The Deck

With the front of the house looking in good shape, it's time to turn attention to the rear. Following construction, the back of the house is in a bit of a mess and the thick clay soil and recent rain doesn't help matters.

First step is to grade the area by calling on the services of The Dingo! The Dingo is a mini hand operated bulldozer and should make the work a lot easier.

At first things go well...

But then the thick, cloying clay soil starts to take it's toll...

Despite the caterpillar tracks, the Dingo starts to get bogged down...

Until it finally digs itself in too deep and gets stuck. One dead Dingo.

After attaching chains to the Dingo and hauling it out, progress is more rapid on leveling the ground. Next the posts for the deck need to be set:

And then the deck can begin to take shape:

It's quite a complex structure as Julia had the vision of no visual barriers when looking out into the oak grove from inside the back of the house.

So, given the height of the back door above grade level, Richard and Diane designed a cascading set of steps that negated the need for a safety barrier between the house and the trees.

Clay continues with the work...

The decking is made out of cedar.

There haven't been any pictures of the back of the house, so here's one of the deck construction from halfway down the back garden.

 And here are the finished steps which turn out to be great just for sitting on and admiring the wooded surroundings:

And the view from the upper side. The deck is about 20 feet by 12 feet and provides ample space for a table, chairs and so on.

We also wanted to add a small enclosed play area for Molly down slope of the deck. This involved extending the downhill fence out to the back and under the nook windows and connecting it up with the deck. Here's Molly playing ball in her newly completed play area:

The addition of bark dust helps get the clay soil under control and makes for a nicely finished area from which we can enjoy the oak trees and Molly can enjoy the squirrels.

Idyllic isn't it!

Mending Wall

Like Robert Frost, I find the boundary-less lack of fences in the oak grove refreshing. To the side however, the City of Corvallis requires a fence to protect us from the four foot drop of the retaining wall. Prudent perhaps and, in such close proximity to the house-to-be next door, I like the fact that Brian and Colin are building us a fence. Here's the side view:

Now it's a case of finishing the front section.

Molly needs to weigh in on the construction as this is the main way she will get in and out of the house (muddy dogs have their own bath tub in the garage).

In short order the front section is completed:

And now we have Molly's official entrance:

Just add a Molly gate...

 
Oh, and of course the steps to get into the garage...

And the aforementioned over-size utility sink that makes for an ideal Molly bath tub...

And Molly is all set!

I am not sure if Molly really needs the fence, but for those of you interested in Robert Frost's views on the subject, here's a link to his poem:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mending_Wall

Landscaping

Apologies for the lack of recent posts caused by planning and executing the move and by a broken arm! With the inside pretty much complete, the next major episode is landscaping. Here's how the front was looking with most of the retaining wall complete:

The first step is to replace the topsoil. The topsoil is delivered by a special remote control dumpster truck. The driver/operator has a remote control device that enables him to drive the vehicle and operate the soil dumping process from outside the vehicle. It's quite something to watch a 15 ton vehicle maneuvering on a hill with no-one at the wheel!

The truck has a delivery system that enables the operator to spray the dirt where it is needed - it's the ultimate in toys for boys! The delivery system is a mechanical arm with an integrated conveyor belt. It can be elevated up to 12 feet high, rotate 180 degrees and launch material up to 100 feet! Here it is saving numerous wheelbarrow loads delivering dirt to the back of the house:

And the side:

It puts the soil exactly where you want it with extraordinary accuracy:

Well, almost extraordinary accuracy...

A less dramatic flow rate is required for the front of the house:

Though it doesn't take very long to deliver several yards of high quality loamy topsoil.

I was pretty fascinated by this machine as you can tell, while Richard was just enjoying the wheelbarrow loads he wasn't going to have to deal with by hand!

Once the truck is gone, the process of flattening and distributing the soil uses a slightly older technology...

Then it's time to start laying out the plants:

Once the plants are in, a layer of bark dust goes on the soil for erosion protection. The tree still in the bucket is a Dogwood, one of Julia's favourite trees and one which grows well in this climate.

And here's how it looks at this stage with the first stage of planting completed. The azalea is already blooming and the Dogwood to it's left is already budding out.

We plan to add more plants as well as a pond as we go forward. So watch this space!

Driveway

With the weather showing signs of improvement, and time running out, it was time to pour the concrete for the driveway. The concrete truck has arrived and the forms and support braces are already in place:

It's time to start pouring the mud (apparently it isn't called concrete until it goes hard) while Drew and his team manage the flow distribution:

It's immediately apparent that this isn't the first time they have done this!

The forms seem pretty sketchy to me but somehow the concrete ends up exactly where it is meant to go and already the surface is being shaped and skimmed.

In relatively short order, the driveway is completed. (The path and run-up to the drive comes later).

Then it's on to the steps...

After the surface is scored into sections and washed, it dries remarkably quickly!

Two days later Drew and the team returned to complete the sidewalk (pavement for those of you in the UK) and the driveway ramp onto the road.

And there we have it - simple!