Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fixing Grades

In honor of the Atlanta Public Schools, we had our very own grade changing party in the middle of July.

P1170337_2801

We didn’t do any drastic grade changes.  We just back filled around the brick foundation and cut in the loop driveway in front.

P1170376_2765

As you can see, Jason the Grader (or should I say, Grade Changer) played a joke on me.  After he had the driveway all shaped up and the planting area in the middle all covered in mulch, he got Jason the Mason’s mortar mixer and left me a little yard art.

P1170375_2764

I was upstairs checking out the paint progress, but I looked out the window and caught him in the act.

P1170348_2812

I don’t know.  Maybe with a few pansies and some ferns, it could become an attractive focal point.

P1170349_2811

Meanwhile, Jason and his crew slipped around back to shape things up.

P1170330_2826

They got everything all nice and tidy, but…

P1170318_2819

I had asked them to sift through the vast quantities of wasted sand from the brick job and spread it over the back yard.  All that red clay needs a little something to lighten it up.

P1170326_2825

Well, they got the spreading part right, but not the sifting, as you can see here.  So, I ran home and got my handy dandy screen for sifting compost and my matching saw horses.

P1170322_2821

It was better than panning for gold in Dahlonega! 

…and more tedious…

So, I figured that 2 sifters would be double the fun.  I remembered a piece of hardware cloth up front that the geothermal well drillers had used to sift the sand for their grout.  We pulled a few boards out of the dumpster and knocked together another sifter.

P1170328_2815

By the end of the day, the sand was all sifted and spread and we were looking pretty good.

P1170332_2796

Except for the dirt at the  far end of the retaining wall.  Something must be done.  I think I hear the siren song of the rock yard…

1 comment: