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We began the work on the backyard this past week.  It seemed like it was going to be a straight forward project, but alas this too is a HORRIBLE pain in the butt. As with everything in the house nothing outside is square or level either.

We knew it would need some serious leveling, but we have spent days just digging up these pieces of broken block, concrete and pavers that were sticking up everywhere!  These are just what we dug up in an hour setting the base for the new gate. Unfortunately you are not allowed to throw these away in the trash and so we are are having to “break” them all apart into much smaller pieces and then use them under the sand layer we are putting down. It appears 6900 pounds of sand is not going to be enough even with using all the odd pieces of broken concrete blocks to properly level everything.

After we get it leveled with the sand we will still need a couple pallets full of pavers and sod before we can even sit and enjoy a glass of wine on the new patio. This is before the “PRETTY” side goes up.

Fencing is “supposed” to be part of the HOA fees, but we’ve been on the list for over 10 months with no hope for it getting done any time soon and figured the termites don’t care about the list so we just needed to get it done.  This is one of the better looking boards.  A good wind would knock this fence down.

I secretly believe the HOA makes everyone wait hoping they’ll do it themselves so the HOA won’t have to foot the bill. Since we are footing the bill we are building an “internal” “PRETTY” side to the fence so that in the future whoever lives here won’t be inconvenienced when the outer fence needs done again. It will also help with the leveling and paver process as we try to “square” up this mess.

Hubby did have wonderful progress on the gate.  I was able to paint the old hardware to reinstall it and we will be picking up the boards tomorrow to finish the inside of the fence before leveling the sand up against it. It does need a bit of tweaking and leveling, but we need to pick up longer bolts tomorrow before we can do that.

There are several things we would do different if we were staying, but all in all it looks like it will turn out well and at the very least be “turnkey” for the buyer.

I just pray that the vision in my head comes close to the reality when this is all said and done. I figure at the rate this is going with having to dig up all the broken bits and the fact that our backs are KILLING us from all the manual labor and sledge hammer swinging, we should be able to sit and have that first of wine sometime in late February or March.

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