Demo day for our backyard remodel is finally here! Today is day 1 of our backyard remodel project and I’m sharing everything the guys accomplished today. We’re so excited this day is finally here and can’t wait to see our back, front, and side yards transform. Come along for the ride!
Missed a post in this series? Click on a link below to access previous posts.
Our Backyard Remodel Series:
A Look at the Before | Design Plans | Selecting a Landscape Designer
In case you’re just joining us, let me briefly catch you up. In March of this year we started looking for a landscape designer to tackle our front, side and back yards. On Friday April 4th, after seeing the final design plans, we decided to sign with Brook Hagaman of Hagaman Landscaping & Construction.
At that point in time, they told us it would be about 5 weeks before they could start our project. It’s been a wet spring though and this caused delays with some of their other jobs. We’re now at week 6 and they are finally ready to get started. Today, is demo day and here is everything they were able to get done.
Day 1: Backyard Remodel – Demo Day
Plan of Attack
At 9:00 AM today, the crew showed up with 2 big trucks ready to get started. Brook came as well. We reviewed a few project details, walked me through what to expect today, and got the crew started.
I remember his words to me were “they’re basically going to make a mess”. I laughed and said “sounds good!”
While Juan (Djuan) and Ant (Anthony) got to work pulling tools and supplies out of the trucks, Brook pulled out the design plans. He got to work spray painting a rough outline of the patio with Jack, his project lead. They checked their measurements against the drawing to make sure the size was roughly where it needed to be, so they could get started digging.
They also briefly discussed the slope of the yard and what they needed to do to correct our drainage problem. Jack’s worked with Brook for over 20 years so this went pretty quickly. With no more questions from me or the team, they got to work as Brook headed out.
At this point in time, Mike was in Texas and had been for almost 3 weeks. He was just as excited as I was for this project to get started and I knew he’d be curious about what they were doing.
I usually work from our dining room table which gave me the perfect view for sneaking peeks at the progress in the backyard. It also made it easy to snap a few pics to send to Mike so he could see the progress too.
Making a Mess
Once the area was marked and Brook was gone, the crew got to work digging. They brought in the bobcat and used that to help carve out the outline of the patio around the existing cement slab. By 11:00, they had the outline dug and were ready to start breaking up the cement.
This is the part Brook warned us could be quite loud and so I took the dogs to daycare for the day. They both hate loud noises and sometimes they can cause Roland to have head tremors.
I had a couple of calls today and worried it would be hard to hear but it actually wasn’t too bad. For the majority of it they used a sledge hammer to break up the cement. I only heard the saw a few times and it was pretty short.
The Start of the Foundation
The guys broke for lunch around noon and when they came back, they started working on the first layer of the patio.
They used their tamper first to level out the ground and then added a layer of gravel. Once the gravel was down they tamped that as well.
Tamping is basically a method for creating a firm base on which to build upon. Running a tamper over loose ground/dirt/rocks compacts it, forcing out any air so the surface is nice and stable.
If this step is skipped and they started to lay the pavers down, they would most likely shift and cave in places as the ground starts to settle over time. Tamping speeds up the process so you don’t have to wait months for the ground to settle.
End of Day 1 and the Demo of Our BAckyard Remodel
By the time they completed this step it was around 2:00 and they were done for the day. Once they left, I snuck out to see the progress and snap some more pictures to send to Mike.
They left their bob cat and all their tools they would need for the following week. Much easier than hauling them back and forth every day.
Also, they had removed the existing pavers we had lining the flower beds along the garage. When Brook, Jack and I talked earlier this morning, they said they might need to pull the pavers and the plants in order to grade the ground underneath and run a drainage pipe.
The pavers were being replaced with new to match the back patio and coordinate with the new walkway. I’m not married to any of the plants in the flower beds and was good with locating them short term. Until we decided to replant them or move them to another bed.
I can’t believe the progress they made and the difference one day makes. It’s wild to see the new patio start to take shape. Next week I’m told they’ll start on the fence and should have most of it complete!
Check back next Friday to see how far they get!
Leave a Reply