Fence Posts

Old chain-link fence out,

Posts for the new fence in.

The current block fence in the back belongs to our neighbor. The new fence is going up right in front of it. 

Unexpected Home Improvement Complication #283

So the concrete guys were digging the footing for the raised beds in the front yard and found... our water main. 

It's maybe 4 inches below ground level. Is that code? I wouldn't bet on it. The incredibly cheap former owner strikes again!

The main is right where one of the walls was going to go, so we have to shift it a foot to the side. Not that big of a deal, but still.

Moving Along

The workmen have dug the footing for one of the raised beds in the front. 

You can see where the other one will go.

Goodbye, Yard

Sayonara, sod.

And goodbye to the concrete walkway.

Blocks for the raised planters.

Concrete Forms

New Driveway Gate

 Old driveway gate: sagging, warped, poorly designed, didn't shut properly.

New driveway gate: much better. 

Also set back a little farther to give us more space to park.

Frontyard: Before

Our lovely front yard as it's been for the last 2 years. Also known as Dandelionland.

I'm sure our neighbors loved us.

But now the workers have started to tear up and grade the front.

Can Slab

We are having the contractors pour a concrete slab on the other side of the garage so we'll have someplace to put our trash cans instead of the backyard.

Planter in the Backyard

They dug the footing for where the raised planter is going to go. There was sort of a bed there before, but this one will be higher, with stucco walls inset with accent tiles. 

View towards the driveway. In the background are rose bushes in pots; they were planted in the bed area until yesterday.

Blank Slate

The workmen spent the last couple days clearing everything out of the backyard and grading it. The grade had gone all out of whack over the years and now we have a yard that's flat and won't channel water toward the house.

Side of the house. That chain-link fence will get replaced with a 6-food wood fence. But the grading had to come first.

The stakes are for the string lines that plot out where the patio is going to go.

First, the Tree(s)

This is not the best view, but we had the Liquid Amber taken out. It provided great shade, but it was right on the property line, dropping gumballs into our neighbors' driveway and tearing it up with roots. Eventually it would have dropped a branch onto one of their cars. In the middle you can see the Camphor tree -- we had that trimmed (probably for the first time ever) so it will grow to have a nice high shady canopy.

We also had some smaller trees and bushes taken out. The plan is to put a Cypress hedge along the back fence for shade and privacy. That will be more neighbor-friendly than the Liquid Amber. You can see where I tore up some of the walkway to salvage the flagstone before the workers come to really tear everything up.

Backyard: Before

So this is more or less what the backyard looked like when we bought the place. Note the patios and the big Liquid Amber tree on the left (it was a good 40-50 feet tall). And Tutter, who has sniffed his last plant. (RIP, buddy.)

Opposite view: garage, trash cans, detritus.