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.

Fountain Head Prototyping

So here is the blank slate that will eventually become the fountain in my stone retaining wall.  I will install a basin at the foot and a smaller basin directly beneath the spout.  I originally planned to just do a bent copper pipe for the spout, but then decided to do something a little fancier.

Out comes the clay for some prototyping.  Here is the progress thus far:

Still needs a lot of refinement.  I will finish the clay model and then pour a silicone mold to create a concrete casting that can then be mounted to the fountain spout.

Time to shed some light on things

Some lights for the front walk have been long overdue.  I thought about using solar lights, but battery performace in them suffers in the cold winters that we have.  So in the end I went with low voltage LED path lights.  These pathway lights use 3 watt LEDs and are plenty bright.

Here's a few pics just before dusk as I finished the install.

Just before hooking them up to power:

Power hooked up and all of the lights are lit!

Cables buried and project complete!

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.

Front Patio Update

So now that spring has arrived, I have been able to get some more work done on the front patio.  Here you can see the finished stone work on the east side and the opening for the storage area.  I hope to make a set of nice iron doors for this soon.

Here in the next few pics, the baluster railing is being installed...

The balusters were all cast first (15 of them).  They were cast with a rod of rebar projecting on both the top and bottom.  The bottom rail was framed with 2x6s and a piece of trim at the top corner to add detail.  While this concrete was still wet, the balusters were inserted and clamped into position.

The top rail was then formed in place using pieces of plastic rain gutter supported by 2x4s and a 'ladder' of 2x2s to support from beneath, in-between the baluster tops.

The finished baluster rail:

I think it turned out alright for something I cast myself!