Demolition and Progress

Ok, so it's not exactly fair to call it *demolition*, since we didn't have to destroy and remove a structure exactly.  But you see those lush, healthy looking enormous grass bushes all lined up right where our new deck is going to be?  You wouldn't believe the amount of work it has taken us to get rid of those guys!  These things are hardy, with root bases the size of a car tire and as heavy as lead, and those long, flowing blades of grass are sharp enough to leave you riddled with marks up and down your arms.  But, it had to be done, so we broke out the hedge trimmer and got to work-- and the first step in our big deck adventure turned out to be pretty fun and definitely satisfying.  These grass things aren't exactly our favorite feature of the landscaping, and we've been planning on replacing them since we moved in, so it's exciting to be making some progress at last in the back yard! 

After cutting down all of the blades of grass, what's left over is 1) a bare, sad looking house, and 2) seven of those huge root balls that each weigh a thousand pounds.  At least.  I happen to have a husband who can lift and carry just about anything, but these things weren't exactly easy to dig up, even for him.  Thankfully, though, only one of them at the far left end (where that tree is now) absolutely had to be dug out, since the deck will be covering the rest of the area to the right.  We needed to make sure the grass won't try to grow up through the deck boards once it's all built, of course, so we picked up some brush killer and sprayed them with a vengeance.  Even that doesn't do the job, we'll also cover the whole under-deck area with landscaping fabric to deter weeds, covered in gravel.  So if these grass things so survive somehow, I'll be seriously impressed.  But they'd better not.

We have already started framing out the deck, digging post holes and pouring concrete, and I can't wait to show you some update photos of the progress!

xo

Liza