6 months on...things are progressing!

I've been terribly slack these past few months, I think having 3 young people and study has caught up with me. Anyways, we've had some big changes in our yard. We've learnt from previous renovations that completing the yard before starting the interior is ideal. We really needed a carport/shed erected so we have dry storage for when the time comes to start on the interior renovations.

What we've done.... we have had 2 HUGE tree's cut down, an Oak and Liquid-Amber Tree. It cost $1500/tree to have them removed. You'll see in the photos, that the main log off the Oak Tree had to be removed with a crane as it weighed 3.5 tonnes!! I tell you what, I was holding my breathe as they gently manoeuvred that log right past the eastern side of our house!

After the tree's were removed and grounded down, we had our bobcat man come and take away truck loads of dirt from our front yard, and completely remodelled everything leaving 4 piles of dirt that I'm pretty sure were around 4 metres high!! Kids wonderland!! My carpet has suffered, as has our white towels. 

Here's some photo's to help tell the story...

 

Here is the front tree being removed

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great little apprentice in the making.

 

And that's the Oak tree in the back yard. It sat 1-2 metres from the back wall of our house. Beautiful tree in the wrong spot. I felt terribly guilty getting this one cut down.

 

 

 

                                   
                                   Starting to look very bear compared to what it used to be....

(2 months earlier)

 

 

It was over 70 years old according to the rings. Major guilt trip AGAIN! We did keep some off cuts from the big old Oak to use as garden seats for the children.

 

This is the 3.5 tonne log. Boys were very excited seeing this!!

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                   Glorious Mud!

                            

             I did manage to escape for a few days with my Mum to the coast which was amazing!!!

 

Doesn't every parent hose their kids off before coming inside.

 

 

Just to be sure, another mud photo! Even the rain couldn't keep them inside.

 

 

We had plans drawn and submitted for our new Carport. The original plan was to have a smaller carport in the front yard and a shed in the back yard however due to 2 main sewerage lines running diagonally across our backyard, we had to come up with a plan B. So we decided to keep the wine cellar shed to use as a garden shed, and erect a bigger carport in our front yard. I didn't want an eye sore either, so we tried to tie the carport in with the house by matching its roof pitch. Its turned out beautifully, down the track a bit we plan on closing it in with a timber roller door.

 

The slab all ready to be poured.

 

These we're top blokes from Ipswich, they were recommended to us from our family. They completed our slab and also the brick work.

 

 

 

Brick work time.

 

We also had our western side boundary retained to then put a timber fence on top.

 

 

And we have a colour!!! We have decided that our 'brick' colour will be Colorbond 'Woodland Grey'. We used that colour for our slats and gutters on our last house, stick with what your know! We will also splash Woodland Grey onto our house bricks, not going down the render path.

 

Thanks to my dad for helping get the framing and roofing sheets up!

 

 

After knocking down quite a large amount of blue stone retaining walls from the original front yard, we decided to keep it to use for a new much smaller retaining wall, just next to the carport. It started like this, and it seemed like a never ending puzzle to begin with, however my very clever husband kept working on it and this is how it looks today. Still a few finishing touches but its up and it's not falling down anytime soon. My husband reinforced it with a concrete behind it.

 

Piece by piece with small person helping.

 

 

And what it looks like today!!

 

 

And just last Friday our bobcat man returned once more, and removed 3 out of the 4 dirt piles, back filled the new bluestone retaining wall, scrapped back all the pebbles and stones, levelled the yard and dug post holes for the new eastern side fence. We have known our bobcat man for 7 years now, he has done all the earthmoving for all 3 of our renovations, he must get sick of us calling every 6 months.

 

 

 

Saying goodbye to our dirt mountains.

                                          Starting to look more like the picture in our heads.

 

We left enough room down the eastern side of the house for rear access.

 

Current project is this fence and retaining wall which hubby is doing himself.

 

That far back corner will be the 'playground area' complete with bark so we don't have to move the trampoline and swing set every time we mow. Might pop a few veggie patches in too I think!

 

 

I have major grass envy.

 

Future projects include:-

*Front fence- thinking something like this possibly.

 

 

*Turf - what a hot topic, so many to choose from. I think we've chosen Sapphire Buffalo. Just have to source it from somewhere not too far away. Aiming to starting laying it in August.

*Have a break...before we tackle the inside!

Hopefully I will update again before Christmas....

Liz x