Blitz hits a speed bump

today was the first day i havent worked my arse off or ridden (it has been bloody hot - very high 30s) AND we appear to have hit a snag with the Backyard Blitz. I have been advised less than one week before the job is supposed to start and 3 days after i started pulling up the existing pavers that the recommended pavers are not available until MAY .

Several other options have been suggested. At this stage i dont like plan B (a different paver) and there is a plan c on offer but it needs to be checked out. If plan c is not a goer things might have to go on hold for a couple of months - less than ideal, but we are spending a lot of money and we are unlikely to change it EVER again so we want it to be right!!

The limestone blocks were delivered this morning and will be laid next week.

Tomorrow I need to pick up some sand, cement, fibro-cement sheets and some outdoor "paint".

paving going slowly

did another couple of hours this morning. started a bit late because i slept in (stuffed from yesterday). Managed to get rid of the path and some of the other paving in the courtyard area (about 16 m2), but stopped because it was too bloody hot (mid 30s) and the courtyard acts like a sauna trapping the heat.



Still have a few days getting rid of the rest so i should be alright.

paving coming up - what a pain in the arse job

the girls came around this morning and checked out the limestone. looks ok apparently but i had to order another 15 lineal metres of it. Should be here before the weekend.

Started to lift the existing paving and move it. Probably got rid of about 1/3rd of it as well as a couple other stacks laying around in the yard



Looks like i am going to build the great wall of china out the front before i finish removing all of the paving. Intend to give it away, but anything which is left at the end of the job is going in a mini-skip.



I think i prefer digging to this job. More tomorrow, thursday friday and what is left will be lifted over the weekend.

well next week should see some more action

Things were pretty quiet really on the blitz front last week, but i have a few jobs which need to get done this week (and it looks like it will be hot again - mid/high 30s).

I need to fill in the wood panel sections in the wall with some fibro-cement board and paint with a textured sand finish and i need to get all of the paving up. I also need to replace some of the pavers in the driveway so it is solid black and to do the same around the back of the house in the pathway.

The girls are coming in the morning to check out the limestone and then we will work out how much needs to be ordered so i can get the wall built.

Grass Is Gone

Spent just over 2 1/2 hours in the garden this afternoon and the grass is now gone. The yard is now starting to look more like a construction zone than a garden, but i guess that was the idea.

Before:



After



The bin is now a 1/3 full (spot the Bin Art? - you have to do something to keep you amused when you are digging and barrowing dirt dont you?). You be happy to if you were getting fed!



Intend to leave the paving until the last minute or we are going to have sand everywhere through the house

site meeting came and went and so did wall

Had an initial site meeting with the girls and paul, with my brother in law - emilio, today. Went ok. things look on track and i should now be able to get my end of the work completed by the end of the month.

After they left i got rid of the balance of the patio - we should be able to use some of the blocks when we rebuild the wall as a border (like the existing one). Next jobs should be easier. All i have to do now is lift up all of the existing paving and did up the grass. this should really only take me a couple of days in total (maybe three) so i should be able to get some rides in over the next few weeks.

Day 12 - patio nearly gone

Up early this morning and got stuck into the patio. the temperature was quite a lot lower and it even tried to rain on me. In the end i nearly removed it all. Only thing that saved it was my dad arriving. I stopped and we went and had some lunch in Fremantle which was nice. Good to have time to have a chat.



The bin was picked up (just). The driver looked a bit concerned when he looked at it as it was full up. When he lifted it the front wheels of the truck were a foot off the ground.

Day 11 - cont

My body failed me this afternoon. I had planned to do some more excavation, but i had a 2 hr nanna-nap instead.

I dont think i could have shovelled another barrow load of sand without doing myself some damage - so i didnt.

I climbed into my bed and slept like a log.

Tomorrow (today) is another day so i might just get another couple of hours in.

j

Day 11 - more excavations

Day 10 was a rest day! French class in the morning (3hrs) and then i went for a ride (57km) then i took Ash for a driving lesson (1 hour). She did ok.

Today i have continued with excavating the raised patio section and probably have moved another 1/3 of the brick paving and dirt. Not sure how many square metres i have moved but if was a few and each one has had to be shovelled twice (once into the barrow and then into the bin). the saving grace with this was that there has been no rubble in the area just clean sand.



