backyard manicure (or pedi?)

right before thanksgiving we gave the backyard a serious manicure. it was looking pretty drab and had again just turned into a giant dirt pile. 

so we went about raking all the leaves and sean cut down a few trees that were in the way.

we wanted to put down rye seed because we know it grows fast enough to make our yard look nice in time for sean's family that visited over thanksgiving, and it would buy us some time until we decided what to really do. we also decided that we wanted to rock some areas that get a lot of doggie and human traffic. and came up with this:

the first picture is a lot nicer since the grass started growing through the rocks! and leaves continue to fall. but it gives you a good idea of what it looks like now.

diy house skirting

ever since we had the foundation repaired on our house (which was when we moved in!), we've had no skirting. which meant it looked like this all over. it's quite hideous, and on top of being ugly - it made it so we didn't  have a sealed in backyard. the dogs would go under the house and right out the front. which wasn't an issue for willie, but riley is a bit sneakier and would take herself out for the day.

these are pictures of the side of the house. i lost the photos of the back. but it looked very similar to this.

we debated on what to do for a while. traditionally, pier and beam (meaning they are not built on a concrete slab) homes are skirted with stucco. this process has become kind of an art form and we were quoted $6000 to do ours because of the time and skill that it requires. we were slightly overwhelmed at the idea of trying to do this ourselves, though we did consider it for a while. after lots of internet research and talking to guys at homedepot, we decided to go an easier route.

we used textured and primed hardiboard. it comes in sheets like this, and is essentially concrete made into boards. it doesn't ever rot or disintegrate, so we thought it would be a good (and much cheaper alternative). 

here's what it looks like in boards:

we went about priming it again, measuring it, cutting it, installing it, and then painting it again.
here's a picture of the back yard in progress:

sean removed the bottom piece of siding since it had rotted some, as well as all of the framing pieces for the doors, and the gutter in preparation. we also dug deep ditches where the skirting would be, since it's supposed to be 6-12" below the surface to hold out water.

our awesome neighbor had some siding she wasn't going to use, so we used that as our replacement.

 
here are some photos of how it looks all painted

we're quite happy with the way it looks. (sean framed out underneath the door for now, but we eventually plan on building a deck and walkway from the door, so that will be covered.) 

we plan on pressure washing the house soon, and then painting it. then we'll install some plants and rocks where all of that dirt is now.

the total cost for the hardiboard was about $450, and we might not even use it all so it might end up costing us less than that. quite the savings, and i think it looks great considering it was way less expensive, and wasn't too hard to do.

total cost: about $550 (including hardiboard, primer, paint and nails)

savings: about $5450

time spent: it took us a weekend of hard work to complete the backyard portion (we still have the two sides of the house)

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