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We finally decided to get out of our apartment of 7 years and into a house. We liked the location so we found one about a mile down the road from the apartment. Luckily there weren't any other offers on the house and the previous owners were itching to get out. 45 day close and the last 10 days I couldn't wait to get the keys. I didn't take any photos until about 3 weeks after moving in so I don't have the best before and after photos. Most of the focus has been in the yard. The inside has been mostly just paint.
The deck was the ugliest thing about the house that I couldn't wait to change. It was a reddish brown color and you can see some pieces of it on the left. The cedar trees along the fence got the chainsaw a couple weeks after this.
Kicked out all of the screens because they were effed up. You can see the color of the deck before we painted it tan near the dirt.
Cedar trees still living their life.
Started digging a pond.
All of the brush is from the side of the lot outside the fence. My brother had given me a machete for my birthday one year and had never used it but after we got the house it dawned on me that it was time to put it to use. It was a lot of fun lol.
This was where most of the brush was before I rambo'ed that shit.
Here was another area that had a huge swath of overgrown bullshit. I wish I would have taken a photo of it before I killed it with the machete. It was all in the area where there isn't any grass.
Cedar trees still doing their thing. Ugly vertical slats from the deck in a pile. Oak tree on the right.
This is the new view looking over the fence where the brush once was.
Wife's dad came down one Saturday and we took out the cedars. He loves cutting down trees so he was almost excited as I was.
The tree guys came to take out the oak leaning towards the house.
The wife found some awesome patio furniture on craigslist for a great price. Knocked out a section of the fence so they could get the tractor in and remove the brush.
The backyard when it was mostly dirt. The yard had a slope so I wanted to carve into the earth and make it level and form an elevated walkway to the back of the yard where the pond is located.
One of the earlier mods was this walkway. Before was an overgrown area of weeds and some type of bushes. Bought some stone pavers from lowes and some polymeric sand. LED walkway lights from Home Depot.
Sago palm from Home Depot. To this day it's still in the bucket.
Bought some succulents for the wife for her birthday.
The pine trees on the right had poison ivy vines growing up them so I chopped them up for the most part. Surprised I never got any bumps or itches.
It was time to start growing some grass. This was the area in the front where the brush was.
The front has a slope and it looks terrible so this is going to change over time hopefully.
Looks like damnit.
So I carved a wall into the ground. Eventually I will buy some pallets of Mohave thin stones and build a retaining wall.
Found some sod at Lowes. Most of the fence has been painted black at this point. It rained for 11 days straight. I had a talk with mother nature the week before and told her she was a bitch and wasn't shit, so then she showed me what she was capable of. It was perfect because we needed rain really bad and it saved a bunch of money on water.
Stumbled upon a really nice sale at one of the nurseries when I was visiting my parents one weekend. All Japanese maples and pots were 50% off. I should have got another one. This is a sekka yatsubusa (its a dwarf). You can also see the led deck lighting in the bottom left of this photo.
Starting to come together now. Not sure what I'm going to do about the hill side of the pond. Decided to lay some black mulch for the walkway.
Bought another pond liner for the waterfall/stream and a pump. Found some rocks at a place called Blue Max Material.
Found a nice looking tree for 20% off. Pyramidal blue cypress.
Grass looking fresh because of the rain.
This was the area in the front where I brought the wrath to all of the brush.
Found some more pink muhly grass.
A fellow acurazine member and his woman were walking on the sidewalk one day and saw me in the backyard and had to walk up the hill and suggested I add some steps so I did a couple days later. Ain't that right Ben?!
Waiting on the grass to grow.
This is the view from my favorite window in the house.
Retired acurazine member Scott came over one weekend and helped with lots of house mods. This is his car now.
Decided to use the front left room as you come in the door as a display room for the LEGO city. Found some display cases and tables from IKEA. Plan on painting this room white.
This is where the backyard is at now. Planning on some planters along the fence with bamboo in them. My cousin said he has a grove on his property and I can come take some anytime.
Back in the summer we were guessing what color this maple would turn in the fall. Orange!
This room was pink before and decided to turn it into the 'build room'. Went with BEHR limosine black. My friend Scott installed the recessed trim and ran some led rope lights behind it for some indirect lighting. Turned out pretty nice.
Spray painted the desk and the stack ons white.
The view out the window of the build room.
The fleet in the driveway.
Japanese maple to go along with the voltex and project mu.
Found a spot for the cypress.
Succulents are still alive.
Pressure washed some of the driveway. It's mostly done now except for the spot where the is300 is parked. (lazy)
i'm sure you know this already, but be careful with bamboo.. they spread like crazy... if you want to contain them, bury sheet metal around the circumference of the roots to prevent spreading... or just keep them above ground in a pot...
