Windsor Terrace Reno

« Happy Accidents and Other Progress Unfinished projects whine »

January 30, 2008

On the flip side

I usually post as things happen but this post will be more of a summation of what's happening in the rear.

One of the drawbacks of this house is that yard is pretty small. That wasn't really a big drawback for us since a) I don't want a lot of backyard space to maintain and b) prospect park is a block away should I ever have the desire to run around in circles in the sunshine. So while a lot of homeowners reveal in having an amazing backyard, its just wasn't very high on the priority list for us.

When we started the renovation, we knew we had to do something with the backyard. It was a complete jungle back there. Overgrown weeds had totally taken over the small space. You couldn't even walk more than a few feet from the back door because the weeds were so thick.

(not a stock photo - this is how it looked last year)

Our plan was simple. Get rid of the weeds, make a simple planting bed at the back and cover the rest with pavers. We briefly considered doing something a little more fun like a koi pond ( a personal dream of mine) but there were so many other things going on at the same time, we never had time to do the right research so we let it go.

When the demolition started, some of the weeds were removed to allow some movement outside. Naturally, a layer of random junk and debris collected there as well.
As the winter was drawing closer, the crew got started on backyard to beat the ground freezing.

You can see here how the yard originally had planting beds at the back and both sides. It made the backyard feel really cramped to us so we had a larger planting bed created in the back only. That way we can add some nice trees for privacy and shade.

Once that was done, the back cinderblock wall that was collapsing got rebuilt, the drain got cleaned of weeds and the cement by the back door got repaired

I originally wanted real cobblestones for the backyard but our contractor balked at the prospect of so much more work of working with a more uneven stone. I think it would have looked a lot nicer because the herringbone pattern would have been more attractive with a rectangular stone and real cobblestones don't have that cement look but I gave in anyway. It just wasn't worth making a big deal about the backyard.

And here it is in its semi-final state. Of course we still have to add plants and some decorative touches but it turned out nice enough.

I won't lie - I want a koi pond. Maybe in my next life.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/3703

Comments

I'm so glad you posted about the backyard - I was really curious to see what you were doing back there - I'm also pretty jealous of your vigilant photo documentation - every project I have done or help on has regrettable not had a great photo diary like this. My folks have a place in Windsor Terrace, bought it about 30 years ago and it was so bad that we have more that one story about people falling through the floors. They have about 10 before pictures but I wish they had been as thorough as you have - good luck with the finishing touches!

Posted by: katiem633 at January 30, 2008 9:32 AM

It looks great, maybe once you catch your breath (in a few years) you can come back and incorporate the Koi pond.....after everything else you have done, working in a pond should be no sweat for you two!

Posted by: guest at January 30, 2008 10:10 AM

Very nice! I love pavers and stones instead of solid concrete. It doesn't look like you have a drywell, though. There might be an issue with runoff. Hopefully not. See how it goes next big rain.

By the way, your weeds weren't weeds, all of them. Believe it or not! There were some nice plantings in there. Somebody had a real garden in your yard at one time. It's fun to see the old garden revealed when you start digging it out. Remnants of the former lady or ladies of the house in the past. No criticism of those who tear out gardens to put down concrete or stone patios that are more useful to them, but part of me finds it a little sad that "preservation" does not extend to the garden in people's minds. I enjoy some of the shrubs in our yard that were planted and cared for way back. I've moved them and/or designed new plantings around them. I experience a connection to the women of the past, everytime I'm working in the yard. It's nice. Anyway, just a thought to share that I haven't seen discussed much.

I've really enjoyed your renovation blog. You have a gorgeous home.

Posted by: guest at January 30, 2008 11:45 AM

Oh this is such a great post. I am debating about cobble stone vs. salvaged blue stone right now. The pics are so helpful. What a great back yard you are going to have.

One question, did you pipe for a gas grill? And if so where is it going?

Posted by: hhitchc at January 30, 2008 11:55 AM

Your interior and exterior are so beautiful, so I can't help but asking if the chain link fence is there for the long haul...

Posted by: tinarina at January 30, 2008 3:23 PM

Oh, go with salvaged bluestone - bluestone is so pretty.

Cobblestone would have looked great - but once your stones get a bit weathered, and you've got moss growing in the cracks, it will look fine. Cobblestone is deadly slippery when wet, too - or so I find on cobblestone streets.

If you want more plants, you can always add trees and plants in containers - easier to move around.

Surprised you didn't want planting beds along the sides, even if narrow - so you could grow things up the fences for more privacy.

Posted by: guest at January 30, 2008 3:27 PM

Im sure a lot of other brownstoners would have made this small backyard into a garden oasis. But I was not going to fool myself into thinking I had the skills or time to cultivate a whole host of green space back here. I hate weeding and my first priority was to make the backyard something we could enjoy, not a major chore. I plan on adding trees to the back planting space as well as low planting and container plants. If I can get all of that in good order, I will be extremely pleased.

I think bluestone would look a lot nicer if you have someone really skilled laying it down and you enjoy spending time in the garden. Its a lot more unusual and beautiful surface than cobblestone. We just didn't have the time or money to invest a lot back here.

Yes, the chain link is staying. Its actually the neighbors fence on one side. I guess we could add some nicer fencing on top of it but again, not in the budget or timeline right now. We actually like our neighbors so Im not overly concerned about privacy from them at this point. But maybe we'll add it later on to shield them from us :)

Im sure there was once a really lovely garden back there at one time. But even if I had a green thumb and good eye to identify the good stuff (and I certainly don't have either), I would have had no yard to keep it alive in the months that followed since the clearing. I really have no skills in the garden at all. So a few container gardens as well as the small planting space in back is more than enough of a challenge for me.

Im not sure what a drywell is but we do have a drain in the center of the space. The pavers were arranged to carefully pitch down toward the drain. The garden has been like this since last fall and we haven't had any issues of water in the basement. Lets hope it stays that way.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at January 31, 2008 7:58 AM

How much did all of this cost? did you design the layout yourself?

I am considering the same thing

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 10:12 AM

Questions for you Mrs. Limestone (and I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed): before starting this project, how much did you estimate this renovation would cost? And, so far, what percentage of the renovation is done and are you currently within budget? Thanks.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 10:16 AM

As to our budget. We had a budget outlined when we started. Having never done a renovation this large, we weren't quite sure how realistic the figure was so we added 30% of that figure as "cushion". The goal was to stay close to the original figure. As we progressed and got more definitive figures and made decisions that had us effectively spending down the cushion. (Things like central air and custom cabinets as examples)
We're not quite done yet but close enough that I think I can say that if we had not made some expensive decisions, we would have ended at a number only slightly higher than our original budget. But since we did opt for some extras, we'll spend close to our entire budget including the cushion. We were lucky that we didn't have many costly surprises during the renovation that would have made us spend more than we anticipated.

That said, we could have EASILY spent much more if we had not a) been really careful about shopping around for the best prices on the materials we provided b)had an honest contractor and c) intentionally forgoing some expensive features like super high end appliances, more expensive paint, more expensive backyard features, higher end finishes etc..

As I mentioned, Im not sharing how much the whole shebang is costing. Its just a little too personal for me to be announcing to the universe. I know some people are curious but I don't feel comfortable sharing personal details to satisfy general curiousity. (The big price tag is only going to help in a general sense since no two renovations are alike and what I spent is not going to help someone else very much without knowing the details.)

If you have specific questions, feel free to email me at Bklimestoner@aol.com

Im happy to share costs of anything specific I can cull out if possible. The cost of the labor was factored into the larger ticket so I don't know if this helps at all but I think the clear out and paver work probably cost us in the neighborhood of $5K or so. If I recall correctly, these pavers were $2 each and cobblestone would have been $4 each plus additional labor costs. ( I could be remembering incorrectly though so don't hold me to it) If I had to estimate, the work took a handful of guys working consistently for a solid 10 days to go from jungle to this. Of course it wasn't done in 10 days as it took more time over a longer period. I would expect that if I were to hire a seperate crew to come in and due this without the other reno work, it would have cost me more.

Hope that is helpful.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at January 31, 2008 11:03 AM

You can grow something on the chain link fences for privacy. Talk to your neighbors about what plant they might like, offer to purchase and care for the plants in your side, then plant a hearty, fast growing vine on each side of your flowerbed in back. Train the tendrils onto the chain link fences. It takes a little while to get established but I much prefer a vine-covered fence over a cedar one, personally. It's lovely and greens up the backyard. If you have partial shade, there are plenty options for vines that like shade. Including some flowering vines like hydrangea, wysteria.

For a low maintenance back flowerbed, plant a mix of perennial shrubs that like partial shade. Flowering ones add color. Rhododendron (splurge on big ones though because they grow slowly), Azalea (those two stay green all Winter) hydrangea, all those grow really well in Brooklyn. Look at the max mature size for each shrub and put the bigger ones in back, medium in middle and small in front. Clusters, not evenly spaced. Space far enough so they aren't too crowded when full grown. Lastly, plant a simple ground cover, some fast growing one. Ask at the nursery for their suggestion. Between just the shrubs and the ground cover, you'll have a low maintenance flowerbed.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 11:49 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I can use all the help I can get.

We don't have any shade...its full, strong sun back there all the time. Any suggestions for trees that grow narrow and high? or vines for the fence?

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at January 31, 2008 2:04 PM

There are some nice conifers that grow narrow and tall. They're evergreen and will be pretty in Winter too. I'm a beginner gardener too, so I can't always rattle off names of trees, but I researched trees for small spaces for the back corner of our yard.

If you have full sun, get a speciman tree like a dwarf cherry tree. They're not tall and narrow, they spread out more. But so gorgeous. The blooms, the shapes of the branches. We don't get enough sun for such a tree, sadly!

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 4:08 PM

Oh and you could do just an ivy on the chain link fence for a vine. Rich green color, hearty.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 4:09 PM

Thanks. I really want some evergreens for the back for privacy.

Despite what the tag says, dwarf cherry trees will grow in partial shade. I had two at my old house - one in full sun and one in partial shade. The shade one grew just as nicely. I think its a really hardy variety b/c I killed everything else I planted :)

But it provides virtually no cover in terms of privacy or shade b/c it doesn't get very big so it wouldn't be great for this yard.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at January 31, 2008 4:14 PM

I recommend blue atlas cedars. they're a bit delicate, but they are gorgeous.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 4:23 PM

The advantage of chain link fences is that they allow for maximum air circulation in the "bowling alley"-like backyards common to Brooklyn row houses. We replaced ours with a wood mesh/trellis fence which we built ourselves. It's prettier but stills allows for air movement. This is less of an issue when you're not planning to do a lot of planting. I do rather agree that you might have considered long narrow beds parallel to your fences. Planting in beds is easier than using planters especially if you are growing perennials. In terms of climbers, climbing hydrangeas are wonderful (but not evergreen) as is actinidia (also not evergreen) -- which is related to the kiwi. Its abundant green leaves develop a pink and/or white rim when growing in a bright sunny spot. Pyracanthus or firebush is a great evergreen climber with red berries in winter. But not so good if you have kids since it has thorns. Clematis is wonderful, comes in many varieties (I prefer the ones with smaller flowers, eg. clematis paniculata which blooms in Aug/Sept) so you can stretch out the blooming season, and is much easier to grow than its reputation suggests. Honeysuckle is another great standby with heavenly smelling flowers. Wisteria will tolerate drought and neglect. It grows very rapidly -- but can be controlled by pruning -- and the foliage is lovely but it does take a few years before it will flower.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 5:57 PM

Here is a good article specifically about vines for chain link fences. Turks out ivy isn't best for climbing a chain link fence, which is funny because we had some on ours. But see what you find here:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=319367

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 6:33 PM

If you want a narrow tall conifer, look at this Bean Pole Irish Yew:

http://www.heronswood.com/trees_conifers_taxus/taxus-baccata-bean-pole/

Or a Skyrocket Juniper which has a little fuller base but is still tall and narrow.

Posted by: guest at January 31, 2008 6:44 PM

The skyrocket Juniper looks like a good option since it will grow 20 feet tall and fast. I really want something high to provide some shade and privacy as far up as possible.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 1, 2008 11:27 AM

Virgina creeper is a nice vine whose leaves turn red in the fall. It also has tiny grape-like berries.

Posted by: Hal at February 4, 2008 4:04 PM

Ponds are a lot easier than they sound. If anyone is interested, the folks at Verdinos in Queens have all the supplies, fish and water plants you need. They will also tell you everything you need to know. They are really passionate about backyard ponds.

http://www.verdinos.com/

For mail order Van Ness Water Gardens is a good resource. Their catalog alone is like a book on how to build a pond.

http://www.vnwg.com/

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 7:00 PM