Yard work...
- Thread starter DMD123
- Start date
Redid sprinkler settings this week to keep up with the heat. 15 minutes per zone every morning and the areas where we planted this year all got a second watering in the evening. Most plants did okay but a few got sunburned leaves. My front bed sprinklers are not working so we watered that by hand. I might have a broken pipe in that zone but am not digging it up to fix until much cooler weather. Hopefully that was the worst of it for the extreme heat this year.
Yep, with my combo of allergies and asthma that was a nightmare. Hopefully people are being safe out there, stuff is dry and can ignite quickly. We almost reported a neighbor who was out burning weeds with no hose at the ready. He could have started up a serious wildfire just a couple blocks away.
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Our backyard is now fully fenced! It feels a lot more private now.
The other side was completed last week.
Before, a one piece, rusty chain link gate. Liked that you could see the shed but hated seeing the garbage cans and other stuff going on.
After, clean appearance with two gates. Miss seeing the shed but the privacy factor is well worth it. I think Im going to add handles and faux hinge straps so it highlights the fact that its a double gate.
Will likely be doing a stain on the front and back of these new sections that face the outside street
The other side was completed last week.
Before, a one piece, rusty chain link gate. Liked that you could see the shed but hated seeing the garbage cans and other stuff going on.
After, clean appearance with two gates. Miss seeing the shed but the privacy factor is well worth it. I think Im going to add handles and faux hinge straps so it highlights the fact that its a double gate.
Will likely be doing a stain on the front and back of these new sections that face the outside street
Looking to stain the front and back of fence that is facing the street, the side we are going to let age naturally. Its kind of a tough color to match because we are trying to match up a faux mahogany door and a deck stained in a Mahogany finish. We are looking to maybe go this color, it called 'Mission brown' from Cabot. Then some black gate hardware and its done.
Been slow to finish for the year. Got the stain after a lot of error. We ended up dealing with Lakewood Hardware because they will let you bring in your wood sample and test the stains on it. We ended up going with a light Walnut, now to actually stain the gates!
Still need to plant the Bloodgood maple, put a couple walking pavers down and then fish with mulch. Have to replace one sprinkler head and move another before the finale bark. This year was a big year of work but it will really pay off in a couple years when we see the tree growth. The yard feels so much nicer already.
Still need to plant the Bloodgood maple, put a couple walking pavers down and then fish with mulch. Have to replace one sprinkler head and move another before the finale bark. This year was a big year of work but it will really pay off in a couple years when we see the tree growth. The yard feels so much nicer already.
Forgot to add pics.
Finished fence on the right side of home... ready to stain
The color we were trying for was in the Mahogany tones. So this is an example of the color based off our front door, a faux Mahogany fiberglass door
The the deck was done in a Cabot finish some years back. Not exactly as the door and faded somewhat but in the tone we were looking for.
Finished fence on the right side of home... ready to stain
The color we were trying for was in the Mahogany tones. So this is an example of the color based off our front door, a faux Mahogany fiberglass door
The the deck was done in a Cabot finish some years back. Not exactly as the door and faded somewhat but in the tone we were looking for.
Modest_Man
Well-Known Member
Staining cedar? Blasphemy! Let it age naturally and gracefully, like a fine wine.
lol, plan is to just do the front and back of the sides that face the street. The rest is to age to look like the older established fences.
Man, I just cant get motivated to finish up outside, lol. Summer is here and I want to be out enjoying things, NOT WORKING!
Im so close to finishing up. Maybe I need to take a couple vacation days off and make a long weekend to get it finished.
I told the wife we would not start any new projects until we finish these few things on this outdoor project first.
Im so close to finishing up. Maybe I need to take a couple vacation days off and make a long weekend to get it finished.
I told the wife we would not start any new projects until we finish these few things on this outdoor project first.
Been back at it since the weather has been a bit cooler. Found the stain we liked from Deft, a color called 'light walnut'. But on the cedar it is actually petty dark. We have stained the gate ends on both sides that face the main street. I really looks nice but man this stuff is expensive at $50 a gallon. We estimate we will need an additional $300 to finish the entire new fence sections we put in, should we decide to do all of the new stuff.
