Renovating My Old House

The next work we did was at the end of the front walkway which meets the curb of our sidewalk where there was an overgrowth of ivy. The picture really shows the distinct contrast between the crowded bushes on the left of the house and the right side of the house which is a result of the Summer Garden Project #1.  To continue this minimalist garden theme, we wanted to remove the eye sore from the front of the house. The ivy took over a large portion of the front lawn, covers the steps onto our walkway and was an overall distraction to the aesthetics of how we want the garden to look like.  Where are the steps to our house? A closer look at the enemy… The other side of the walkway. This has to be least enjoyable garden project thus far. Ivy is a resilient plant which has an extensive underground root system. Here is a link to a little bit more information about Ivy ( http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg358 ). Some success! This is what ...

First, lets get revved up for these projects by looking at the two photos below: They are before and after shots of the first of two major garden projects we completed this summer.  Aside from looking pretty, updating a garden area has major benefits for a home owner: 1. You can remove old mulch and apply new garden soil in planting beds. 2. You can uncrowd plants in over populated beds. 3.  If you do not like pruning (and who does?) you can replace plants that are too large and fast-growing with smaller and slower-growing species.  However, although this means easier upkeep in the long run, this will require a little bit of research and thought on your part. 4. If weeds are a problem, you can install weed-guard in your plant beds. Here is some motivation for replacing the old planting bed: What is not wrong with this picture?  The planting bed is very over crowded, with too many plants in a small area.  There are a lot of...

As you may have noticed, we have quite a bit of Ivy around our property. Slowly but surely, we are getting rid of them all. The last major hurdle is the Ivy in the backyard. A third of our backyard was covered in Ivy. It was around the perimeter of the property, primarily against the property line of the neighbors behind us. As you can see, the Ivy was so overgrown that fence separating the two properties is almost nonexistent. I still cringe when I see these pictures and how much of an eyesore and space it took away from our yard. I do not want to sound like a person that despises Ivy, but there is a reason it is considered to be an invasive plant when outdoors. If you do not spend the time and effort to control these plants, they will grow out very quickly and overcome any other plant life that may be in the area. I know that I do not have the self discipline to oversee such a high maintenance plant, thus explains my strategic Ivy removal initiative on my property. Some...

Our house is about 60 years old.  Back then, individuals did not really insulate their home.  That was because oil was plentiful and cheap and insulating materials were costly, poorly fabricated and uncommon.  People were not concerned about insulation till the energy crisis of the 1970's, when the price for gas increased dramatically.  That is why today we are very conscientious about saving energy and insulating our homes.  The expense to heat a home is huge, and every penny we spend on the best insulation and installing it correctly is worth it. Here is a link to more information about the energy crisis in the 1970's: Wiki page on oil crisis Amusing take on why they did not insulate   From the wiki link you can see this chart of oil prices: Notice the spike in 1973 and 1979. Link to historical oil prices: Oil Price History Chart The whole first floor of our house has an outer wall of stone.  Between the stone and the cement board...