Latest house project - front porch

When we bought this place three years ago it had a koi pond in the front porch area. It was nice, and had an impressive waterfall feature, but we were never in love with it since the space is just a 12 foot gap between the house and garage and literally the only time anyone would be near it was walking to and from our front door since there's no space for chairs to sit out there or anything. And then after we moved in we realized that it leaked and the previous owner had a timer attached to the faucet to refill it every morning. So it was also a big waste of water. Once we shut off the water fill timer it drained almost completely in a matter of a couple of weeks. And then sat like that for the better part of three years.

Finally this summer SO decided we needed to do something about it. So he got quotes from the contractor that did our bathroom to either just concrete it or put decking. About $4,000 of both quotes was removal of what's there. So he decided that he could do that part and has spent two months digging out the pond and water pump, etc. Monday he spent $300 to have a task rabbit guy come and haul everything to the dump and now we have a flat dirt surface.

We've decided to have pavers installed. SO found some nice, basic 2'x2' ones at home depot for $18/apiece. And the install will be $4,000 less than the previous quotes to finish the space.

One good thing about this is that while digging out the pond SO also dug up our gas main. Because it was no longer protected by the concrete that was there when the house was built the pipe is rusting from water seeping down through the dirt and we can occasionally smell whiffs of natural gas out there so it has at least a small leak. We have a plumber coming tomorrow to inspect, and likely replace, it. It is also not up to current code, which requires things like that to be at least 18 inches below grade. Hopefully that won't be too expensive, but just as I was fine with paying for a new electric panel because of safety reasons I'm glad to spend the money to fix this as well.

That is a good savings for sure, and will be a nice simple design for your front area. I never wanted a Koi pond back when they were popular, but I do like water features that have moving water, but as you say they require maintenance.

Yikes on the gas line! I like pavers.

That is awesome that your SO had the will to tackle that himself!! Successful DIY projects are so satisfying, from the perspective of self-reliance and, of course, savings of cash outlay!! You both will always look at that paver patio with different eyes than if you just paid someone to do it.

That’s great about saving 4K by doing the work yourself. When we had houses all my husbands were handy so didn’t have to pay for a lot of improvements:)). I got a painting estimate for my balcony and it was 400 for 55 sq ft with me buying the paint. I only considered hiring it because it has a vaulted ceiling and I wasn’t thrilled about having to get that high on a ladder to paint the trim. I did it but it was terrifying and I never intend to do anything like that again.

Today, as SO was clearing out the dirt around the gas main prior to the plumber he found the sewer access point, which the home inspection report noted as ‘couldn’t be found’. It had been buried under the pond which seems kind of dumb. In any case we can now have the contractor build some sort of access panel to it when he installs the pavers.

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

That’s great about saving 4K by doing the work yourself. When we had houses all my husbands were handy so didn’t have to pay for a lot of improvements:)). I got a painting estimate for my balcony and it was 400 for 55 sq ft with me buying the paint. I only considered hiring it because it has a vaulted ceiling and I wasn’t thrilled about having to get that high on a ladder to paint the trim. I did it but it was terrifying and I never intend to do anything like that again.

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Saw on a home improvement show that they have poles that extend for painting high places. The person doing the painting had not done it before and exclaimed how easy it was..... ???

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Originally Posted by frugal-one

Saw on a home improvement show that they have poles that extend for painting high places. The person doing the painting had not done it before and exclaimed how easy it was..... ???

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That doesn’t sound easy at all…. You’d still need to tape the edges. And every time the roller needs more paint you have to be careful not to bump it on areas you don’t want to paint as you back away to get the roller to the paint tray.

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Originally Posted by frugal-one

Saw on a home improvement show that they have poles that extend for painting high places. The person doing the painting had not done it before and exclaimed how easy it was..... ???

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I don't know that my upper body strength could handle using anything extended and over my head for a significant period of time.

All the house stuff folks are doing sounds great! Makes me feel like I should get a project going... maybe. :~)

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Originally Posted by frugal-one

Saw on a home improvement show that they have poles that extend for painting high places. The person doing the painting had not done it before and exclaimed how easy it was..... ???

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I did use a pole but you have to get on a ladder to paint the trim. With a roller you can’t get close enough to the corners. Also my friend had to hang the plastic and tape it off high because I wasn’t steady enough to take both hands off the ladder to do this. With painting I could have one hand on the ladder. The pole was much easier for the high places and you don’t need much strength. I have a bad back and neck and am really in pain now from doing it.

Update. The gas main got replaced without issue. The pavers got installed and look great. Here's SO enjoying sitting out there. This week the skylight installer has been doing their thing. There is still a scaffold on our staircase so the full benefit isn't apparent, but will be by next week. Tomorrow they will get rid of the popcorn ceiling and next week they will paint.

