Looking Out

A first-time buyer plans outdoor improvements (with a little help).

 

 

 

It's almost been one full year since my family and I have lived in our first home. We moved in toward the end of the summer. With fall around the corner, one of the things I was most excited about doing before it got too cold was having a cookout. I wanted to invite a bunch of family members and friends to come over and enjoy great food and great weather, and most importantly, it would be at my house. Nothing makes you feel more like you’re living the American Dream than knowing you have the opportunity of sharing with other people something you're very proud of. I was reminded of how much fun we used to have as kids doing the same thing. I guess I wanted to bring that back.

 

We've got a covered patio. Above it is a screened-in porch, which is a great place to relax, because I hate bugs.

 

Spending just a couple weeks in the home uncovers details that, while clearly seen and acceptable during initial walkthroughs, take on a different feel and definition when living with them over a period of time. Take for instance our tree line. We were fully aware the back yard was quite shady. For the most part I saw it as a god thing. A hot summer day without a tree to lie under is tough to take. We noticed a little moss growing near the house, but that wasn't a big deal either.

 

Over time, though, the shade from all of the trees created, for lack of a better word, a black hole where very little light reached. It was about a twelve-by-twelve-foot section of lawn that did not get any sun during the day. Either the trees blocked sunlight in the morning or our house blocked it in the afternoon. Nothing would grow there. Except moss. When I looked out as we went into early fall, I saw that the moss had taken over much of the grass in the black hole section of our yard. I hate moss. It had to go.

 

Enter Charlie Hathaway. He's a landscaper by trade, and owns his company. He's also my neighbor. I asked him to give me some thoughts on a solution to my dilemma. I ask him if maybe we could cover the black hole area with pavers. Nothing’s going to grow there anyway, and then we could put the grill out on the paves. It would be on solid ground with no more fire hazard, and I wouldn’t have to worry about that stupid moss (no offense to Patriots fans).

 

Charlie's a first-time homebuyer too. He and his wife moved into their home about four years earlier. He knew firsthand how we all have to be very conscious of finances when planning home improvement projects. He told me that pavers tend to be expensive, and he recommended that we consider a patio extension made from cement. Cement? Yes. Broom-finished cement would cost less and be low maintenance; it also looks great and would match my current patio.

 

He had me at costs less. In the moss he drew out a rough sketch of what our new extension might look like. I was surprised to see that he'd outlined some curved features. Charlie explained that interesting curves are possible with broom-finished cement using lauan, thin tropical plywood, to create custom casts. I didn't even think you could do that with cement! And it would look much better than the basic squared-off edges I'd imagined.

 

Next he gave me a tour of similar jobs he'd done. There were broom-finished cement patios with interesting inlay patterns, wrapped around pools, and some with an outside border of pavers. He told me the whole project would cost 25% to 50% less than doing the entire job with pavers, and the effect was very impressive. The best part was that the entire project could be completed in only a few days. It was an easy decision.

 

I'm thinking that I see room on our new patio to build an outdoor bar. M-m-m, maybe next year.