Update on Retaining Wall Fountain

I've gotten some more done on the retaining wall fountain this past weekend.  Previously I made a polyurethane rubber mold of the clay fountain head that I made as shown in the picture below.

 

I cast one out of concrete using the polyurethane mold and mortared it in place.  I also cast a base for the lower basin and cast an upper basin using some bowls that I sourced from a dollar store and cut in half.

Now I need to get the lower basin form assembled and get it cast.

Stone Raised Garden Bed Completed!

The coping along the top edge of the raised bed are some concrete pavers that I picked up at the local home center.

The next step will be to build a frame over the raised bed for netting to cover the plants, so that my family can enjoy the vegetables instead of the deer.

Slow getting started this spring

Between the weather and finding time to dig in (pun intended), I have gotten off to a slow start this spring.  The first priority before getting back to the driveway retaining wall was to get some good edging down around the raspberry beds, both to keep the lawn out, and the raspberries in.

Here's what I came up with...

The next priority this spring is getting the raised garden beds put together.  Again, I went with stone.  Surprise!  Here you can see some cement pavers that I will use as a coping for the top edge laid out to check for fit and give me an idea of how much cutting I will need to do.

Once these are mortared in level, I will construct a frame over the bed to support netting, or row cover.

A look back at some completed projects

Here's a look back at a few completed projects a year or two later.  First up is the back patio barbecue command center.

Looking north towards the front of the house:

Looking over the counter to the fireplace:

Looking south towards the chicken coop:

As I have done the projects, I have tried to maintain consistent, repeating elements in the hardscape design to create a sense of unity in the yard and gardens.  Both the front and rear patios incorporate the concrete pavers set in a diamond pattern and use concrete columns and baluster railings.  Both patios also use stone (for the counter in the back, and for the patio surround in the front).

On to the front patio!

Here you can see the walk to the front door.  The first concrete columns that I made form a small pergola that frames the garage doors.

Coming up the front walk is the pergola that frames the entry door.

Here is a look back across the front patio to the front walk.

Progress on Driveway Retaining Wall

Making some progress on the driveway retaining wall.  Excavation is done for the first section and you can see the wall fountain panel and the layout of a little wall niche that I am including.

I am using a leftover piece of sonotube as a form for the arch.  The fountain still needs castings made for the basins (one upper and one at the base).  I also plan on building a nicer spigot for it.  Right now it just has a piece of junk copper tubing as a mockup.

Here's the completed niche and a few more stones added to the wall!

Driveway retaining wall ideas and plans

I'm turning my attention to my driveway retaining wall this summer since the wooden landscape timbers are well past their prime and rotting away.  I am planning to do this retaining wall out of stone to match the others in the yard.

I want to incorporate some functional features as well as some to add visual interest to the retaining wall itself.  Some of the features that I would like are a garbage bin storage area, a bench, and a small storage shed.  I also plan to add some additional parking space for a motorcycle and an integrated wall fountain feature.

So with this in mind, I made up a rough layout idea sketch in Sketchup.

I then ripped out a section of the rotted landscape timbers and did some test digging to see how far back I could go into the hill before I ran up against the sprinkler system pipes.

I then found a good area to put the fountain feature in the retaining wall.  This sparked a few ideas for re-using a concrete panel I had cast as part of a mailbox pillar a few years back.  I brought the panel out and drilled it with the hammer drill to accept the fountain spout.  I will set it in as a part of the first portion of the stone wall.

Here you can see a bolt sticking through the panel where the future spout will go.  I will likely put some kind of decorative medallion on with the spout sticking through.  It will also need a catch basin at some point too.

In the meantime, I have plenty of excavation and rock work to get started on!  More updates on this project to come.

Upper Patio Railing Completed!

I finally made some time to get the railing done on the upper portion of the front patio.  In the following picture, you can see the railing is coming together.

The posts at each end are poured first.  Then the bottom rail is poured, and while the concrete is still wet,  the balusters are set in place (they each have a rod of rebar running through the center to tie them to the upper and lower rails).  In the picture above you can see the tops of the rebar poking out of each baluster and the rebar that has been welded in place to tie all of the balusters together with the end posts and reinforce the top rail section.

I then form up the top rail section with pvc raingutter cut to fit around each baluster and pour concrete again.  Here is the finished result from the outside of the patio.

Finished stone retaining wall bench

I never posted pics of the completed stone bench in the retaining wall, so here they are:

More patio work

The fall weather has been holding out really well, so I have been able to get more done than I anticipated.

Here's a view of the new curved stairs I was able to pour to incorporate the old hot tub pad into the patio.

The stone skirt is also done about half way up.

The stone skirt is all done on the south side.

You can also see the pillars I have poured for the baluster railing I will be putting in.

New Front Patio and Pergola

So ever since we moved into our house it has had a white wooden deck on the front that has seen better days.  Many of the boards were suffering from dry rot and there was a broken hot tub.

I removed the old deck and built a new smaller one which was then covered with Silca decking plates, which allow installation of pavers as a deck surface.

I also incorporated some more columns like we used for the patio on the back side of the house and built an entry way pergola.

Here is a completed pic with the front steps having been poured the day previous.

There is still work to be done.  We plan to incorporate the old hot tub concrete pad as a lower level to the patio and will also be adding a stone skirt wall and a concrete baluster railing.

Another stone retaining wall

This summer I ripped out another rotting rail road tie retaining wall and replaced it with stone.  After my success with the fireplace, I decided to do mortared stone rather than the dry stack technique that I used for the previous walls.

This wall also incorporated a set of stairs and an alcove to store the clothespins for the laundry drying rack.

The stairs going in:

Here's a closer photo of the arched alcove:

Outdoor fireplace finished!

Well I did beat winter, but only just barely...  Here are the project completion pics for the rest of the fireplace:

2nd wood storage arch being formed.

Chimney nearing completion.

And Done!

Here's a fun pic from when I was just getting started and the young chickens were inspecting my work.

Outdoor Fireplace

Been wanting to put in an outdoor fireplace for a while now.  I decided to do a rumford style firebox because they are supposed to be very good at projecting the radiant heat.

So after looking up firebox dimensions and a quick trip to the masonry supply place for some firebrick, construction begins.

 

 

Now that the firebox is built full height, it is time to put up the temporary arch frame for the opening...

 

 

Arch is in.  Now to bring the surrounding masonry up to height and construct the smoke chamber...

 

 

Form for the concrete mantel...

 

 

Mantel is cast, smoke chamber is constructed, and a few clay chimney flue pieces are up!

 

 

Here you can see the masonry line that acts as a guide for the chimney stones.  Also taking shape on the right side is one of the wood storage chambers.

 

 

I'll be racing to beat the frost now.  Stay tuned for more in part two of the fireplace build.

Miles and miles of retaining walls

I have a lot of retaining walls in my yard (I live on the side of a hill).  So for the last several years I have been installing stone in place of the rotting railroad tie walls that were original to the yard.  Here are a few pictures of the first walls I have done.

I added a curved bench along the first stretch...

I also cast a few concrete finials from a mold I made out of a vinyl fence post cap.

I still have several hundred feet of retaining wall to go :(
It would go faster if I didn't keep coming up with features that I want to add to  the wall.  I am currently working on an earth-bermed shed that is dug back into the hill on another section of the wall.
I will post some pics of that in the spring.