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Slowly the wheel turns...firepit being built, pergola up but waiting on outdoor curtains and hot tub (curtains ordered, hot tub in but waiting for tile to come in and be laid before installation).
they did a great job on the pergola. will you have the grape vines, or what ever type grown in your region? to crawl over it, or plain? or is the hot tub going under it?
the concrete should almost be curing as on now, weather permitting of course...
PROGRESS!! I can't wait to see it when it's done ... you are giving me ideas for my own backyard (although my kitchen must come first!!).
Oh, I keep forgetting to ask you ... did you give away that shed? I understand why you didn't want it but it didn't look ugly or like it was in bad shape to me. I hope someone got some use out of it (unless it was a mess on the inside, which of course we couldn't see from pictures!).
Yes, we gave the shed to one of the guys who was out here working. It was in great shape, and was only 5 years old. Not a thing wrong with it, except it was sitting right off our back patio, and we had another bigger, nicer, cuter one built on the other side of the yard.
they did a great job on the pergola. will you have the grape vines, or what ever type grown in your region? to crawl over it, or plain? or is the hot tub going under it?
the concrete should almost be curing as on now, weather permitting of course...
Thank you, we are very pleased with the pergola. The hot tub will go under it. We aren't going to run any vines around it but I did just order some outdoor curtains because we will need those for some "nekkid" privacy - LOL. Though I'm tempted to think that if the neighbors really want to see our 50 something year old nekkid bodies, more power to them (they'd have to TRY to look but heaven forbid!).
We'll keep them pulled back by black hooks till we need to use them. I hope they look nice - I think they will.
The weather has been great for curing concrete - not too dry and not as hot as usual, but also not heavy rain. The tile we are tiling over it with should be here around the 20th which should be perfect.
Things are coming together! Guys are outside working away on the fire pit right now.
Oh - this photo is from yesterday. Have mercy. MAKE IT STOP!!!!!
Thank you, we are very pleased with the pergola. The hot tub will go under it. We aren't going to run any vines around it but I did just order some outdoor curtains because we will need those for some "nekkid" privacy - LOL. Though I'm tempted to think that if the neighbors really want to see our 50 something year old nekkid bodies, more power to them (they'd have to TRY to look but heaven forbid!).
We'll keep them pulled back by black hooks till we need to use them. I hope they look nice - I think they will.
The weather has been great for curing concrete - not too dry and not as hot as usual, but also not heavy rain. The tile we are tiling over it with should be here around the 20th which should be perfect.
Things are coming together! Guys are outside working away on the fire pit right now.
Oh - this photo is from yesterday. Have mercy. MAKE IT STOP!!!!!
Can't rep you, K. Love the firepit!! Pergola, too, but I have a soft spot for firepits, and that one is going to be spectacular!!
Can't rep you, K. Love the firepit!! Pergola, too, but I have a soft spot for firepits, and that one is going to be spectacular!!
I sure hope so - it's quite a bit bigger than I expected it to be but thankfully we have the room. BIG FIRE.
Fire pits are nice here in northeast Texas because the evenings, even in the dead of winter, are chilly and crisp but usually not frigid. Perfect weather for a fire in the fire pit from about the end of October through March.
During the summer months I guess we can use it for extra seating - but no one is likely to be sitting out on that patio for long in July and August, and maybe not much of June or September.
Last night it FINALLY dropped down into the 60s and it felt terrific. I was really jonesin' for some patio about 10 pm last night.
Ok, so the fire pit is nearly, nearly done - just needs the concrete bottom put in tomorrow and the grate. Then all we are waiting on is the tile and the hot tub - and the outdoor curtains around the hot tub.
You will love this setup!! Nice!! Fire pit near the hot tub with privacy? That's going to be awesome this winter!! We did similar to our house earlier this year to make room for our hot tub. We bought it last year and had our old deck redone to make it slip into the deck. Then....we decided to move, and nobody was willing to give me a fair price for the tub, so we brought it with us to the new house. It sat in storage for nearly 6 months until we could figure out where to put it. Our new house was a bit of a mess and needed (still needs) major work. But, focused on the exterior first. Here's our before/after photo of how we tweaked our backyard to fit the tub. Took 5 new 16" foot trees and 3 8" foot trees to replace bare mulch beds. Had to pull a few dead ones too.
Once we were done and the tub was finally brought back and wired up, it started to get too hot outside to really use it. So....we're just counting the days to sneak out in the cold and get in, finally! When we bought the tub last year, it was July. Used it a couple of times, but had to pull it out when we sold that house in September. It sat in storage until May this year. So, still have yet to really use it when it's cold outside! I can't wait!
Not sure what region of the country you're in, but if you want fast-growing hedges for some privacy in your yard, I can't recommend Schip Laurels enough. That's what is lining the walkway in the after photo. In six months, they're now more than double the size in the photo, which I took after installing them and doing the mulch. They're great shrubs!
We have more patio work to replace, but budget was spent on trees, so having to wait a bit. But, did squeak out a temporary fire pit from Amazon... Can't wait to smell the burning wood while in the tub with the wife!
Also wanted to add - landscape lighting! If you're interested in adding some (assuming you don't have any?) LED technology has made adding them a true DIY process, saving a ton of money! Our old house was new construction, so we had Charlie Brown trees. Our current house has mature trees. Between up-lighting floods against the front of the house and trees, walkway down lights, and a few in-ground "well" lights, I installed 26 lights around the front, back and sides to our house myself. Took me three days because I had to bury 600 feet of wire with a spade, but wasn't hard at all. In total, the lights pull down 148 watts total! That's the equivenlent of a single normal light bulb. Cost? Maybe $1,000 total. Lights are substantial in materials too, metal casing, metal stakes, etc. Made a massive difference. Bought it all from Home Depot (Hunter brand). Since you have the hot tub wired up, I presume a throw box is nearby along the house. Just have an electrician add a normal outlet from that throw box, and that's your new control outlet for the lights. Really easy to do.
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I can't wait to see it when it's done ... you are giving me ideas for my own backyard (although my kitchen must come first!!).
