halfway backyard makeover

Hi, everyone! Today I’m going to show you the progress so far in our backyard makeover. First, an explanation as to why this was so vital.

Our house is more than a century old, so with it came with old problems! It was also part of an estate sale and had been neglected for many years. When we purchased it last summer, we were well aware that the basement walls were cracked. We also were told that at some point, the basement floor had gotten wet. Fast forward to this past spring, and the entire basement flooded. As the snow slowly melted, water poured in through the many cracks. This went on for weeks.

We eventually cemented and sealed the basement cracks and perimeter, yet the underlying issue was underneath the back deck. Under that rotted deck was a large, two foot deep pit. The power line to the garage was exposed, and mice had eaten away at the plants and other garbage that was down there. It was a huge mess. Our yard sloped towards our house as well, which meant that all of the water from the back alleyway, our neighbour’s yards, and our yard would drain into our basement. Hence, the urgency to rectify it before the next spring melt. Below are the before photos.

Geoffrey began by tearing out the old deck. He buried the power line, fixed the cracked foundation, and added more wood siding to the bottom of the house. Then he filled the pit with yards and yards of dirt, grading it as he went along. At the same time, he cleared away the thorny bushes and plants at the back of the yard, and found some extra paving stones. He used those to continue the path to the back door.

Inevitably, he laid down pea gravel on one side where the old deck used to be, and sod on the other. Then he built a small deck (as I call it), or large step (as he calls it). I bought new lights and hardware, and he replaced our old ones with the new ones, then the old garage lights with our old porch lights. Whew. There’s more, but that’s the gist of it! Here are the after pictures.

We’re going to wait until next year to stain the deck, paint the back door, and add more plants. The house also needs a new shingles, soffit, fascia, and eaves. We’re hoping to get to that in the spring. Additionally, it needs to be painted, and is in need of a new fence! Hence, the halfway point. Or less than, I should say. ;-)))