Quilty leaved unknown patio crack vollunteer?
Jay 6a Chicago
15 days ago
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Jay 6a Chicago
15 days agoRelated Discussions
Building a Pea Gravel Patio
Comments (40)I don't know how big your yard is, but I would start small, with the gravel, meaning, just big enough for the seating at first--the point being, you can always expand, but you will never remove the gravel once you've got it in (I'm making assumptions about what you will or won't do in the future based on human nature, the nature of gravel removal, and your post!). Also, will be an issue for the next (owner?)--if you will be responsible for future sale of the property, then that is one reason to avoid some forms of home improvement that may be seen as drawbacks. If you are the least bit inclined to "gardening" and to enjoy a bit of greenery, you might be able to plan and install some pockets of groundcover for the same price as covering everything with gravel--it is possible to build up soil areas without a lot of digging and leveling, particularly for planting one of the tough groundcovers (not for growing tea roses right away!). There would be some upkeep to establish the plantings but again, you could start small-- an area 3x3 or 4x4. You might approach your yard by mapping out quadrants or areas and tackle one or 2 , but leave the rest bare until you phase in the whole plan. The return would be that you would not be trying to establish a lawn from scratch under poor conditions but you would have some green space. You haven't said whether you have any trees in your yard or overhanging your yard--leaves, cones, acorns, maple seeds-- but that is an issue for pea gravel--you don't want a lot of gravel if there is going to be a lot of organic debris falling on it, requiring constant raking and upkeep....See MoreSteps and Sloping
Comments (30)When you get comments from neighbors and landscape designers such as they have "wall envy", your wall is probably the nicest in the neighborhood, or this was beautifully done, you start to realize how valuable it is. I personally have never seen a prettier wall IRL. The wall is about 15 years old and shows no signs of failing any time soon. We have "dreamed" of the raw land and what we would have done with it and you are spot on, we would have placed the steps directly in line with the back door and embedded the steps into the retaining wall...no question about it. When I was planning out our upper West side, it was exasperation that I "took out" the seemingly misplaced Maple in the plan, that a great plan was found, which incorporated the Maple in it's current home. I get my best ideas from dreaming larger. I think by the time I post anything here, I've already done my thinking outside the box, and I'm trying to have others get me over a hump. The fact though, the wall has been built and we need to get from point A to point B. My DH and I have always been about value when it comes to purchases/decisions. Though I shared a pic of our house, this view is seen by only a few people during the summer. We of course see it up close and personal every time we venture down to the beach. Being up close to the wall, we will rarely see the view that I shared of the entire wall. A 4-6' blip in the wall, I can't imagine being unsightly. We will design the steps to be as transparent as possible. I'm thinking long term, if we end up placing the decking steps down the middle and it ends up functioning just as we dreamed, we might just pony up the bucks to have the wall redone, lose some of the main patio to embedded steps, by cutting somewhat into the concrete. But then again we might just determine, the steps go unnoticed and we keep using the deck steps as is. We find the longer we live here, the more things we THOUGHT we wanted to do for sure, are getting nixed. With the addition of patio, it will change the way we use the backyard a lot!!! Who knows while we wait for the steps to be put in, we may find out that the West entrance onto the beach will work after all. I doubt it, but I'm leaving it as a possibility. I think again I might be missing something, if I have deck steps opposed to embedded stone steps, the only compromise I think we are making is aesthetics. Is there something else?...See MoreSnakes in the bathroom
Comments (46)Venomous snakes have a triangular shaped head (from ears to nose) and non venomous snakes have a more rounded (or spoon shaped) head. Your construction snake looks like a black king snake. They eat rats. They are your friends. We had one living in a tree hole next to our porta potty during construction. Black king snake, non venomous, rounded head: Timber rattlesnake, venomous, triangular head: Rattlesnake that got in my way (54", 9 rattles). My sister told me how to skin it. My DH would not even touch it. He's hanging in the den now (the snake, not DH...although.... ;) ) Really ticks me off when he kills the non venomous snakes in our yard. We have a large garter snake living near our front veranda. He is eating my frogs, which is bothering me, but I told DH not to kill him. 15yo boy down the street shot/killed a 13 rattlers snake taller than he is a few weeks ago....See MoreNew Pool Build in Los Angeles, lots of pics and QUESTIONS!
Comments (48)I just found your blog while doing my initial research on pool builder (found it in your Yelp review). I loved reading about your experience and seeing the pics along the way! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight. I have to say that your pool installation has made me so excited to pull the trigger on our own, and now when I need a break at work, I go to your blog -- my new "Happy Place"....See MoreJay 6a Chicago
15 days agoJay 6a Chicago
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14 days agolast modified: 14 days agoJay 6a Chicago
14 days ago
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