Project: Backyard Stairs

There are lot’s of great things about being a home owner (and lot’s of not so great things too) but I think one of my top 5 favorite things about owning a house is having my own backyard.  Being a dog owner, there is something really special about being able to let your dog out in the middle of the night to poop (yes, I used special and poop in the same sentence) and not have to worry about landlords or neighbors complaining.

In addition to our backyard being a great late night bathroom spot, it’s also become a bit of a sanctuary for me and Tony.  For the neighborhood we live in, we got lucky with a big chunk of land, and while that requires quite a bit of maintenance, it’s worth it for all of the outdoor hangout time we’ve accrued so far this summer.

Ok enough words.  Let’s see some pics shall we?

We (and by we I really mean 90% Tony, 10% Jenny) have done quite a bit to the yard so far, so I’m going to break this up into a few posts… Oh, and there might be a video… Just warning you.

But let’s start with the basics.

Here is a picture of our yard soon after we moved in.   The yard is broken into two tiers, each about the same size, and the lot spans the entire block so we don’t have any backyard neighbors… just a private road.  The house you see in the back is actually on the other side of the street.

As soon as spring hit, it was like a jungle out there!!  There were so many flowers and bushes we didn’t know existed.  Each week it was fun to see what new vegetation would grow…

It also meant Tony became attached to his lawn and weed trimming tools.

It became obvious early on that we needed an easier way up to the second tier of the yard, so Tony cut away some of the bushes and put in cinder blocks for temporary steps.

It was still pretty tough getting up there.  We would make guests sign a waiver in case of injury.

Kidding.

Then after a few months of saving, we were ready to bring in the big boys…  Bring on the stairs!

Stairs progress Day 1:

Stairs Progress Day 2:

Stairs Progress Day 3:

And now seeded for grass….

I am THRILLED with how they turned out!  And the best part is that they were able to use the rocks that were already in our yard which totally cut back on the bill.

Next steps:

Short term – Pray that the grass grows where the seed is.  Note our pet owl who is working on keeping the birds away.
Long term – Likely next summer, remove the rest of the bushes on either side and build a rock wall.

The fire pit is now ready and accessible, so come on over!

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