Attachment 5632

Very cozy. Good job.

is there some sort of Honeybear statue creature behind your SO?

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

is there some sort of Honeybear statue creature behind your SO?

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Yes it is. It’s the only 3 dimensional one I’ve ever seen but the 2 dimensional ones are everywhere here. SO, unlike the author of this article, is a big fan of the artist.

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896327/f...-san-francisco

Very nice job and I agree with IL - looks very cozy.

It looks great JP!! I am spending 3-4 hours a day on my balcony now so you will get a lot of enjoyment from yours.

Very nice!! I'm sure you guys will spend a lot of time there!!

Work starts on fixing and screening in porch on Thursday. Called and said someone cancelled and all materials are now available and should be done in 2 weeks. They were coming to just fix and put down composite but now can complete the entire project. Also, doing inside projects and fixing masonry in front. Quit costly but so what! We have not been on vacation since covid (other than coming to Texas) and will be downscaling to just one car. Even if that was not the case, we have enough!

Your porch looks very inviting JP!

I guess this is the time of year when all our summertime projects start nearing completion. JP1 and Frugal-One, I'm sure you'll both enjoy your porch conversions for years to come.

As for me, my pool project is nearly complete, just a retaining wall, final landscaping and some detail work on what's left of decking (had to take out a section to accommodate pool) and we'll be done as well. The concrete crew finished pouring pool decking earlier today and completed rough grading in surrounding yard. It's beginning to look like we envisioned it.

https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net...1g&oe=6522DEF0

Gorgeous pool in a beautiful setting! I love the shape of the pool, and there's a lot of room for seating! Do you have any plans for landscaping? Do you have to build a fence around it?

Love the porch and pool

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Originally Posted by catherine

Gorgeous pool in a beautiful setting! I love the shape of the pool, and there's a lot of room for seating! Do you have any plans for landscaping? Do you have to build a fence around it?

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Well, on the landscaping the first thing we have to do is get about a ton of grass seed onto the mountain of dirt we've distributed over a nearly half acre of back yard, then build a retaining wall to separate the higher elevation on the left hand side from the pool. After that, we need to decide on what type of structure or screen to hide the mechanicals (pump, sand filter, electrical panel, heat pump & salt based chlorine generator) from view. The rest of the landscaping will wait till spring but probably consist of container based plants of some kind distributed around the perimeter of concrete decking, or, something completely different if my wife decides so.

No other fencing is required since the entire back yard is surrounded by split rail fencing, you just can't see it very well due to all the plant and tree encroachment from the other side. I'll probably trim a lot of that back over the fall (I've actually been putting that off for some time).

It's beautiful, Alan!

Nice pool, Alan! Looks like an area that will give you all years of enjoyment.

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Originally Posted by Alan

Well, on the landscaping the first thing we have to do is get about a ton of grass seed onto the mountain of dirt we've distributed over a nearly half acre of back yard, then build a retaining wall to separate the higher elevation on the left hand side from the pool. After that, we need to decide on what type of structure or screen to hide the mechanicals (pump, sand filter, electrical panel, heat pump & salt based chlorine generator) from view. The rest of the landscaping will wait till spring but probably consist of container based plants of some kind distributed around the perimeter of concrete decking, or, something completely different if my wife decides so.

No other fencing is required since the entire back yard is surrounded by split rail fencing, you just can't see it very well due to all the plant and tree encroachment from the other side. I'll probably trim a lot of that back over the fall (I've actually been putting that off for some time).

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We want a photo when it is all done!

Looks lovely Alan.

The pool will provide years of fun with your grandkids!!

That pool looks great! If we lived somewhere like Phoenix or Palm Springs I would totally want one. As it is we own 1/46th of one and someone else manages the maintenance of it. We use it maybe 5-7 times each summer. If we had our own I’m sure we’d use it more often. Labor Day a year ago it got to 115 degrees. Our hoa pool that we usually have to ourselves was mobbed with people and a fun time for all.

The scaffolding platform for the skylight install got taken down Friday. Here's the before and after of what it looks like inside now. Both pics were taken during the afternoon.

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What wonderful light!

Oh, that is much nicer with all that light.

It's funny. Growing up my mom habitually hassled my sister and I about turning off the lights when we left a room. Doing that is a habit I still have to this day. SO did not grow up being told to do that so I perpetually turn off the lights in any room he has left. With the new skylight I actually spent the first weekend turning ON the light in the stairway. Every time I walked into it it was so bright that I habitually assumed SO had left the light on so I'd hit the switch, the light would come on, and I'd think "Oh, the light wasn't on" and have to turn it off again.

OK, that is pretty funny!