Had bought a pump up sprayer to apply the product and that was a huge mess that used up the stain very fast. We found the best method seems to be a brush and roller. Much less waste and mess. I have to see if I need to do some special prep on some areas first because of the sprinkler spray. It has discolored the fence boards a bit where the water hits. Not sure if I will have to 'bleach' it out with a product before we can stain or if it will take the product the same.
I need to mount handles to the outside gates, but now that its stained, a nice easy job.
Will update with some pics soon.
Had bought a pump up sprayer to apply the product and that was a huge mess that used up the stain very fast. We found the best method seems to be a brush and roller. Much less waste and mess. I have to see if I need to do some special prep on some areas first because of the sprinkler spray. It has discolored the fence boards a bit where the water hits. Not sure if I will have to 'bleach' it out with a product before we can stain or if it will take the product the same.
I need to mount handles to the outside gates, but now that its stained, a nice easy job.
Will update with some pics soon.
Gate on right side of house. The part around the corner just done this evening so color not even yet
The other side that has the two gates
With this side Im going to copy the carriage door look we did on our garage door.
I already have the handles and faux hinge straps for this.
The other side that has the two gates
With this side Im going to copy the carriage door look we did on our garage door.
I already have the handles and faux hinge straps for this.
A little perspective of the look of fence and garage
Worked on sprinkers today, needed to move multiple heads since they were hitting the new fence on the other side. I need to replace one head still but I need to buy that one.
My bloodgood maple was hammered on with the sun this summer, I hope it is still alive because all leaves burned off. The stems look like they are budding so good chance it will come back if I get it in the ground this weekend. Thats the next project, hopefully tomorrow’s.
Worked on sprinkers today, needed to move multiple heads since they were hitting the new fence on the other side. I need to replace one head still but I need to buy that one.
My bloodgood maple was hammered on with the sun this summer, I hope it is still alive because all leaves burned off. The stems look like they are budding so good chance it will come back if I get it in the ground this weekend. Thats the next project, hopefully tomorrow’s.
Here is the other side been working on. Got the Bloodgood in the ground. The plant does have buds on it despite the loss of leaves believe it to be alive.
I have round pavers to make a walkway to the gate to have to install but pretty easy since I bought those already. I want to add just a couple small plant around the maple and then Im done planting for the year.
Stained another section of the fence. Need to buy at least 3-4 more gallons to finish the fence. But first I need to get the sprinklers to stop spaying on the wood. I got it reduced but still a bit of an issue. Once the sprinkler issue is fixed then I need to possibly ‘bleach’ the wood to fix the water spray before I can finish staining.
This year I have accomplished much more than I had planned with the yard so pretty jazzed about that. Next year I am thinking of some nice landscape lighting.
I have round pavers to make a walkway to the gate to have to install but pretty easy since I bought those already. I want to add just a couple small plant around the maple and then Im done planting for the year.
Stained another section of the fence. Need to buy at least 3-4 more gallons to finish the fence. But first I need to get the sprinklers to stop spaying on the wood. I got it reduced but still a bit of an issue. Once the sprinkler issue is fixed then I need to possibly ‘bleach’ the wood to fix the water spray before I can finish staining.
This year I have accomplished much more than I had planned with the yard so pretty jazzed about that. Next year I am thinking of some nice landscape lighting.
Just for reference, here is a Bloodgood Maple (from Home Depot) that I planted 7 years ago, at about the same size as yours. It has been this size for at least 2-3 years; which is to say, they grow quickly when happy. We did have a close call with Verticillium early on, but were able to get through that without lasting effect. Its neighbors on either side, two Parrotia trees, were chosen because they are naturally Verticillium-resistant. The Juniper hedge in the background is 6-7' tall. This is one of my favourite deciduous trees.
@sir_keith, great looking tree! Our hope is our tree exceeds the fact it came from Walmart, lol. We just found it cheap and it had the unique crooked trunk that we fell in love with so we got it. Not many spots left in the yard for any more trees unless we take out a large overgrown lilac and or put one in the front yard kind of blocking the house view from the street.
My gardener taught me that If you choose carefully, you can get nice plants at places like Home Depot and Walmart. The fact that the plants are much less expensive at such places does not necessarily indicate that they are inferior quality, it just reflects the fact that the big-box stores are able to buy in bulk, and pass the savings along. Let's hope your tree keeps its cool 'kink' as it matures!