Where'd The Money Go?

 As everyone knows, we have a lot of projects planned for this house. Deciding what gets priority has been a challenge, especially because so many of the things we want to do/need to be done cost quite a bit of moola. That being said, our first big ticket item: The driveway.

Initially our thought was just to finish the unfinished part. The pictures below are from a year ago when we first moved in. However, the whole driveway was in need of help, especially because the current drainage system was A. Not working, and B. Just a bad idea to begin with. So we decided to bite the bullet and redo the whole thing.

To our pleasant surprise, when we returned from Colorado Springs, construction was well underway.

Progress came in stages. Once everything was torn out they were able to bring in lots of leveling dirt and gravel to pack in. 

Once that was done, Ryan went to work on the new drainage system. I don't have a good picture of what it was like before, but I'll do my best to describe it in case anyone cares. Unfortunately, our driveway does angle down toward the house which is not a great thing when it comes to rain. The existing answer was to dig maybe a foot down right in front of the garage, put in some gravel, and then put a grate over it. Okay, so at least there was a place for the water to collect instead of pooling into the garage. But from there, there was no where to go. It just seeped into the soil and sat right against the foundation of the house... which isn't typically a very good idea. So after lots of discussion, Ryan and Nick - the concrete guy, decided to do a sump pump system. Ryan bought the parts and did the digging. Now the water will run into some drain pipe, which is several feet away from the driveway, and then run into a container in the ground. Someday in the future we will get the pump to actually pump it out to the street, but for now, at least it is away from the house.

One day while Ryan was down working on digging the pit, Pierscen was watching him from the deck above. I was working in the kitchen and popping my head out periodically to see how P was doing. He loves to hang out on that deck. While I was inside, I thought I heard Ryan call my name, but couldn't quite hear him. I held still and listened closely. This time I heard my name much more clear. I dashed outside to see what the matter was.

In the corner of the deck, there is a hole in the lattice. It really isn't that big. However, Pierscen wanted to be down with dad so badly that he turned himself around and tried to crawl off the deck backwards through it. From that spot, the drop would have been disasterous. I ran out to see Pierscen stuck halfway out the hole.

Ryan was standing beneath him, but he couldn't reach him. I am so grateful that Ryan was there though! I can't even bring myself to think of what would have happened if he hadn't been there. As it was, I believe that we definitely had help from the other side. There as no real reason for him to get stuck. Had he not gotten stuck, Ryan wouldn't have even known he was coming. He was only alerted to him because he started crying when he got stuck. I was able to pull him back through to safety and that hole is now covered. I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for protecting him!

Once the hole was dug for the water basin and the new draining pipe was put in, they were able to set up the grid for the cement poor. Ryan covered the drain pipe with duck tape to keep the cement out. The driveway runs down to the drain pipe and then ramps back up a bit before you reach the garage. That way the water runs to the pipe instead of toward the garage. Much, much better.

Pierscen was able to put his hands in the cement. He thought this was great fun. I knew after we did this that we would need to try extra hard to keep him away from the cement because he would want to do it again and again.

They poured in sections a few days apart. Each day I had to go out every few hours and hose it down to keep it from drying out too fast.

One evening before the project was complete, we got hit with a crazy rainstorm. It was incredible. Unfortunately though, since the curb hadn't been poured yet, there was no gutter for the water to run down. It found the lowest point, which happened to be on the side of the newly poured section where the retaining wall will be eventually, and pooled down to the bucket. This would have been fine, but there is no sump pump in it yet - so it is just that. A bucket. There was so much water that our garage was almost flooded.

Even though we weren't really supposed to be walking on the driveway yet, we had no choice but to grab a few extra buckets and start bailing water. We ran most of the water to the street, but toward the end, Ryan started tossing it over the wall, which runs down a small hill to the street anyway.

Pierscen naturally thought this was awesome. Lots of puddles to splash in, fun rain, and mom and dad running around like crazy trying to fix things. :)

He tried to help, but mostly just chased a ball around and dipped it in the water puddles.

Ryan grabbed a small pump he had for a different project and tossed it in the sump bucket and started pumping out the water. It's not ideal for long term, but in a bind, it does the job.

Much, much better. Ryan was late for work that day because of it, but at least our house didn't get flooded.

At long last the curb was finally poured. The curb cut was what added quite a bit of cost to the project, but it was worth it. When they originally poured for our property, I think they must have just guessed where the driveway was going to go because the curb cut is underneath the flower bed. Trying to get into our driveway almost required 4 wheel drive. The new section is so much better!

We kept the stakes and tape they had up for several days to make sure the driveway was solid. The final product looks so good! I can't wait until the retaining wall is up because it will look amazing. It's so much better already!

To officially break in the driveway, Ryan and Pierscen pulled out the sidewalk chalk and went to town. Watching them together scribbling and drawing away was pretty priceless. I love these two!

We are really happy with the way things turned out. Yes, it was a hit to the bank account, (time to save up again) but I think it was a huge improvement and it adds some great value to the house. Never underestimate the power of curb appeal!  :) Can't wait to see it all completed.