This pretty much started when I had 20 yards of fill delivered on my vacation week. I decided to continue with the rest of the side yard, as it is the only real yard I have, despite being on 2 acres.
This is the latest progress. What I'd like to do is find some choice older shots to really get across all the work I've put in so far. The rocks. The boulders. It's a pain, even with an excavator.
I am back to using my lawn tractor and trailer again. Man that is a hard working duo. Abused the trailer again overloading it. The plastic construction is pretty handy. Lifted the rear of the lawn tractor straight off the ground when I loaded a big rock wrong.
This terrain is hard on the tracks. The old track gave up one of the teeth.
I am really happy how this is progressing. I thought this job would be impossible, or never happen. And I'm doing it right now. That is a good feeling.
Like I said, I'll find some older shots before I started, and even older with the years of leaf accumulation.
Side yard regrading
Side yard regrading
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
From May 27th, 2016. Leaves already cleared (itself a project over many weekends - and I think this was the weekend I finished), but all the rocks and stuff haven't been touched. It looks easy but every time the bucket touches the ground you never know what it will hit. Could be dirt, or could be a rock, a boulder, or who knows. I moved at least three or four boulders. When I say large, I mean the machine cannot lift them. So you need to get creative.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
Made more progress this weekend. Moved a few more boulders. And I cut down my first tree!
It landed exactly where I wanted it to. Next I began to cut the trunk into short sections to split and that would fit in my coal stove. I must have made like 4 cuts and the chainsaw completely stopped running. It has no spark so I ordered a coil. What the hell...
Ian lounging on the lawn tractor. I basically worked on the left half of the dirt area, almost exactly. It will never be flat but I am picturing it with halfway decent grass. Sweet. Again, I worked on the area on the left here. More of a direct shot of the progress from this weekend. The spot between those two trees - one in the center and one to the left of it - was the last to get the treatment. I also pulled the stump out from the tree I cut down, which will be more clear in a later shot. Future location of the swing set (left pad) and one of my rock piles. Right in the geometric center of this image is where that tree was. Stump gone, leveled out. What I've noticed is when I remove rocks and boulders, that is fill volume. When I grade the remaining dirt, the grade drops from where it was. This makes sense of course. A shot looking back where I took the last one (from a little behind where Ian is). Some steps back from there. Basically this whole area in the foreground is much better now. A couple of shots looking back at some of my work. This is such an improvement. Some past boulders with a 4-1/2 year old for reference. A sloppy boulder wall has appeared along my property line. This is probably not the exact line. Someday I'll figure that out. So that's it. I may peck away in a few more places but mostly this is ready for more fill and after that some top soil. Then I can actually put seed down. I don't know about fall seeding as the whole leaf situation seems to preclude the success of that method (raking, leaf blowing, lawn tractor stuff, etc.).
I need to get the chainsaw running and hack that tree up, and maybe take another one down, too. Another thread for chainsaw repair.
Ian lounging on the lawn tractor. I basically worked on the left half of the dirt area, almost exactly. It will never be flat but I am picturing it with halfway decent grass. Sweet. Again, I worked on the area on the left here. More of a direct shot of the progress from this weekend. The spot between those two trees - one in the center and one to the left of it - was the last to get the treatment. I also pulled the stump out from the tree I cut down, which will be more clear in a later shot. Future location of the swing set (left pad) and one of my rock piles. Right in the geometric center of this image is where that tree was. Stump gone, leveled out. What I've noticed is when I remove rocks and boulders, that is fill volume. When I grade the remaining dirt, the grade drops from where it was. This makes sense of course. A shot looking back where I took the last one (from a little behind where Ian is). Some steps back from there. Basically this whole area in the foreground is much better now. A couple of shots looking back at some of my work. This is such an improvement. Some past boulders with a 4-1/2 year old for reference. A sloppy boulder wall has appeared along my property line. This is probably not the exact line. Someday I'll figure that out. So that's it. I may peck away in a few more places but mostly this is ready for more fill and after that some top soil. Then I can actually put seed down. I don't know about fall seeding as the whole leaf situation seems to preclude the success of that method (raking, leaf blowing, lawn tractor stuff, etc.).
