Cliff May Restovation

More work on the courtyard. Don't have much commentary, but ask questions if you've got 'em:

I'm finally making some tangible progress. Here's the before:

Work continues on the courtyard. One of the most amazing things is to see a space which had been, more or less, unusable begin to resemble the finished product. In a home like a Cliff May the outdoor spaces are almost as important as interior ones. Even the L-shape layout of the house implies an exterior floorplan. For the past 4.5 years I've lived without any of the outdoor rooms completed. So I'm pretty excited to be well on the road to get one done.

Here's a photo of where we are:

Infrastructure is also a big improvement. I'm sort of following the motto: Any area I redo, I don't want to excavate again. This has meant a lot of extras. It adds up and I even had to draw up a "trenching plan" for the crew to go from. It also means thinking ahead.

One of the biggest things was figuring out how the previous owner had gotten live water over to this side of the house. Unlike most homes built today, in the 1950s it was uncommon for builders to provide outdoor spigots. This meant that the first homeowner would run all of their own exterior water lines. In my case, I had an oddly-placed spigot in the courtyard and a funky riser with a lone sprinkler valve sticking 2ft out of the ground about 10 feet away. It turns out all of this was galvanized pipe, part of which ran all along side the house. I'm fairly certain it

was original, from 1954. In accordance with my motto, I decided to replace all of it with PVC at the proper depth. Below is a photo of what came out of the ground...I'm shocked it wasn't leaking.

So today started off like a good day. It sounds like the "people" behind me are moving out. I checked the title the house and it looks like it was or will be very shortly, foreclosed upon. I wouldn't wish a foreclosure on anybody but I think these people were perfect examples of the kinds of people that had no business buying a house at all.

I finally had the contractors over to start up the courtyard. It's taken a while to get my schedule in order and say go, but I'm pleased to report the ball is rolling. Below are some photos of the preliminary progress. We've already made some tweaks to the design as proportions feel a bit different laid out on the ground with spray paint than they do on a piece of paper.

A couple of hours later it had been repaired. I gave my contractor some money to order materials for the courtyard and asked him how much for the pipe repair. He told me to just pay him what I thought it was worth. This actually put me in kind of an uncomfortable position. Too much and I'm throwing money away, too little and I risk alienating someone I plan to give a lot of work to.

Anyhow, I gave him an amount and now I feel like it was a little low. So, to remedy this, if anyone needs any kind of outdoor masonry, landscaping, grading, etc type of work, I've got just the guy.

Work on the landscaping continues. I was finally able to get some horsetail planted in front of the fence. Hopefully these things will live up to their week moniker and fill in nicely.

I also decided to call in some help on the courtyard. With fall approaching and the nights getting cooler, I'm anxious to be able to use some of the outdoor space Cliff May homes are famous for. My contractor suggested I create some drawings to better illustrate what I wanted and give them a roadmap. I used Google Sketchup (of which I am a HUGE fan). In about 20 minutes I put this together. The gray areas are plantings and the sand area are compacted sand for paver placement.

Many of you not in SoCal have probably heard of the big heat wave (and fires) we're having out here. Luckily, the fires are far from my home and the wind has blown the smoke and ash away from direction.

Still, I'm rethinking my decision to work in the 100 degree heat. I think all home improvement work is a bit strenuous to the weekday desk jockey. However, landscaping work is truly hard work. Shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows -- they're all instruments of torture. Anyhow, I'm just about ready to plant.

I'm getting ready to plant horsetail...the area is pretty shady and moist so I think it will do well. Horsetail is fairly invasive, but I'm taking several steps recommended by the nursery: 1. regular pruning of unwanted culms, landscape cloth surrounding the plant, and rocks on top of the landscape cloth.

The photos may not look like much but a lot got done. The biggest items was installing and extension to the existing flower bed irrigation system. I refuse to plant anything without a workable plan to keep it watered. I trenched down to install the PVC the length of the fence and added a few risers. I plan on installing drip irrigation but I wanted the traditional risers to allow future flexibility. Here's a fun hint...soaking the ground makes a big mess of your shoes, but also makes trenching much easier.

Next, I worked on leveling out the dirt and breaking it up. When your soil has a high clay content, this can be pretty exhausting. Finally, I was able to install the edging I've been working on. This has been a bit intimidating. I don't really like any of the available edging systems on the market and pouring concrete seemed like it would be too thick. I do like the bent sheetmetal but that seemed too thin. I settled on getting some 5/8" by 5 and 3/8" redwood. This gives just a hint of organic separation, lasts a long time, and is priced reasonably (a hair over $2 per linear foot).

Lastly, I've been working on some lighting schemes to light up the house numbers. I'm no fan of Disneyland-esque landscape lighting, but I think key lighting of functional items (steps and house numbers) adds a nice touch. I've decided to go low-voltage and picked up a Malibu well light on ebay for $15, shipped. Unfortunately, it was only available in a hideous hammered faux stone finish. One of the cool things about the fixture I got is that it takes MR16 halogen bulbs. These bulbs actually come in several different wattages and, more importantly, beam widths. I'll probably have to experiment to get just the right look for the house numbers. I really like the fact that it's a well light so it's essentially hidden in the ground. $4.09 for a Rustoleum rattle can and I made it a much more pleasing aluminum color.

and social obligations I've been pretty busy. I've also been feeling a little burned with house stuff. I've found in situations like these it's best to take a little break rather than force myself down the path of resentment. With that said, I'm still excited to get the courtyard space completed and usable. In the meantime, the fence is actually done and here's what it looks like on the inside:

Okay, perhaps I'm overplaying the excitement a little. However, I've noticed a direct relationship between setting a schedule and things actually getting done. Like most people, I'd imagine I'm fairly deadline driven.

My overall goal is a lofty one, I want my courtyard done by Labor Day so I can actually throw a party by the time summer ends. Of course, for those of you who live in SoCal, you know that summer really extends until October -- so I'm giving myself a bit room. Here's the schedule:

This week: Paint inside of new fence (more than a trivial job when you count primer + 2 coats)

Week of July 20th: Complete trenching for new irrigation, low-voltage lining, hose bibs, sprinkler control lines.

Week of July 27th: Actually install sprinklers, timer, low-voltage wiring, and outdoor outlet.

Week of August 3rd: Build and install custom trellises

Week of August 10th: Remove old bricks and grade for new pavers. Install and compact sand.

Week of August 17th: Install new pavers and rocks

Week of August 24th: Plants and odds-n-ends

As of right now I'm about 70% complete with painting the fence.

Am considering hiring out the grading, sand placement, and compacting. Since my paver pattern is a bit artistic and unique, I definitely want to do that myself.

Also, at some point I *do* need to finish the front plantings in front of the new fence.