Construction on the Homefront
>> Tuesday, September 30, 2008 –
On the homefront
Orange Boy has been helping Papa with getting rid of part of our concrete driveway and porch. The ground beneath the concrete driveway was eroding and causing the porch to sink.
In this picture, you can see the wide hole underneath the garage floor. It probably is a foot or more of gap that eroded away. The sidewalk area leading to our porch also sunk and was definitely a hazard; the boys removed about 8 feet of concrete from the driveway and all of the sidewalk area that you see in front of the porch. Dh also laid some sort of drainage pipe so that this will not happen again. We also got rid of the large azalea and hydrangea that were in the front to create a large patio out front. The front of our home has absolutely no curb appeal and this might open it up a bit since there is really nothing that can be done architecturally to our home without incurring major $$.
So, we're thinking of a stamped concrete patio. Do you have a stamped concrete patio? I'd love to hear comments (positive and negative) about stamped concrete. The front of our house has brick, so we were thinking of trying to tie into that theme. Any suggestions?
Without seeing your home in more detail, I have no idea if this suggestion would be useful, but I'll offer it anyway :)
A neighbor of ours has a long curving pathway from the street to the house. Over a few years, they collected old dishes, pottery, pieces of glass, etc., and then when the sidewalk was laid, they placed the pieces in the concrete and wrote little notes about where they found things and when.
Of course, you would have a lot of catching up to do to make that work, but you could at least use things from garage sales and the thrift store, and your kids would probably love to help out with it.
But then, if you wanted to sell your house, it might be a little weird.
Good luck, I love home improvement projects!
When we put in the concrete patio in our backyard last year, we decided against stamping it, and instead (and much less expensive since hubby did it himself)we stained it. It adds a lot of character to the concrete and you can get a richer look by using two of more colors layered. It has a distressed kind of look and as it weathers actually looks better and better, in my opinion.
I have been watching a lot of HGTV while in the hospital on bed rest (St. V's), but you know, that is one thing I haven't seen on any of the shows, the concrete stamping that is. Some coloring, some painting the concrete and one of the staining like we did.
Have to pass the time somehow! LOL!
blessings,
jerri
Sorry I don't have any good suggestions.
I imagine Orange Boy feels like a man doing a job like that! It's great how you involve your children in everything...