I need to get the chainsaw running and hack that tree up, and maybe take another one down, too. Another thread for chainsaw repair.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
Since then I added another 6 yards of fill to the swing set area. And 25 yards of top soil to the yard.
10 yards dumped yesterday. 15 yards today. Graded and raked. I probably need another 25 to cover the rest.
10 yards dumped yesterday. 15 yards today. Graded and raked. I probably need another 25 to cover the rest.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
Holy crap this thread is tremendously out of date. Wait until I show the progress.
Re: Side yard regrading
Scrolled to the bottom hoping to see progress, left disappointed.
Re: Side yard regrading
November 19, 2016
I don't know if I have anything else from the fall...
It was 55 yards in total of screened loam though (way more than what is seen in these shots). I would have graded what I had but what I had was so rocky that it just made sense to cover over everything with 3" of loam so I could seed in the spring.
I don't know if I have anything else from the fall...
It was 55 yards in total of screened loam though (way more than what is seen in these shots). I would have graded what I had but what I had was so rocky that it just made sense to cover over everything with 3" of loam so I could seed in the spring.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
April 8, 2017
This was the weekend that I seeded. Process:
- Rent power dethatcher. Set to 1" below grade and let it turn the soil a little bit to loosen things up. Go in two diagonally opposing directions. I did everything I needed at the half day mark so I returned it then.
In the afternoon, I did the following:
- Seed
- Starter fertilizer
- Lime
- Roll to press everything into the soil using tow behind 250 lb roller (also rented)
This was the weekend that I seeded. Process:
- Rent power dethatcher. Set to 1" below grade and let it turn the soil a little bit to loosen things up. Go in two diagonally opposing directions. I did everything I needed at the half day mark so I returned it then.
In the afternoon, I did the following:
- Seed
- Starter fertilizer
- Lime
- Roll to press everything into the soil using tow behind 250 lb roller (also rented)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
April 9, 2017
Finally got a sprinkler. April 23, 2017
Grass starting to come in faintly. Also mulched the front area which looks nice now. The grass in the foreground was already there. April 28, 2017
More progress.
Finally got a sprinkler. April 23, 2017
Grass starting to come in faintly. Also mulched the front area which looks nice now. The grass in the foreground was already there. April 28, 2017
More progress.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Side yard regrading
May 2, 2017
Greener yet May 14, 2017
More rain, more green. I realized that I originally seeded with a mix that was only 25% perennial. My bad. So I got this, which is almost 100% perennial rye and supposed to be really awesome grass. I over-seeded with this, re-fertilized and re-limed. I also used it behind the house/driveway. We'll see how it grows in. I see sproutlings now (5/21). May 21, 2017
Just another week and it was LONG and way ready for another mow. I did a little bit with the push mower a week or two ago but this time I did the full treatment with lawn tractor and bagger. Truth is, I started with the push mower because the deck was off the tractor. And it died less than 1/3rd of the way through. So I was forced to put the deck back on the Simplicity. It does a nice job so I guess it was worth it. The grass is still quite tender but it needed to be cut for sure. Jamie and I sat on the fill/future swing set area while Ian pulled Owen around in the wagon. It was nice to enjoy the yard for kind of the first time ever. Jamie is really happy with how it is turning out, saying that she never imagined we'd have a yard here, as bad as it was when we bought the house. Lots of work...
Greener yet May 14, 2017
More rain, more green. I realized that I originally seeded with a mix that was only 25% perennial. My bad. So I got this, which is almost 100% perennial rye and supposed to be really awesome grass. I over-seeded with this, re-fertilized and re-limed. I also used it behind the house/driveway. We'll see how it grows in. I see sproutlings now (5/21). May 21, 2017
Just another week and it was LONG and way ready for another mow. I did a little bit with the push mower a week or two ago but this time I did the full treatment with lawn tractor and bagger. Truth is, I started with the push mower because the deck was off the tractor. And it died less than 1/3rd of the way through. So I was forced to put the deck back on the Simplicity. It does a nice job so I guess it was worth it. The grass is still quite tender but it needed to be cut for sure. Jamie and I sat on the fill/future swing set area while Ian pulled Owen around in the wagon. It was nice to enjoy the yard for kind of the first time ever. Jamie is really happy with how it is turning out, saying that she never imagined we'd have a yard here, as bad as it was when we bought the house. Lots of work...
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.