We bought a house one and a half years ago that in my mind “needed very little work” yet we have been non stop in improvement mode!  The latest project was the backyard.  We really wanted to create something that was usable three quarters of the year in the rainy Northwest. 

We began with building a garage last August and then six months ago by removing a very big Birch tree.  Then we perused through books and magazines trying to find our inspiration.  Eric drew up the plans and I vetted contractors and prices.  We settled on a contractor, and although not without lots of frustration, the end result is exactly what we wanted.  We even hired a landscape designer just to litmus test our design.  She turned out to be totally worthless and we stuck to our original plan.

Excavation took two weeks and four guys since it all had to be done my hand.  The unfortunate part was that once the excavation was completed, our contractor did work in dribs and drabs which really prolonged the project.  But he did have insight and knowledge that really helped define the project. 

The land was leveled (and raised in the fire pit area), a new back fence was built, pavers were brought in (115 of them at about 70 pounds each!), and the fire pit area created with salvaged sauna benches from 1994!  We looked for a fire pit, but could not find one we liked so we had a welder create what we wanted.  The welder also built the metal legs for the benches.  Then the garden box was built and plants were put in.  We bought a new natural gas grill last weekend and the final piece is a few more plants and to build the chicken coop.  We cannot wait to hang out in our new backyard all summer!