There is a tremendous sense of satisfaction in completing a long-planned project. While in the scheme of things a new set of steps don't measure up to some home projects, it is one I've envisioned for a year. We finished the steps on the July 4th. On the evening of the 3rd Mike and I dug out the space for the paved pad next to the porch. We worked until the light was too dim for me to see well enough to continue. The next morning I got up early and hauled all the sod down to the lawn waste dumpster. The next step was to square up the plastic forms and level the base with paver gravel and sand. If you ever decide to do a paver project, check out these materials. They have a different texture than plain gravel or sand and compact into a much more solid base. Using the tamper I picked up years ago, I finished this part in just a few minutes. Mike came out just in time to help me place the large 12"X24" pavers rescued from the vacant lot next door. Once the pavers were down we moved onto the steps. Pre-cut stringers make the job pretty doable, but they are not as true and square as you might think. Once the top was level, the bottom had a distinct tilt. Also, they have to be level to each other. A bit of fiddling with levels and marking and we got the stringers attached to the porch. I won't go into the reinforcement I had to do earlier in the week so the stringers would have something more substantial than plywood to fasten to. I thank the powers that be that Lowes now carries the stringer hanger, made specifically for attaching precut stringers to a porch. GREAT product. Once the stringers were in place it was a pretty quick job to attach the treads. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that one stringer no longer sat flush on the pad. Apparently the small amounts of warp in the treads lifter one side off the ground. No worries, by the next day it was settled back so everything is solid. At this point I'm not attaching railings. I am going to look into the best way to seal and protect the wood.
The completed steps provide very comfortable access to my new garden and lawn area from the front door. Now in the morning Phoebe and go out the front for her morning walk rather than out the driveway and along the road. When the grass is dewy I can stand on the steps while she explores all the smells from the night before.
In other news, the pumpkins and gourds are growing like mad, some reaching the tops of the nearly 8' trellises and a few small gourds forming. The tomatoes are growing slowly, a result of growing in unprepared soil I suspect. All the natives I planted are flourishing as well. The one disappointment is the only annual flower I planted - flowering tobacco or Nicotiana. They are putting out little new growth, and I don't expect the masses of white flowers I had envisioned to light up the night time garden. Besides normal upkeep I have a couple small items I may get to this year, but this completes the big stuff.
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