This gardens walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.
Breathe in and out…. in and out.
With all the frustration in this Bekob’s life, I REALLY needed a win, and, just to be clear, it needed it to be an straightforward win. I just didn’t have time or energy to spend on something else, but I thrive on the finished project. So, I decided to turn my attention onto a small section in our current backyard that has never been finished… I mean ever, in 20+ years.
Let’s just call it “the dump”. It looks just like it sounds (see below). We dump our grass clippings there and collect spoiled fruit or veggies from the garden to create a sort open concept composite bin. To make matters worse, the neighbor’s property lines split right through that section and there are two fences that meet in the center of the yard. An older cinder block wall and a white vinyl fence meet in that junction. Then add to that the fact that the two side fences are wood and one is newer and one older so it looks like 4 different fences on one yard.
Something had to be done.
I had a plan. A while ago, I realized the easiest thing to do would be to paint our side of the cinder block white to match the vinyl fence. I didn’t want to paint it with just anything, I like my projects to last. So I decided to use Drylok, which is a masonry waterproofing paint.
The whole process was VERY direct.
First we had to move a LOT of soil. (Well a couple truck loads. So while that wasn’t straightforward my husband and his brother got it done like champs!) Luckily we had the well fitted place for the soil in the side yard at our new house, so we moved it over there.
After that, the wall needed a good pressure wash to clean off the staining from the dirt and any loose soil. When the wall had dried, the mortar was looking pretty hammered so we needed to patch it. We used Drylok Fast Plug Hydrolic cement, that is made to seal cracks in masonry. We used exactly one bucket for the whole wall (size about 30′ x 7′ ish, and there was LOTS of patches needed, so I am sure it could go farther in other situations)
We used a roller and a special acrylic bristle brush to work the paint into the cracks, but also get the paint up quickly and evenly.
When the first coat was done we threw a second coat up and BAM! straightforward as that, the whole backyard looked cleaner. I can’t tell you what a huge difference was already made with the wall color change.
Lastly, we needed to do something with the ground.
Originally, I had been planning on doing a garden bed of flowers, but the truth is I didn’t want to have to maintain it. Also thinking of my mother having to maintain it, since this is my parent’s house, ultimately, I wanted to make it as straightforward as possible. We decided sod was the best bet.
And can I say, for wrapping up a project quickly, sod is like the impatient gardener’s dream.
Basically, with 2 days of work, the cinder clock wall went from hideous, to bright and striking. (albeit the sun has been hiding for the last 5 days so I couldn’t get a pretty sunny fall picture! Sorry ’bout that!)
It was the prefect quick project to smooth my remodel battered soul. (You fellow remodelers know what I mean right?!!)
I think this is the well fitted picture of what a change it made to paint, the huge change in materials is almost non-existent, it is so much less distinguishable.. The best thing is by painting it white, from my back kitchen window it appears as if the white vinyl fence just continues on.
I actually have some left over paint… and a few concrete basement walls in the new house that are calling my name. This quick painting project, has my mind and hope rekindled again!
Thanks to Drylok for working with me on this project. All opinions are my own.