The bin is now "full" and it is going to be replaced with an empty one tomorrow.



there is about another 1/3 of the patio area to remove. I will probably do a little more today (later this afternoon) and finish it off tomorrow or saturday.

Day 9 (continued) - Jeff the human D9

Cam came over about 1.00pm and helped me for a couple of hours. It was bloody hot so this was enough.

The raised paved area has now been cut down to half its size and the pond is no more having been backfilled out of existence.

I feel like a human D9 (excavator) as everything has to be done by hand and barrowed out to the bin. We now have a bin which is 3/4 full. It will get filled up with the remaining sand etc from the raised area on Thursday.

Day 9 - moving right along (the morning)

No riding today or yesterday - busy in the garden.

Spent a few hours this morning removing some paving from some raised sections of the yard which have to go and starting to backfill the pond. Got a fair bit done on my own. Should get a little help later from Cam. here are some before and after shots of my efforts

jack and the fat controller win - thankfully

the pond is officially dead. Jack hammered it into submission and the fat controller shifted all the rubbish. All that is left to do now is get the reinforcing metal out (need to get hold of some bolt cutters) and then I can start filling it in with sand i will be taking from another part of the courtyard.





A new bin will soon be required - probably by Thursday.

day 6 - man seems to be winning

Spent a few hours in the pond today and got rid of all of the inside and demolished half of the base (no point complaining just need to get it out). I am pretty much on track - thought it would take me a week to get rid of the pond and i have just about managed it even with a lost day (rained off).



Bin is now 1/2 full

day 5 - pond still going (and base must go - bugger)

well the attack on the pond continued today (another 2 1/2 hour round). I think i am winning, with the help of my mechanical mate (hilti) but the pond is putting up a good fight and giving as good as it is getting.

Following the site meeting the consensus is that the base must go for several reasons, drainage and the new water feature base needs to be a certain depth into the ground. Not sure how I am going to do this yet (it will be a challenge for sure)

day 4 - no work today as rain got in the way

Well after 50 days without rain the heavens opened up last night and continued to rain throughout the day. The pond (whats left of it) is now half filled with water again but it wont take long to dry out once the sun comes up.

I have a site meeting with the girls in the morning to see if the base of the pond really needs to come out. I also need to sort out some "scaffolding" so i can get the back wall sorted out

Day 3 - sort of a rest day

Went to french (had a headache by the time i finished), then had a meeting with an outplacement consultant. then came home and was going to do nothing, but the demolition beckoned.

Spent some time cleaning up the mess i made on the first day when the bin didnt arrive (bin company delivered it to another house/suburb completely) and then did a bit more demolition and cleaning in the yard and in the pond.





I now have a bin which is about 1/3rd full. Tomorrow I hope to get rid of most if not all of the rest of the pond except the base. I am hoping i can leave in the ground as it is likely to take some serious work to get it out of the ground.

Day 2 (5/2) - pond going going

Went for ride this morning (36.5km). Came home and pottered around and then went to the Growers. Waited for Mel to get up before starting work.

Had a bit of mechanical assistance today (thankfully) in the form of a jack hammer. While they help, they are still bloody heavy and they shake your fillings while they do the job. Managed to get the inside skin of the pond demolished in a couple of hours so progress is ok. However, the back wall is going to be much more challenging.



tomorrow will be a rest day as I have a french class to attend and a meeting in the afternoon.

Day 1 (4/2) - attacking the pond

Today is the first day of my "retirement" and also the commencement of my first job on the list.

the backyard blitz has started. I took some photos before and one or two of the progress made on Day 1. I am easing my way into it so i only did a couple of hours after getting home from my ride (32km)

before shot



After Day 1

the blitz started in July 07

I rang Haughty Culture after reading a newspaper article. After some months of phone calls and discussions a plan was born and we were placed on the waiting list. Due to the success of the ladies (lorna and cathy) the list was long so it has taken us a while to get to the top. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.

Given the time lapse life has transpired to provide me with an opportunity to do some of the work myself so I am now a garden demolition expert in the making.

Future blogs will chronicle the demolition and subsequent redevelopment of this garden.