[This is part of a series about our landscaping projects.]
So does it count when you are trying to manifest something for the family, and someone else in the family pretty much gets it done? Could my intentions have anything to do with it?
The landscape contractor provided a bid for the paver stone driveway which we thought was kind of high. We felt we needed to get a couple of other bids, maybe looking at other similar driveways in the neighborhood and asking the homeowner who their contractor was and if they were happy with them. Of course, that is the prudent thing to do. The problem is that we don’t always do the most prudent thing, and such was the case this time.
The contractor wasn’t able to start work for several weeks, so then was the ideal time to contact other contractors and get other bids. However, things got really busy for us and we just couldn’t find the time. Still, we were aware that nothing was being done on the driveway and we started to get a little anxious - maybe even a little eager - for something to happen. So when Alfonso called our home to let us know that he would be able to start if we were ready to go - my wife told him yes, we’re ready!
After that, things happened very fast. I came home the next day to meet with him, only to find that he arrived early, had already taken measurements, and had already received instructions from my wife. The work began a few days later.
This was our driveway before the work began.
This is our front yard with the driveway removed. The demo took about a day.
And this is the completed paver stone driveway and walkway. This took a few days.
Putting on the Brakes
The contractor was eager for more work and offered to bid on other jobs he could see needed to be done, such as tiling the porch. Other plans on the horizon include a complete overhaul of the backyard and completing the landscaping of the frontyard. He suggested that we wait on the frontyard until after the major work on the backyard was completed. That way the front wouldn’t get torn up by the digging equipment he would need to use for the back. That made sense, but then we felt pressured to start working on the back right away.
Since we weren’t ready for such a large undertaking, and there were other projects inside the house that needed more urgent attention, we opted to put a hold on any more outside work - for now. So the vision of a completed front yard is yet to be realized.
Reflections
The contractor did not lay out the walkway according to my design. The interesting part is that I had a hard time visualizing exactly how I wanted it to look, and could only muster a vague image of where it was supposed to be. And so it ended up “vaguely” how I pictured it, but it actually turned out better, more attractive, and more practical than what I had originally planned.
I think that I’m going to have to relegate myself to the role of assistant creator when it comes to the home remodeling projects. Yes, there have been some areas where I’ve played a strong role - such as installing and configuring the network and video cabling - but other than that, it is my wife who is the home dreamer and master creator. Then again, I have to ask myself, was it just that my intentions manifested themselves in ways that I didn’t expect?
Technical Stuff
We used Calstone concrete pavers, brown-charcoal cobblestone, two sizes, set in a random pattern.
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