Our Backyard Progress

My original plan for a big backyard reveal post was squashed when I realized I have about 12,537 pictures documenting the makeover process. So… I'm going to show you the final steps of our fence, patio, and sod- and then I'll post early next week with the final pictures. So annoying right? But this was a lot of work and I don't want to squish it all into one post. Sorry mom! (She hates it broken up)

You can find out backyard plans in this previous post.

Once the ground was tilled and leveled, Nathan and my brother Ben (huge help) started digging the holes for the fence posts. This was not very exciting, but obviously needed for some fence building.

 

 

Next step was our patio. After they placed the gravel, they rented some mystery machine to flatten it all out (I don't remember the name!).

 

 

 

 

We ordered concrete pavers from Home Depot and had them delivered to our backyard. Thank goodness the fence wasn't complete or we would have had to carry them in one by one through the gate!

 

 

I originally wanted a red brick patio, but we quickly found out it would not only be more expensive, but more time consuming. But since I still wanted the classic look of red brick and a white house- we found the next best thing. These 16" x 16" red concrete pavers have the brick look I'm going for. They are also pretty inexpensive and much easier to put down due to their large size. Small bricks would have taken forever- and nobody has time for that when you have a deadline. Ha! I was a little apprehensive before we started the process because it was obvious the pavers weren't legit brick, but once they were placed I was very impressed with how they looked! Much better than anticipated. #CheapoForTheWin

 

 

 

 

After the patio was placed, Nathan and Ben finished up the fence. I didn't have much say in how the fence was built other than which way the gate would swing. I'm glad he took this on because he did a fantastic job. I honestly think this is some of his best work he has done on our house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may wonder why our back fence is 6' high and the side is an 8' privacy fence. Well... our new neighbor's back deck sits pretty high and every time they walk out they can see right into our yard-  plus they have a ton of tree overgrowth. (Understatement). Privacy was top priority and a necessity. Nathan built a 6' fence all the way around the yard- and then added 2' high trellis with trim to separate us from our neighbor's jungle. That trellis is now my FAVORITE part of our backyard.  It not only gives our giant wall of China some beautiful character, but it was actually less expensive to do than a standard 8' fence. The back fence remains at 6' tall which is nice as it keeps it open and not too closed in. 

 

 

 

 

Next step was adding landscaping behind the addition and laying SOD! We thought we were doing well with our To Do list and timeline, but then our original Sod lady stopped returning our calls. We only needed about 70 square yards, so it was obvious we weren't her top customers....Thanks! We were wanting to lay the sod by the next day (Saturday), but Friday afternoon we had nothing. I called about ten sod farms in the area on my lunch hour (I had no idea there were so many!) and finally got a hold of Bramer Sod in East Louisville. The guy was awesome and basically told us to show up the next morning at 9am with a check and he would have the sod ready for us.  We picked it up on Saturday morning and by noon (with the help of friends) the sod was down. Crisis averted. Instant Gratification. It's held up great since then with regular watering and plenty of sun!

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sure this wasn't a very exciting post, but I like to keep our renovation process for our own records. I'll be back soon with full reveal! Below is a little sneak peak of our patio area!

  

 

-Tricia