But we still had an ugly space between the path and the fence, so I made a few walls of bricks and voilà, flower boxes!
I was going to use some pebble stones here but then I saw these black and blue play mats from Bunnings and loved them.
Still, wondering what this area is for?
When you can’t drill through a beam, the only option you have is to go around it. I had some steel laying around at home, so I went and bought 2 hanging hinges and these things made up. A local welder only charged me $100 to bend and weld these brackets for me.
Step 8 Swing Area
See it now? A nice swing area.
That swing was originally a bench chair at a restaurant that had a broken leg. The owners were going to throw it out, so I brought it home, removed the legs completely, made a frame around it, reinforced the underside (especially the ends), 4 hooks, and chain, and I had myself an adult-sized swing (or a swing for 2 kids)
My niece christened the swing with the first ride. She’s a happy little vegemite.
Even the adults are getting in on the action.
Not looking too shabby, considering what I first started with. The grass is growing slowly, slowly. Flower boxes are done. The Garden beds are done. The lemon tree has been pruned and trimmed. Feature concrete bench under the tree. You can also see where the pathways stop and the gazebo flooring starts. Those spare pieces I had came in handy. I actually had to make a few more by the time it was all finished.
Step 9 Table Setting
I had an outdoor table setting already, so brought it to the back and put it under the gazebo. Fits perfectly, but didn’t look quite right.
Glass and steel in a predominantly wood-themed backyard? I think not.
Either I go out and spend $8000 on a new outdoor table setting, or do what I did…which was to make one.
Remember that Redgum I was saving up? I had a few Redgum sleepers from Bunnings, left in the garage for 8 months to completely air dry. I used the old Redgum posts to make the legs and I got myself an outdoor table.
The table setting project isn’t completely finished yet, so I will post that project once it’s done.
I made 2 benches already which I am actually selling online at the moment. I made the benches first before the table and used a different design on the benches. I am going to make 4 more benches for the table with a horse’s head engraved into the sides rather than the crest design which is why I am selling these 2 already.
The only thing left at the time of this writing is to put up the retractable clothesline and put the final touches on the BBQ. I will add those photos once they are finished.
5 years of what I would use as my physiotherapy is now complete.
My catchphrase: “I’m too dumb to quit”.
I can now say that by the end of it, I’ve finally got the strength in my body back to what it used to be pre-accident. What started out as only 1-hour physical work a day is now up to about 6. It’s not perfect but at least I can now maintain that without all the pain in my back, hip and leg.
I pushed through even when I was told to slow down and relax. Quitting was never an option. No matter how hard life knocks you down, just remember that 1 step forward is still progress, even when it’s followed by 3 steps back. Look at my end result as proof of that.
No matter if it’s a physical, emotional or mental disability, give yourself a big project and measure your progress according to that project. Even if you only do 30 minutes of work a day/night on it, it is still progress. Never quit and never give up.
My next project is to revisit my original one. After 5 years, the front yard isn’t quite what I hoped it would be. The water feature isn’t working properly because of the build-up of sludge on the bottom of the pond, so I’ll have to install a filter somewhere in there.
There is too much still water in the pond so it’s become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Palm leaves kept falling into the pond and being sucked up into the water pump and clogging that up as well. So I drew up some new modified plans to correct some of these problems and will begin working on that after the New Year…..so stay tuned.
About the author
OBN Member, Con Trelos, was in a major motorcycle accident in March 2010. A truck cut him off on a roundabout. He hit the driver’s side door and landed on the road. Instead of the truck driver stops, he attempted to run over the top of Con to try and escape. Con ended up with the front driver’s side tyre on his hip, pinning it down and being dragged along the road. Then the driver stopped, reversed, and tried going over the top of him again!
He was conscious throughout the whole ordeal and did his best to stay alive. He was dragged for more than 20 metres as the truck driver tried to escape. Luckily other drivers finally caught up to the roundabout and the truck driver decided to abandon his escape plans but with him still pinned under the wheel.
He spent a lot of time in rehab and had to learn how to stand up and walk again. He constantly pushed the limits of what he was able to do and tried to stay active and productive by fixing up the house bit by bit until there was nothing left to do except the front garden. That was 5 years ago.
Con thought it would be a great idea to not only fix the front garden, but the outside labour would further help get the muscles moving and build up my strength again. This backyard project is his second project. We’re sure he’s already cooking up another one, so watch this site for more awesome DIY projects.
