You realize how one can wait years for one thing, by no means see any progress in the direction of it, after which when it lastly occurs, it seems like issues are shifting ahead at lightning velocity? Yeah, that’s how issues have felt round right here these final couple of weeks.
First, after planning and dreaming a couple of workshop for years and years, the second lastly got here and it was in-built a day (for probably the most half). And now, we’ve determined to have our driveway poured after eleven years of not having one, and as soon as the ball began rolling, it appears to have gained velocity in a short time.
The entire preliminary prep work is finished. That work consisted of eradicating an entire lot of junk bushes that had grown up over the previous couple of years. (I do know calling hackberry bushes “junk bushes” generally is a bit controversial for some individuals, however most individuals round right here name them junk or trash bushes. However even when these bushes had been oak or pecan or one thing very nice, they nonetheless would have needed to be minimize down, sadly. So I’m glad they had been hackberry. I don’t really feel as responsible slicing these down.)
So right here’s what it regarded like earlier than they bought right here yesterday morning (though the 11-foot chain hyperlink gate had already been eliminated)…

And right here’s what it appears to be like like now after they minimize all the bushes down yesterday, despatched them by means of the wooden chipper, after which got here again early this morning and floor all the stumps down.

I can’t imagine how significantly better that appears already! It’s going to look so good with a concrete driveway!
I additionally had them do some trimming on the pecan tree in entrance to take away all the low branches that had been scraping the highest of my van each time I’d pull to the again.

Then there have been these two actually large piles of limbs from the emergency limb elimination that needed to occur the morning the blokes arrived to construct my workshop. The image is a bit deceiving. I don’t suppose it captures simply how large these piles actually had been.

So all of that bought picked up and despatched by means of the wooden chipper.

In addition they did fairly a little bit of trimming and clear up behind the workshop. There’s nonetheless a lot that must be carried out, however proper now, the driveway is the main target. I simply wanted the piles left behind from the workshop, and something that shall be in the way in which of the driveway to be eliminated.

As a humorous sidenote, I’ve to chuckle that each one that’s been to our property within the latest days (concrete man, tree trimming guys, the blokes who got here out to take away the fence and gate) have all remarked about how now we have an empty lot behind us. 😀 They’re at all times so shocked to seek out out that that’s a part of our lot. I’m telling you, it’s very uncommon to have such a giant lot inside town. That’s one of many primary causes I needed to purchase this home.

After which in addition they cleaned up all the large piles of brush that I had piled up from the limbs I minimize down earlier than my workshop was constructed, they usually trimmed the bushes again that had been hanging low over the place the driveway will prolong behind my workshop.

And one ultimate factor. They removed the junk tree that retains rising on this space in entrance of the breakfast room. They minimize it down, after which floor the stump. So now I have to put one thing on it so that it’ll by no means come again. That factor grows like per week. After I trimmed it to do {the electrical} shops on the facet of the studio, the factor had grown AGAIN to at the very least 20 toes excessive, if not larger. My mother has one at her again fence that grows a couple of foot per week, if not quicker. It’s insane!

So all the pieces is now all prepped and able to go. Fence and gate eliminated. Timber eliminated. Stumps floor down nicely under floor stage.
So what was the worth for that prep work? $3,600.00. That looks as if a very truthful worth to me as a result of all of that was some laborious labor, and it could have taken me a month of strong work to get all of it carried out had I attempted to do it myself. This fashion, all of it bought carried out in two days, and now there’s no delay for the concrete man to start out his work.
Like I mentioned, this has been a strategy of sluggish, sluggish, sluggish, sluggish, sluggish…..FAST! Hopefully we’ll see some driveway types start constructed on Monday! And I’ll undoubtedly be asking him beforehand a couple of French drain the place the workshop ramp meets the carport, as a few of you advised. I admire these ideas, as I by no means would have thought of that myself.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You’ll be able to study extra about me right here.