We had to do a similar overhaul on our front yard when we moved in - had 5 trees removed, bushes, rocks, replaced main sewer line. But it makes your house look so much better when complete.
Damn Eric... that looks awesome! You sure don't mess around! I'm sure the neighbors are happy to have someone cleaning up the space as well.
We are actually getting ready to bid out some retaining walls ourselves. Not a fun or pretty project, but something we need to get done. Good news is that once they are finished we can move on to the fun projects
Keep up the good work and pace yourself. The fun never ends
Eric have you thought of doing something like this on your deck railing? Not the large metal pipe but rather the wire parts. I think it would look awesome with the dark color you chose for the railing and it would be something you could easily DIY.
i'm sure you know this already, but be careful with bamboo.. they spread like crazy... if you want to contain them, bury sheet metal around the circumference of the roots to prevent spreading... or just keep them above ground in a pot...
Thanks! I've looked at some videos about bamboo and learned there are two types and what you have to do about the running type to contain it.
Originally Posted by Jakes_tl
That is a gorgeous house! I love what you have done to it! I really like the color on the siding, Is that vinyl siding or wood?
By the way i wouldn't call yourself lazy. You did more work in a month than I would have done in a year.
Thank you! I think the siding is wood. haha..the past months have probably been the least laziest days of my life but I have just been slacking on finishing up with the pressure washing.
Originally Posted by imj0257
Beautiful place.
Originally Posted by ggesq
Eric
Originally Posted by SamDoe1
Nice Jeep too!
Thanks guys!
Originally Posted by DarkTower19
That's a lot of landscaping! Well done
We had to do a similar overhaul on our front yard when we moved in - had 5 trees removed, bushes, rocks, replaced main sewer line. But it makes your house look so much better when complete.
Thank you! Yeah landscaping can really change the look of a property for sure.
Originally Posted by Jakes_tl
Is it just me or do you like white cars / vehicles?
I definitely have a fetish for white vehicles haha. #whitecarfetish
Originally Posted by stogie1020
The FIRST thing I thought when I saw that was "I wonder what concession he had to make to the wife to get that room?"
haha she is cool with it.
Originally Posted by Flipster23
Congrats well done.
Man, I wish houses in Cali were like this.
Thank you! Houses in California look much better than this don't they?! I have always admired the styles of houses there.
Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
Looking awesome Eric.
Thanks Jason. We need to get you and Megan over.
Originally Posted by The_GPW_AP2
Eric, the house is amazing. I'm embarrassed at the lack of progress with mine now. You've done more in a few months than we've done in 3 years!
Thanks Evan. You have any house mods planned?!
Originally Posted by juniorbean
Damn Eric... that looks awesome! You sure don't mess around! I'm sure the neighbors are happy to have someone cleaning up the space as well.
We are actually getting ready to bid out some retaining walls ourselves. Not a fun or pretty project, but something we need to get done. Good news is that once they are finished we can move on to the fun projects
Keep up the good work and pace yourself. The fun never ends
Thanks Dennis. When I was doing a lot of the yardwork people walking by would comment. They seemed pretty happy about it.
Originally Posted by CLtotheTL32
I still need to come over and check out the place! Fantastic progress so far
Thanks Tyler,..come on over whenever you want.
Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
Eric have you thought of doing something like this on your deck railing? Not the large metal pipe but rather the wire parts. I think it would look awesome with the dark color you chose for the railing and it would be something you could easily DIY.
Yeah I keep forgetting about the cable railings. The plan is to run some cables about 4 inches apart. There are some on ebay ...just haven't clicked buy it now yet. I've casually looked around lowes and home depot for some cable kits but there doesn't seem to be any at the stores.
The display room looks a little better now. Need to order more parts for the tower on the left and reconstruct the pink hotel. Jason do you spy your wedding gift in this photo?
Looking down the stairs. We want to either paint the wood on the railing black or just go with a whole new railing. Something moar modern.
Still don't have a dining room table. Probably gonna go with one of those taller square tables.
Been waiting on the green light from the wife to change the look of the kitchen. Planning on painting the cabinets white, adding trim to the top of them, crown molding, walls to be painted taupe, and maybe some type of tile, led lights, and get rid of the fluorescent light fixture.
Pretty happy with the backyard at the moment. Next march I will start lurking through the nurseries for cool looking plants and trees haha. Maybe 1 or 2 Japanese maples, some type of palm tree, and whatever else looks good.
