The Second Halloween During the Project

A year ago today, the time of the first Halloween of the project, it was becoming very clear that it would take longer than we had hoped to finish. One of our neighbor's at the time reassured us that, "a year from now", everything will be finished and we will be enjoying the finished product. Well, while we have made a lot of progress, we are not yet finished. But, we are very close. If we can just get someone to show up to work, the inside work could be finished in just a few days. Weather permitting, the first phase of the landscaping will be done in a week or two.

No work at all this week inside. The stone masons were supposed to be here last week to finish the work they started several months ago. The electrical is still unfinished and the carpentry is unfinished. Once the carpentry is finished, we still have Bob's cabinetry finisher to come in to touch up all the blemishes. Again, if anyone would show up, this could all be finished in a week or so.

All the work this past week has been landscaping. Thursday and Friday were nice days. Scot worked on finishing the stone walls on the back side of the pond while John's other folks brought in trees and shrubs. It is really starting to take shape. Today (Halloween) it is supposed to be rainy all day but clear off tomorrow. By Monday, it should be nice weather again with the highs in the mid-70's and little chance of rain until Thursday.

Sod area and flag stone steppers

Beech Tree

Junipers along chess board, Service Berry and Arborvitae by pond (and Spenser)

Azaleas around Red Maple

Flag stone around bay

Wally called last night to say he will be stopping by today to present us with the lighting proposal.

Rain Delay

Throughout the day Monday, they feverishly worked on the water feature. It was the third and final day for Todd and his crew. I had my doubts, but they finished the day with a finished product...or at least one that John can now finish.

Basic Construction

Upper Pond

Masked the stone "wall"

Starting to fill pond

Full and circulating

Our initial impression was that there was too much water flowing across the fall and too much noise. We considered the alternatives and decided to install a valve in the line from the pump to the upper pond. They used the same type of valve (knife) as they used in the purge line. It was not an easy installation and they worked hard at it. When finished, they covered the area around the pond due to the pending rain and departed.

Later, I started closing the valve they installed to reduce the flow. Unfortunately, there is something wrong. I completely "closed" the valve but there is still a lot of water flowing. We let the water circulate, but I informed John that we needed to procure and install a variable speed controller on the pump. Turns out these are not very expensive and readily available.

On Tuesday, for the first time in over a month, it rained all day. It was not a down pour, but alternated between a drizzle and light rain throughout the day. Hence no work either Tuesday or Wednesday. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy our sunroom and the cool wet autumn weather.

On Thursday (today) John's crew returned. They worked on the stone wall behind the pond and brought in some foliage. T and I met John at a 100-year-old nursery distributor in downtown St. Louis to look at some trees and shrubs. It was very interesting and T has decided to alter the original landscaping plan.

The pond water has clarified nicely

Stone wall on back side of pond

Wally stopped by and we finalized the first phase of our exterior lighting plan. It will include ten path lights, a submerged pond light and a light on the water stream between the upper and lower ponds.

Major Moves on the Landscaping

OMG!!!

The weekend before last, Wally (irrigation and exterior lighting) worked most of the day Saturday on the irritation system. He said he knew that John would be hard at this during the coming week and he wanted to not get in his way.

This past week, the landscapers showed up with intent. They finished the wall along the east fence and the wall around the northeast corner of the garage. Then they started building the berm. Lots of dirt, gravel, etc. They installed a French drain on the inside of the wall along the east fence with it draining into the same line as the drains on the east side of the chess board.

Mike and Nate showed up on Tuesday to finish the crown molding in the connecting porch. They also put on more bar cabinet handles and installed the grill on the vent in the connecting porch. They also studied the wood facings on the ice maker and refrigerator. They have questions for Bob. This was the only half day that Mike was here.

After they left, we started staining the deck around the hot tub and the connecting porch. It really turned out nice.

On Wednesday, Todd (cabinetry) delivered the rail for the bar and the door to cover the circuit breaker box. He also took away the entertainment center door to move the hinges so that it opens at the side instead of at the bottom.

John (landscaping) had numerous plants delivered. No hornbeams yet, but the boxwoods, yews, a holly and others I cannot remember.

The really big show for the week was starting on the koi pond. Todd (waterfalls) and crew started on Thursday. John had had a lot of rock deliveries in preparation.

Lots of discussion about the pond among the crew. Early Thursday morning, I went out and asked Todd if there was some drawing or sketch (as John had told me there would be) or were they intending to just "wing it"? Todd said he could sketch something for me if I wanted him to do so, but he believed he knew what we wanted.

Setting the Skimmer

Liner

Rubber Liner Sandwiched Between Sheets of  Six Ounce Felt

Bottom Drain

Selecting the Right Stone

First Stone In Place

Second Stone

By the end of the first day (Thrusday), the pond had been dug and the stone walls started.

Friday morning, Todd told me that he expected to have water in the pond by the end of the day. By mid-afternoon, Todd told me that he wished they had started on Wednesday instead of Thursday.

Skimmer box and 3" hose going to top of berm

By the end of the day, they still had a lot to do. It was tarp covered for the weekend. John later told me that he had given Todd three days to complete. Todd thought he could do it in two. I only hope he can finish it on Monday.

Sunday afternoon, I pulled the tarp back and T and I reviewed what had been accomplished. Later in the afternoon, John came by and we discussed. We had some issues with the distance between the edge of the water and the edge of the chess board. T wanted it a small a distance as possible...maybe a foot or so, but no more than two feet. In actuality, it is over three feet. John said they would fix that. We also were uncomfortable with the "stack rock" appearance and the amount of fall on the water fall. After much give and take, a plan was developed.

Monday morning, Scot and Ben arrived and got after making the changes. A little later, Todd and John showed up and we went over everything again. I showed everyone pictures of the stream that John had previously built at a local hospital and pointed out the specific portion that we wanted to emulate.

Steam at St. Mary's to Emulate

Todd's response was that he wished he had seen this picture last week before they started. I reminded him that I approached him the first morning he arrived asking him about the plan. He really did not have one. I should have shown him the picture to ensure he knew what he wanted to achieve. Anyway, I think we are all on the same page now. John assured me that, once we have water in and circulating, if we need to make changes, they will drain it and those changes will be made.