Starting hardscape renovation

[tinman10101]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:23 AM, quaman58 said:

Thanks Kennya,

The “one month “project is soon to enter month six, although hope is on the horizon. Had the stairs poured about three weeks ago. Generally a two-man crew has been doing the trenching informing. They’re amazingly careful. HOWEVER, when it is time to pour, it is all hands on deck. Suffice to say that this is where most of the plant damage and loss occurs. I’ve lost a handful of plants, mostly all pretty small, unfortunately nothing irreplaceable. Anyway, it gives you an idea of what things are like when concrete is being poured…

IMG_1825.mov

man that movie file is hilarious brett!  

[Kennythes]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:44 AM, Kennythes said:

I'm no expert, but your plan seems solid to me. Mixing up those textures and adding in some new plants sounds like a recipe for success. Plus, kudos for considering the wildlife with your choices. Gotta look out for our little critter buddies too!

 

As for your question about the best way to maintain the mulch, I'd say keeping an eye on it and topping it up when needed is the way to go. It's all about that balance, you feel me? And hey, if you ever need a hand or some advice along the way, you know where to find us. We're all in this gardening game together, after all.

Keep up the awesome work, and I can't wait to see how it all turns out! Oh, and by the way, if you're ever in need of any supplies or tools for your project, I stumbled upon this cool site called topgradeenterprises.com that might have just what you're looking for.

[quaman58]

Hi all, 

OK, so we’re pretty much done with all the Hardscape. What we thought was going to take a month is taking a six months. But, the contractors are generally out of our life and there’s no hard feelings on either side, so I guess that’s good, ha ha. Anyway, have an irrigation and lighting work done. I figure a couple weeks for that. His crew also spent a couple days doing a much needed cleanup, and making sure there were sufficient berms around all the plants that will get drippers. Anyway, here’s a couple pictures.

[quaman58]

The first picture is looking from the lower pool deck to the upper pool deck, then to the enlarged stairs that lead up to the stairs that go halfway up the hill. Hopefully that makes sense.

[quaman58]

To the right side of the pool deck is a turtle and tortoise enclosure that we incorporated. My younger son is re-landscaping the interior of that as we speak, which must of course meet the approval of our long-term tortoise resident named Houdini.

[quaman58]

The next couple is of the “middle” path, and the blue granite stairs, running up to the upper level. The contractor filled in the gaps with mortar. Not wild about the color, but I can tint that. I guess if that’s my biggest complaint, I got no complaints.

[quaman58]

Lastly, for now, we are also moving around a bunch of the bigger rocks on the hill to create dams around plants. We have a couple that we estimate to be pushing 1000 pounds. The best you can do is push them either horizontally or downhill with a couple of digging bars. They ain’t going uphill that’s for sure.

[quaman58]

[quaman58]

Finally a worn out me and an overview 

[quaman58]

Thanks for looking, as we get the lights and irrigation going I’ll actually start posting pictures of plants, ha ha. 

[Kim]

Wow, just amazing work! Such a difficult project, but the results are worth it. Garden is looking fantastic, now you can relax and enjoy it.

I had to laugh at the video of the concrete stairs and the big red dollar signs on the backs of the workers. I'm floored by bids I'm getting to replace a mere 8 very crummy old concrete steps in front of my San Diego house, a micro project compared to what you've accomplished. Must admit, I'm looking at that long flight of stairs and thinking "handrail?".

[quaman58]

8 hours ago, Kim said:

Wow, just amazing work! Such a difficult project, but the results are worth it. Garden is looking fantastic, now you can relax and enjoy it.

I had to laugh at the video of the concrete stairs and the big red dollar signs on the backs of the workers. I'm floored by bids I'm getting to replace a mere 8 very crummy old concrete steps in front of my San Diego house, a micro project compared to what you've accomplished. Must admit, I'm looking at that long flight of stairs and thinking "handrail?".

Thanks Kim! Per your comment, I’ve gone back and forth regarding the stair rail. We’re definitely installing one at the rock stairs, as they’re not exactly to code. And yes, concrete prices have gone crazy. I have to give credit for that little video to my next-door neighbor who was home while they were pouring. He has quite the sense of humor.

[Harry’s Palms]

Great looking concrete work. It is disruptive to have workers around while trying to maintain order. We had our deck redone about 2 years ago. The jack hammering of the old deck just about drove my wife crazy , it took 3-4 days just to get the old deck broken up . I can’t imagine trying to work around the mature palms and plants  without harming them . It looks very nice , enjoy! Harry

[LowDesertBoil]

This looks amazing! I am newer to this site; however, I gotta say I felt in the moment reading through this posting! I was so excited to see the next pictures! It's like not realizing a program on TV was so good, only to fall in love with it and binge-watch the entire series on Netflix! Congratulations on the reno and you have beautiful palms (cool tortoise as well).

[tinman10101]

coming very nicely and looking forward as everyone to the progress.  regarding the handrail, there are many diy railing sites that if you give them the specs of your rise and run and then overall span, they ship you the parts and you just install as opposed to going with a contractor doing custom work ... just a thought.  thats what wifey and i decided to do to upgrade the railing to a more modern look in our house.  

regardless, i love hardscape when it effortlessly flows into your landscape and i think you achieved that look nicely.  at the end of the day, i always tell my wife that the cost is trivial as long as it brings good memories.  quality of life at my age as i am leaning LOL.  looks like you will be creating many memorable moments in the near future and many years to come.  i love the juxtaposition of you and the the bare open plot of land behind the gate vs the newly incorporated hardscape.  

cheers

tin

[yachtingone]

Totally awesome!

Randy

[FlaPalmLover]

Looks more like a resort/hotel than a home. 😍

[quaman58]

Hi all, 

We’re are pretty much done with the backyard. A layer of mulch is still needed and a few little details here and there, but hopefully we can enjoy the rest of the summer without contractors under foot, ha ha. I thought I would share just a few of the last details. We had a couple elevation issues due to the hillside, not sloping at the same rate as the stairs did. We tried to make the stairs, very cold worthy, but the hillside, of course, has a mind of its own, so… Here are some rocks that we built up around a Clinostigma to better hold the water in. also is a close-up of the light enclosures embedded into the stairs. Super helpful at night.

[quaman58]

Sorry I meant “code worthy” on the previous post. Another shot of the stacked rocks creating a wall, and other rock berms that will hopefully slow down any erosion, and will help hold the mulch in place. To the left is a recently planted Ravenea lakatra, and to the right is a little planting of three sub species of Dictyosperma.

[quaman58]

Next one up is a palm of a bit of concern. Ravenea sp. “giant” which had to have its root ball hacked on three sides in order to get the irrigation lines run. There was just no other way to do it. Its older leaves started yellowing about a month ago, although the three newer ones are still perfectly green and the spear is pushing. So, fingers crossed on that one. Losing that one would really hurt, but I’m hopeful. Also a sample of the uprights that we had installed. 28 of them throughout the yard.

[quaman58]

The very top of the hill, one of my favorite places to have a cold one in the afternoon. We have a park bench that we rebuilt last year and the canopy here is just perfect. Dappled sunlight, no matter what time of day, no matter how warm. 

[quaman58]

Lastly, a night shot. I wanted to do this for 20 years, it’s a great effect. Thanks again for looking!

[Alberto]

Wow, this really looks spectacular! Well done!!!

[Hilo Jason]

Looks amazing!  Thanks for taking the time to keep us updated here. Really incredible work! 

[TropicalGardenSpain]

Wow! looking forward to a video tour when its finished 😉