The garage will be the biggest before and after. It looks like fuck right now lol. Earlier this week I already started working on it so it looks different than this photo. It might be a while until I finish it. Painted the bricks on the bottom black. Started coating the drywall with primer. Gonna install drywall. Rustoleum gray epoxy garage floor kit(the first thing I actually bought for the house) Maybe some type of cool light fixtures in the ceiling. Leaning towards some more led indirect lighting around the perimeter of the ceiling as well.
One last fall shot. Hopefully it will snow this winter.
Congrats, Eric! You've done amazing things with the yard; I love it!! The inside looks nice, and the things you're talking about doing will look really good. Looking forward to the progress.
Nice work on the house, that backyard is totally transformed. How is garage progress going? Have you checked out garage journal, always great inspiration and tips there. Good call on the white walls, I would recommend LED or fluorescent shop lights to go with the indirect lighting, you can never have too much light in the garage
Eric, I added two spotlights that shine down on our cars' hood's when they're closed, and shine down on the engine bays when the hoods are open. You don't have to do something like that, just thought I'd offer an idea. I also put five or six double cabinets painted dark gloss wood (like a cherry wood) up around the perimeter of the interior of my garage. I store LEGO boxes in there, car supplies, and some engineering books I have. People have said my garage looks nicer than my kitchen! Ha!
Damn, loving what you've done with the back yard. Nice job E!
Thanks!
Originally Posted by chill_dog
Congrats, Eric! You've done amazing things with the yard; I love it!! The inside looks nice, and the things you're talking about doing will look really good. Looking forward to the progress.
Thanks Jack! Should have some more progress pics soon.
Originally Posted by 1StGenCL
That looks great, nice work man!
Thanks!
Originally Posted by The_GPW_AP2
No house mods planned beyond some minor exterior lighting at the moment. We're both actually working on saving a bigger "nest egg" of sorts.
ahhh nest eggs are smart. Hoping you might present your s2000 in the driveway later today Sir! [the battery in my camera is fully charged fyi] haha
Originally Posted by foxriderar77
Nice work on the house, that backyard is totally transformed. How is garage progress going? Have you checked out garage journal, always great inspiration and tips there. Good call on the white walls, I would recommend LED or fluorescent shop lights to go with the indirect lighting, you can never have too much light in the garage
Thanks! Garage progress..not much going on. It looks a little different than the few photos I posted. I've been trying to decide what type of lighting to run in the garage..i did replace the two cfl bulbs for the time being with some white led ones located on the ceiling. Looks a little better now.
Originally Posted by gatrhumpy
Eric, I added two spotlights that shine down on our cars' hood's when they're closed, and shine down on the engine bays when the hoods are open. You don't have to do something like that, just thought I'd offer an idea. I also put five or six double cabinets painted dark gloss wood (like a cherry wood) up around the perimeter of the interior of my garage. I store LEGO boxes in there, car supplies, and some engineering books I have. People have said my garage looks nicer than my kitchen! Ha!
Wow that sounds look a nice garage. Do you have a photo of it? Feel free to post it if you do or a link to where I can see. Need some inspiration!
Originally Posted by bcbtony
Damn its been almost 10 years cant believe you still have the TL.
This is the future dining room. LEGO boxes, hot import nights trophy behind them from years ago(because ricer), and ugly light fixture.
Two cans of paint gearing up for deployment.
Stair balusters about to die soon once I get the green light.
Quick shot of the display room. Still no updates here. One gloomy day and some cold beers can make this room turn up real quick though.
Ceiling fixture looking extra stupid now with everything out of the room.
That Japanese maple outside the windows is fire. I need to take some nice photos of it.
Did a two tone. Wife chose the colors. Very happy with the outcome.
Took the shades off the bulbs and it looks a little better.
Shoutout to my wife for letting me paint. Painting the dining room wasn't even on my radar for things to mod but last weekend she started talking about it so we went to lowes, bought the supplies, and knocked it out. Ended up breaching into the kitchen as well which was incredible. Lodged some led puck lights on top of the cabinets that I had bought months ago and it looks really nice when they glow on the ceiling. Bought another set and some extra single puck lights for the other side and for under the cabinets to shine down on the counter top.
Also planted 40 tulip bulbs and about to go plant the 50% off batch of hyacinths and moar tulips..i think there are about 90 of them total.
Last edited by ACCURATEin; 11-22-2015 at 08:14 AM.
Painting the cabinets white and crown molding around the top in the kitchen as you've said earlier will change the look big time in the kitchen. Keep up the good work!
11-08-2015, 11:52 PM
It was perfect because we needed rain really bad and it saved a bunch of money on water.
