Crew showed up at 7 a.m. Eesh. It is a weekday, of course. I just hope none of the neighbors is home sick and trying to sleep …
Will came by at 8 or so to check on how things were going. Had a good chat.
Main outstanding question was what we were going to do at the front door. Previous arrangement was a step down from the threshold, about 4 ft in the alcove, and another step down to the patio. Since it’s all been demoed, I think we’re going to follow through with a suggestion from Jim, which is to be flat from the front door through the alcove, then two steps to the patio. That will make a nicer entrance into the house, I believe.
And, yes, it will have (flagstone-skinned) concrete; I was worried for a bit that they were going to do it all dry-lay.
Boulders got all pulled down to the street, which lets them do the lower landscaping once they’re done with the patio. I suspect finishing the patio (if I have the sequence right) will take them at least today. They’re about a course short on the wall around it, then they need to put down the flagstones and tie it into the efforts at the front door and the path from the driveway.
I am greatly amused that the work crew has their own microwave to plug in for their lunch breaks.
Wow. Pretty much got the patio laid out and tamped down. Flagstone to follow. Front steps about half-done. Path laid out (verified drip line run underneath). Yay!
The crew boss laid out where the steps down were to go. I asked him to move them over about four feet at the bottom. No problemo.
As the project continues and I see what’s happening, I feel more confident about the outcome. 🙂
End of the work day. The pile of fill dirt for the patio is gone — in the patio itself and tamped down. Next come the flagstones, as noted. Things are beginning to shape up very nicely.
I watered the pots of salvaged plants. I think we’re going to lose a few roses, but overall it looks pretty good. I also realized I could run the sprinklers, as long as I shut off the two zones that are in the new landscaping area. I set that up, as well as hand-watering some plants that won’t be covered.
The new patio is much larger than the old one — but from a planting perspective, we actually will end up with more space:
- About 40 sq. ft. of grass west of the new steps is going away.
- A lot of space that had been overrun by lavender from our original plantings about a decade ago are suddenly available — and rock-free to boot.
- No need for a lateral path, and the rocks along the driveway are gone.
- While the terracing walls (and boulders) will chew up some space, they will also level things out, making planting easier.
- By using a drip system, I don’t have to worry about plantings that “block the sprinklers.”
Overall, a good thing.