Completed Project Updates

Last night I started writing a long overdue post for part two of the fireplace.  I visited my blog to see where I left off and realized that of all the posts I have posted, it seems like I never show the finished project.  This post is to recap a few smaller projects from the last few months as well as the finished product from other projects. I will give the part two fireplace update in the very near future. 

Back Yard

In the last post about the back yard, I left off right after the grading was completed and the retaining wall was installed.  When the grading was completed, the sprinkler system was no longer going to be usable and it was going to need re-designed.  I added two zones and fitted them with special rotor heads that would allow me better control of the watering area and the amount of water used.  It turned out being quite a bit of work to dig down deep enough to run the pipes so that when I aerate the yard the knives do not puncture the pipe.  The soil here has a ton of clay in it so it is tough to dig in.  Below you can see some pictures of my sprinkler system as I was installing it.

I also finished the retaining walls by adding stone columns on either end of the wall.  I created these columns a little differently because they will be more exposed to weather.  Instead of making the base of the column out of wood, I made the columns out of aluminum studs and cement board so there is no chance of the elements deteriorating the columns over time.  I then added the stone the same way as I have on all the rest.  Below are pictures of that process.  

For the column caps I did something a little different.  I wanted the look of concrete but did not want the weight on the top of the column as the cap would weigh over 200 pounds.  I instead used high density foam insulation.  After I cut the insulation to the size I wanted, I coated it with cement bonding adhesive.  The solution looks a lot like Elmer’s glue but is used to bond new concrete to existing concrete. 

Once the bonding agent had dried, I then coated the entire surface with fiber reinforced cement.  This material is called Quickwall by Quickrete and is used to smooth out cement walls.  Once the cement dried it looked just like a solid cement slab.  

I then decided I wanted to add some landscape lighting to the underneath side of the caps to show off all the stone work I did.  I found some waterproof LED light strip on e-bay and paid $8 for a 30 foot roll.  

The lights run off of 12 volt DC current.  I wanted to add the lights to my existing landscape lighting but the system is 12 volt AC current so they are not compatible.  To fix this I purchased 10 bridge rectifiers off of eBay for $1.50.  I soldered the rectifier into the wire leading to my landscape system and it converted the AC current into DC current so it could work correctly.  To make the lights sit flush with the bottom of the cap I used a soldering iron to melt a groove in the foam to sit the LED strip in.  Below is a picture that shows the caps installed and the lights working.

My brother and I also added metal edging to the entire yard and used nine yards of mulch to fill in the flower beds.  We laid down black plastic to keep weeds from growing through the mulch.  A lot of people use weed barrier which is a fabric that allows water through.  I have found that plastic really works better for me since I use a drip system for my plants so water goes to the base of every plant and I find the weed barrier does not really stop many weeds.  

The last step was to add sod to the back yard.  I did not want to go to the trouble of adding seed to grow grass so I found a guy online that sells sod in Parker and it is really cheap.  I spent about $400 but it was for 1,200 square feet of sod which was 120 rolls.  It actually took me three trips to get it all because it was almost 7,000 pounds. Below are the pictures of the sod installed. 

I also had a lot of pots around my back yard and up until the golf ball sized hail hit my house, the back yard looked real good.  Here are a few pictures of that along with the hail that mutilated everything. 

Window Re-Cap

The last post on the windows ended before the trim was installed.  I used exterior trim and framed out the windows to give a little more character to the back of the house.  It was so hot during the day that I would work on them after dark so it was more bearable.

Here is the finished product.

I also framed out the inside of the windows as well using a different type of trim.  They still need painted but I will do that when I re-do the family room in the next few weeks.

I also replaced the garden window in my kitchen because it was falling apart and really didn't match the house.  I removed the window and replaced it with a new sliding vinyl window.

I am getting pretty good at replacing windows so this only took me a couple hours.  Here is the finished product.  

I sold the old window on Craigslist for $40 to someone who needed some parts off of it to fix his window that was falling apart. 

Patio

When we last left off with the patio cover, I was working on the ceiling. I wanted to do something special with the ceiling of the patio to make it seem like more of a living room.  I used 4 foot wide by 9 foot long sheets of flake board I found on Craigslist for the ceiling.  I wanted a stucco type look so I used a paint called DeckOver which is basically paint with sand in it.  It is used for coating old splintery decks so it looks solid again and fills in cracks.  You use a special roller for it and it gives a cool stucco texture.  It can be tinted any color and to do my 9 foot by 20 foot patio it took seven gallons.  I then did a top coat of regular paint just to fill in some of the small holes it leaves.  My brother then helped me install the panels because a huge 60 pound sheet of wood is hard to install over your head by yourself. 

I decided I really wanted the patio to feel more like an outdoor living room.  To do this I added four LED can lights and also wired in ceiling speakers so I can hear my home audio system outside.  I also added a switch on these speakers so I can re-route the sound to speakers buried in the ground over by my fireplace. 

The last step was to cover the seams with trim and to make the ceiling have a coffered look.  I used the same wood trim that was used around my windows but I painted it a dark color to contrast it.  It turned out really well and you can see the result below. 

Well that is all for the update this time.  I will have an update on part two of the fireplace soon.  I have also started major parts of the interior renovation so posts about that will begin soon.