As you may have seen me sharing on the Jarrah Jungle social media pages over the last few weeks work has started on our backyard deck and patio project.
The retaining wall had to be built first - this took about 4 days which was spaced out over 2 weeks due to the need to let the concrete and blocks set and dry and the stonemasons other work commitments.
The retaining wall had to be built first - this took about 4 days which was spaced out over 2 weeks due to the need to let the concrete and blocks set and dry and the stonemasons other work commitments.
Check out these before and afters of the amazing limestone work involved
in building retaining walls for our newly subdivided backyard block
in building retaining walls for our newly subdivided backyard block
First a trench was dug and a concrete footing was poured for the limestone brick wall to be built on top of. This had to be left to dry and set for a couple of days.
Next the metre long limestone blocks arrived on a great big truck and the driver used a bobcat to unload all the blocks and drop them off around the back of the house.
Then the guys got to work clearing the site which included the concrete steps from the laundry door out to the backyard being taken out - which gave me a fright when I opened the door to step outside and they were gone!
For a few weeks we had to do a commando leap sideways onto the new limestone wall to get outside and our furbaby Lexi has impressed us with her ability to jump up and over the wall with no trouble at all!
For a few weeks we had to do a commando leap sideways onto the new limestone wall to get outside and our furbaby Lexi has impressed us with her ability to jump up and over the wall with no trouble at all!
The limestone brick wall was built by P & P Stone who also built our front courtyard garden and the side limestone retaining wall for our new dividing fence.
Once we find good tradesmen we use them again and again for each renovation project that we do - we stick with the same plumber, electrician, cabinet maker, etc as you develop a good relationship with them, they look after you by doing a good job and you look after them by giving them continued work.
Once we find good tradesmen we use them again and again for each renovation project that we do - we stick with the same plumber, electrician, cabinet maker, etc as you develop a good relationship with them, they look after you by doing a good job and you look after them by giving them continued work.
The backyard will be half deck and patio and the other half will be a courtyard with paving and grass - we included the grass so it's pet friendly for our rescue dog Lexi.
Mr P waterproofed the inside of the courtyard as it will be filled with sand and get watered once the grass is laid so we need to protect the limestone so it doesn't stain.
To waterproof - first Mr P mixed up some mud and plastered it onto the inside of the limestone blocks to fill the gaps and left it to dry. Next he painted on two coats of waterproofing all the way around the inside of the courtyard walls, he used the same waterproof product that we used in our courtyard garden beds - it's like a thick black tar, is heavy duty and perfect for wet areas like garden beds.
This new retaining wall defines our newly subdivided block so this is going to be the size of our new backyard.
It's a lot smaller than it was as we have essentially cut our block in half because we plan to sell the back block of land in the future and keep and live in our renovated home at the front. Being able to 'retain and build' is a great way to climb up the property ladder and is quite a popular thing to do in Perth for those of us on big suburban blocks of land.
I'm so happy our limestone retaining wall is built .... next up is the deck and patio build!
Mr P waterproofed the inside of the courtyard as it will be filled with sand and get watered once the grass is laid so we need to protect the limestone so it doesn't stain.
To waterproof - first Mr P mixed up some mud and plastered it onto the inside of the limestone blocks to fill the gaps and left it to dry. Next he painted on two coats of waterproofing all the way around the inside of the courtyard walls, he used the same waterproof product that we used in our courtyard garden beds - it's like a thick black tar, is heavy duty and perfect for wet areas like garden beds.
This new retaining wall defines our newly subdivided block so this is going to be the size of our new backyard.
It's a lot smaller than it was as we have essentially cut our block in half because we plan to sell the back block of land in the future and keep and live in our renovated home at the front. Being able to 'retain and build' is a great way to climb up the property ladder and is quite a popular thing to do in Perth for those of us on big suburban blocks of land.
I'm so happy our limestone retaining wall is built .... next up is the deck and patio build!
Sharing with link parties:
Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
[All images my own]
Y'all AMAZE me with all of this and you have a bun in the oven! Your husband is so good at renovating though and it just all seems to come together perfectly! Wow!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
curlycraftymom.com
Well to be honest I've been doing a lot of pottering around inside the house while Mr P is hard at work outside! But there's nothing like having a baby to add a bit of motivation to get things done :)
Delete