Teleidoscope

Fri, Oct 05, 2007

Porch and Driveway

Posted at 9:30 pm MDT to Miscellaneous

Yesterday I made the mistake of telling Beth, at work, that I was impressed that Ross had been able to use the backhoe under the porch roof without damaging it. I think I jinxed him. Today he kind of mangled one of the posts that holds up the roof. He was yanking out the rotten wooden posts that made up the original retaining wall around the basement door well when the damage happened: there was a crosspiece or something that he didn't notice that got hung up on the support post. (Ross has promised to replace the post.)

There's a huge pile of stuff that Ross has demolished for me because it was adjacent to the front porch where they needed to work, and he had the backhoe, anyway. In the next couple of weeks I'll have to get someone to haul it away. We didn't expect such a huge pile of crap, so I didn't order a big dumpster. I'm really glad I have never done any ambitious landscaping in my front yard -- I always knew I was going to need heavy equipment to deal with that stupid wooden retaining wall. I'm thinking buffalo grass in the yard, once the pile of crap is removed, and some low shrubs, or raised planter beds out of materials that match the new stairs and retaining walls, just outside the line of the porch roof.

Next spring I'll get the basement steps and retaining walls replaced in rock, or cement paver stones and blocks. I haven't used those steps in several years because of the failing retaining walls (and I've been out of town so much). And I 'll get a railing put on the bedroom balcony to match the one that is now on the front porch: the balcony railing is long dead, and on the same side of the house, so it needs to visually match the front porch rail.

I just hope the washer and dryer hang in there until I get the basement steps replaced: having appliances hauled in the front door through the house and down the inside basement stairs would be a pain.

Ross and his helpers finished the new part of the porch, and the railing at 7 PM (they did the last couple of planks of the railing with very little light). The porch is now about half again as big as it was a couple of days ago, and there is a kick plate around the edge so the wind will be less likely to blow things down into the basement door well. I'm impressed.

I've ordered another couple of truckloads of roadbase. Aside from Volkswagen-eating potholes swallowing so much of the roadbase that the first two loads weren't enough, the driveway is starting to look pretty good. The roadbase I've bought is recycled asphalt: the dealer recommended it. He said it helps melt the snow in the winter because it is black, and tends to stick together and make potholes less than the dirt and gravel kind of roadbase. And I like the Idea of using a recycled material.

From a distance, the driveway almost looks paved, but it seems strange to look out of my house and see the dark expanse. I may add a layer of gravel on top at some point as camouflage.

The new breaker box is in place, waiting for the guy from the power company to show up and make the switch from the overhead lines to the underground ones. The airconditioner is waiting to be reattached now that it has a new corner of the porch to live in... that should happen tomorrow morning.

I've been taking before and during pictures. I'll put up some before, during, and after images once the driveway is done and the overhead line is gone.

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