Backyard Before and During

Being new to blogging it has taken awhile to catch on to things. Since I was so busy participating in the renovation of my backyard I failed to keep you guys updated in a timely manner. Here is what I had before and a bit of how it looked going up, after pictures to come later.

BEFORE. . .

The lumber needed for the pergola and deck was dropped of the night before the projects started. The man from the lumber yard had gotten lost and was angry so he kindly dumped the entire load of lumber in my front yard and driveway.

Here is the existing lattice work that the previous owner smartly installed and grew vining plants up. Unfortunately they neglected the big dirt patch/ mud hole directly in front of the very nice lattice. Here is where I planned to place the deck.

Speaking of, here are the plans for the deck. I'll take credit for the creative vision, but the measurements and building were all done by my trusty carpenter and local Guatemalan Annel.
For everyone's inquiring mind here a longer shot of the back porch, pergola was installed over the existing cement pad and deck was built directly to the right of the cement.

DURING. . .

Once my trusty carpenter transferred the lumber to the backyard we got started on painting the pieces for the pergola. That paint job took about 4 hours longer than I had expected excluding a pit stop for more paint at home depot and lunch at Pita Pit.

The base of the deck was constructed with pressure treated lumber (that's what the green hue is).

The pergola went up on Saturday and the remainder of the deck was built on Sunday, seriously this all happened in 2 DAYS! Below is the pergola as it went up, hopefully this answers the question "what is a pergola" it is a structure that has a slatted roof to provide shade.

Lastly here is a long shot of the back of the house as the pergola was going up. . .you'll have to hold your breath for the after pictures. I don't want to post them until I finish painting the deck, which means I'll have to start painting the deck.

Painted Deck

So the pergola and deck were installed last, last weekend, that is March 27th for everyone who doesn't speak fluent Maddy. So my car pool buddy/neighbor/coworker/mentor was kind enough to assist me in painting all the douglass fir for the pergola before it was installed. For this I used Behr Ultra paint and primer in one for exterior. The Deck however was left to be painted until after installation.
Well all that I managed after the pergola painting extravaganza was one coat of primer on the deck before the storm clouds came rolling in. So now I have deck that is bright white with http://kilz%202%20latex%20gallon%20white%20pigmented%20interior/Exterior%20Water-Based%20Sealer PrimerStainblocker. There

The game plan is to cover the primer with http://www.homedepot.com/Paint-Exterior-Paint-Stain/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgtZbbbr/R-100583881/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 the paint is a deep red (exact name of color to come later) I'm pretty sure I unknowingly purchased the exact same deep red porch paint that is on my front porch so I'm hoping it will look just as good on the back deck.

For all of you wondering why I would paint over perfectly good wood, the answer is: it isn't perfectly good wood, it's bargain priced douglass fir which holds up best and lasts the longest when it is primed and painted, or so I'm told.

Since the sun is supposed to shine for the next 5 to 7 days and I dented open the top of my can of paint while moving my old couch out to the garage it looks like tonight I will start painting that red top coat! I hear a rumor my roommate really likes to paint so I'll try to rope her in too.

4 day weekend

Okay so this weekend is going to be huge for my home. There are several projects to be undertaken and 4 days to complete them, thanks to accrued vacation time and Caesar Chavez.



Come Monday there will be a wood deck to the right, pergola over the cement, and an ac unit on the roof!


Friday the amazing Nik and his HVAC guys (recommended by my previous landlord) are coming to install the duct work and cut the vents in my house in preparation for Saturday when they will install the unit on my roof. By Saturday evening I will have central heat and air.



Saturday and Sunday Annel my wood working guy (again recommended by landlord) is going to build a pergola over my existing cement slab and a wood deck to the right of my cement over the current large patch of dirt. Originally I had planned to use trex (composite wood) on the projects but it turns out that $2.50 a linear foot is too much for me! I also don't want to upgrade my home out of it's market. Instead I am going with the much more reasonable Douglass Fir which happens to be $0.30 a linear foot. . .yep that cheap. Prior to install I will be sealing and painting the pergola wood white and after install I will be sealing and painting the deck a darkbrown/reddish color.



There are various other home improvement projects I'm going to be tackling this weekend as well with the help of my mentor/coworker/car poolie/neighbor. This includes installing ikea shelving over my washer and dryer, a new glass shelf in my bathroom, patching the hole where the wall furnace is coming out, and installing a window to replace where the ac unit is currently. Cross your fingers for me and hopefully come Monday afternoon I'll be able to enjoy all my hard work and money spent.