3 months of weekends (why I haven't been boating..)

R

rogerbum

New member
I thought I'd share what I've been up to for the past several months. I haven't been out on SeaDNA for quite awhile due to a need to get yard work completed. In brief, this project involved building a new retaining wall, building a 12' x 10 ' patio out of pavers, building a fence around the perimeter, bringing topsoil and laying sod, planting a vegetable garden. So:

1) I built a new retaining wall - 4' tall by 12' wide by about 25' long (volume = approximately . For this I moved about 200 wall blocks (at 60lbs each = 12,000 lbs)
2) I regraded the back yard by moving about about 45 cubic yards of dirt into the retaining wall. This is approximately 121,500# of dirt.
3) I brought in about 3 truckloads of 3/4"gravel ( 6000#l). This was added just behind the retaining wall for drainage.
4) I brought in 2 truckloads of topsoil (4 cu yards = approx 10,800#) - this was used in the terraced off section of the retaining wall and was put in under the sod I layed.
5) I set 12 fence posts set at about 3' deep - each one took about four 60# bags of quickcrete = 2880#.
6) I added 8 fence panels and 3 fence gates.
7) About sixty 60# bags of 5/8 minus gravel (3600#) was used under the pavers and under the wall blocks.
8) The patio took about 1 pallet (#2000) of pavers. I bought another pallet to extend the parking area for my boat.
9) I brought in about thirty 60# bags of sand


I moved all of the above material myself with the exception that I hired a couple of guys to help move the dirt into the retaining wall - they did about 1/2 the work for that part.

So all total, I moved

12,000 # (blocks)
61,000 # dirt
6,000 # gravel.
10,800 # top soild
2,800# concrete
1800# 5/8" minus gravel
#1800 sand
_________________
So all total, I moved a little over $93,000 campaign. Some photos of the final product follow.

Today we got most of the garden planted. We planted: tomatoes (sweet 100's), sage, thyme, lavender , basil, parsley, sage, spicy oregano, sugar snap peas, carrots, beats and some perennials in the garden beds. Here's a few shots.

GardenFromBalcony.jpg
YardViewFromGarden.jpg

With all the major work done, I can finally devote some time to boating!
 
Roger-

Wow! Nice job! I can see where the time went!

You ought to add in the value of the gym membership you didn't have to buy into get into shape! (I know you already run as part of your weight control program.) Did you gain muscle or loose weight as part of the project?

Again, great job and very attractive!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Roger, that looks fantastic. With all the sweat equity you have in that project, I'm thinking that you probably lost more weight than the contestants you are competing against!

Isn't it going to be just a bit difficult to tear yourself away from the oasis you've created to go boating? Then of course you've got to spend time at home to harvest the garden......what's a guy gonna do? :wink
 
Key to boating weekends......bark dust. My yard is 95% bark dust. Rest is shrubs and a lawn just large enuf to the dog to do his business.

Nonetheless, nice job.

I've had yards like yours in previous homes. There was also the one special day in September when all projects was done, all weeds picked, etc., and I could enjoy Nirvana. The rest of the time, my mind was on the next task.

Guess that's why I like boating so much. Few projects.....just R&R.

-Greg
 
Wow! That is beautiful and looks like it will be quite maintainable.
Congratulations, and you didn't even hurt yourself doing all that lifting...amazing!

I hope to see you on the water now.
Anne
 
Thanks for the compliments. I sure was tired when I typed this post and now I'm beyond the edit period so I'll make a few corrections here. Edits in red.

1) I built a new retaining wall - 4' tall by 12' wide by about 25' long (volume = approximately 45 cu yds.) . For this I moved about 200 wall blocks (at 60lbs each = 12,000 lbs)

"2) I regraded the back yard by moving about about 45 cubic yards of dirt into the retaining wall. This is approximately 121,500# of dirt. I did hire some help for moving the dirt. I probably moved only about 1/2 of this myself.

So all total, I moved a little over 93,000# of materials by hand. Some photos of the final product follow.

Today we got most of the garden planted. We planted: tomatoes (sweet 100's), sage, thyme, lavender , basil (Italian and Thai), parsley, sage, spicy oregano, sugar snap peas, carrots, beets, snow peas, cilantro and some perennials in the garden beds. Here's a few shots.


Now to answer a few questions/reply to a couple of comments:

Greg - I'm with you on creating something that is lower maintenance. However, part of the reason for doing this was to create a space for my dog (who kept escaping from previous semi-temporary fencing). He needs some grass (at least according to my wife) and the grass was non-negotiable (at least according to my wife). Joyce would have had me do all of it in sod so I feel good that I was able to get the patio (no maintenance) and the planter bed by the garage (low maintenance - bark mulch) into the picture. The sod will require mowing but we do have a lawn care guy who comes once a week. Hiring someone else to do the week-to-week maintenance is another way to free up some boating time.

Joe and Dave,

I still am paying for the gym membership as that's where I do most of my running. However, this project certainly contributed to the exercise. I did add some upper body strength moving all the materials around and now I've added in some weight training at the gym too. In fact, I started doing crunches and torso rotations at the gym about a month before I started working on this project. Without those, I think I would have been in a lot of pain with all the shoveling I did. In the past, I've had some lower back pain when doing this kind of work but not this time.

I really didn't lose much weight as a result of doing this project. All the calories burnt on this work were burnt at home - close to the kitchen - and I when I was hungry after a hard day's work, I replaced what I lost. However, the vegetable garden will contribute to future weight loss/healthy eating. As you can see, we planted a lot of herbs in addition to some veggies (I still have to plant some lettuces and spinach). I love fresh herbs in my cooking - they add flavor without calories. However, herbs have gotten so darn expensive that I don't buy them as often as I'd like too. Most herbs are now about $4 for a small package and usually 2/3 of it rots before you can use it. With the herbs in the garden, I can just snip what I need.

Now I've got to get my boat running and out on the water. The batteries were low yesterday so I didn't get it out. I subleased a slip from Larry Howorth and it's available as of yesterday. So SeaDNA will spend most of the summer operating out of Everett this year. I hope to get the boat in the water sometime in the next couple of days.
 
Great job Roger! And you're looking lean and mean too! Way to go!

On a side note, I hope the quota isn't met by the time the Neah Bay fishing trip takes place. I'm dying to catch a mess of salmon out of Neah Bay this year.

Peter
 
wowzer, what a task, looks like something out of Sunset magazine, very nice. Is this all part of some kind of cage fighting training regiment?.....that should net you some MAJOR honeydew points
 
Roger, Wow really beautiful, and like my father in law says, you can't eat grass, so plant edibles. Looks like you did a great job of making it a very beautiful and usable space. Now, go and Enjouy the water too.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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