This photo of the backyard is from the first day, in March. It was a little overwhelming at the time, but we were fortunate to find some really good contractors. 

 

This photo is from the end of July, as we are wrapping up. We were able to cut the water bill by more than half, despite watering a lot more lawn, by replacing all of the old sprinkler heads and repairing what turned out to be several big leaks. The brown grass on the hill turned green within a month, at this point I was still adjusting the sprinkler timing and schedule.

 

The pest removal company used only pet and people safe chemicals for cleaning, and focused on sealing holes to prevent future infestations. The morning they arrived, all 20 of them suited up and got to work. The first part of the process is to remove all existing attic insulation, and here they are taking the bags of old insulation down to a trailer on the street.

 

 

A junk removal crew came and hauled away all of the left over construction material, unused landscaping material, and all of the things in the house and garage that were not needed. It was at least 4 dumpster truck loads of stuff, and shortly after the landscapers came and started preparing the backyard for installation of sod. 

They also trimmed trees, cut back some very large palms at the road, and generally made everything look great. Gabriel was the owners name, and he was like an Angel, bringing everything he touched to life, it was impressive to see.

 

The garage was the most challening, and arguably the most important part of the whole project. Due to the improper pouring of the floor during original construction, large rains resulted in water running under the garage door and pooling in the garage. 

 

We located a very good company that was a little slow due to Covid, and they were eager to get to work. As a result, we had a full crew onsite everyday from start to finish. They were very efficient.

 

While they were onsite, they also re-tiled the water fountain. It took a couple of guys a few days, and they were able to use some of the tile left over from the original construction.

 

Much of the time consuming work involved trenching new sprinkler lines, and replacing, moving and adjusting existing sprinkler heads. 

 

Whenever possible we used construction material left over from the original build, like the landscaping cloth and rock we trucked down the hill to the street planters.

 

Did I mention that we did a lot of trenching and conduit work? We did A LOT of trenching and conduit work... This is where the largest water leak was found, and we also added a few new sprinkler locations nearby, and rerouted the existing security camera wiring thru conduit.

 

While we were at it, some trees were planted before the sod went in. In this case, a red Plumeria tree is being placed within view of the kitchen window.

 

After all of the ground work was done, the sod was delivered and installed.

 

Taking a break while installing a new sprinkler head.

 

All of the exterior wood, concrete and metal was painted. However, preparing to paint took far longer than the acutal painting, as there was a lot of sanding and concrete repair needed.

 

I was able to use our air compressor and a spray gun, to apply all of the primer and paint. Quotes for painting were in the $25k range, so we opted to let the new owner paint the inside the way they liked, and to paint the exterior ourselves. 

A lot of trips were made to the local Dunn-Edwards paint store, as we used a whole lot of paint.

 

We had to rent some heavy equipment, so that we could reach the high spots for power washing and painting. We power washed pretty much the entire house, minus a few places that we could not reach with the lift or scaffolding.

 

Painting the wood trim. Every piece of trim around every window, all handrails, absolutely everything was primed and painted, all the way down to the street. Aside from me and James, several of Sara's family helped with some of the painting. It was the last part of the process, and there was some stress due to the looming deadline, but it all came together in the end.

 

The fountain was one of Sara's top priorities, as it had never actually worked. In the end, the pump turned on in the morning and off at night, providing the peaceful sound of running water that was able to be heard anywhere in front of the house. 

It was a very long process, and after looking at all of the pictures again, it's amazing we actually got it all done. However, it was worth it in the end, and a lot was learned by all.

The next time something like that is done, I will just be supervising, but at least now I know, first hand, what it feels like after a day of digging trenches, and what having your hands in wet concrete all day does to your skin. Much respect to the manual laborers of the world, and many thanks to everyone who helped along the way...