New Lawn!

We spent the last 2-3 days transforming the backyard from an unusable (pretty much) space full of weeds into a great space for Mackenzie and Owen to play. We did not take many before photos, but previously our backyard was surrounded by a large garden, so our task was to remove 80+% of the garden, and then re-sod the entire backyard. I would estimate that we went from having 750 square feet of garden to about 140 square feet.

Our first task was to re-build the back steps, install the framing for the temporary fence, and move the A/C unit to the side of the sunroom. My brother and Mom then helped me to remove some overgrown bushes at the back of the yard, clear out bags (and bags!) of weeds, transplant dozens (and dozens!) of plants to the new garden areas at the back of the yard. We then tilled the entire yard and installed sod.








I will post more photos once the fence and steps are finished. We still plan to do more work in the backyard, including a deck and/or patio, as well as removal or renovation of the garage, but those things may not come until next summer.

Bathroom Hook Finally Installed

We bought this hook when we were finishing our bathroom well over a year ago. Since the recessed panel in the bathroom door is less than 1/2" thick, I tried to secure the hook using construction adhesive (as opposed to screws). This did not work at all, so the hook has just been sitting around for months. I finally attached it today using stove bolts.

In order to cover the bolts/nuts on the outside of the door, I then installed this cute ceramic "bath" sign, which was inspired in part by this water closet sign I had seen at Just Beachy.

One thing off of the "to do" list.

Revised Plan for Backyard

We have decided to hold off on the deck and fence project for now. We are going to re-visit the plans over the next few months and decide how to proceed. We may even keep the existing garage and fix it up a bit ... we'll see.

Given this latest turn of events, we have decided to embark on a small project to fix up our current backyard and make it more enjoyable for the whole family. This will include:
- Installing a temporary fence from the sunroom to the garage, thereby providing a fenced yard for our dog Owen.
- Installing a small pavestone patio (using stones we already have laying around) behind the sunroom.
- Moving the air conditioning unit to the side of the sunroom (we had moved it to behind the sunroom in anticipation of the deck installation).
- Removing 75% of the garden in our backyard; some plants will be transplanted to the front garden, while many will be given away to family/friends.
- Tilling the old garden and weed-infested yard.
- Installing new sod throughout the backyard.

Hopefully it doesn't rain too much over the next week; we need to save that rain for after the sod is installed.

Par-Tae!

Mackenzie had her 1st birthday party on Saturday with all of her family in attendance! It was a special day even if it was a little packed in our house... the deck and basement can't come soon enough! Turns out that it totally didn't matter as Mackenzie loved the chaos and excitement... what a party girl!

From the Garden

Four Weeks to a New Backyard

We are hosting a baby shower on July 11, so this has provided us with additional motivation to get the backyard done ASAP. The backyard has been on our "to do" list for some time, and we wanted to get it done last year, but it just never happened. The baby shower (and some of the beautiful weather we have had this spring) made the backyard jump past the basement in terms of priority, so four weeks from today we hope to have the deck and fence complete.

Provided below are some sketch-ups (this is more for the layout than the design). As you can see, we plan to tear down the garage, but will continue parking one car in the backyard (we will build a shed in the back of the yard at some point). We also plan to have some built-in storage for the garbage and recycling bins underneath the side of the deck. Other than that, it is a pretty simple design where we just tried to make the most of the space.

Here are the numbers with our current plan:
- 153 linear feet of new fencing
- 32 linear feet of railing
- 308 square feet of decking

We still have a lot of planning to do, including some decisions that we may post for our readers:
- The biggest decision we are trying to tackle is what materials to use. We do not want pressure-treated wood for the deck because of the chemicals. Right now we are deciding between either all cedar (i.e. expensive) or a cedar deck/railing and a pressure-treated fence. Composite is also being explored with contractors.
- We still need to confirm some details of the plans with our neighbours.
- We have not yet decided whether to hire contractors or do this ourselves. We are planning for the DIY route while simultaneously getting quotes from four contractors. The first quote we got was outrageous (i.e. 4-5 times the cost of DIY), but the second quote should arrive today and seems like it will be more reasonable. The DIY route will require taking some vacation time from work.

Waiting for a Table

We ordered a dining room table a few weeks ago, but will have to wait another month for it to arrive. We searched around quite a bit and did not find anything we liked at the usual furniture depots. Finally, we found a great handcrafted table at a mennonite furniture store in London. The table is more "rustic" than any other table we looked at, but we both liked it a lot, it is quite original, and it should blend well with the craftsman features of our house.

Here is a preview photo, but this does not really do it justice. The table will be made out of wormy maple with a dark walnut finish, and the surface of the table will have saw marks in it. We also ordered four chairs, as well as a bench (in lieu of two more chairs) that has a turnbuckle and chunky wood style similar to the table.

The Reno Turns 2, The Girl Turns 1!

The countdown is on until Mackenzie turns the big O-N-E...