Before and After Concrete

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I spent another two hours and 20 minutes today with the pressure sprayer and finished the concrete in front. The first day I did five sections of sidewalk, the second day I did three sections of sidewalk and the lower part of the driveway, and today I finished the driveway and did three sections of sidewalk from the driveway to the front porch. I took two pictures to match the before and after. Tomorrow I will get the blower out and try to blow away the sand and debris left from the pressure washer.

Here is the before picture again, and then the afters follow.




The sand in the middle picture is loose on the concrete. My back hurt too much to mess with it today. I'll clean it up either with a blower or a hose tomorrow.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

THINRONNA 3/25/2011 4:19PM

Wow... it looks great! Report Inappropriate Comment

S3XYDIVASMOM 3/25/2011 4:16PM

Big improvement. It's nice when you can actually see the results of your effort. Report Inappropriate Comment

JIMDAB 3/25/2011 9:55AM

There's nothing like a job well done... Report Inappropriate Comment

BREWMASTERBILL 3/25/2011 7:25AM

I've sometimes considered doing power washing on the side. So rewarding, so simple which is the exact opposite of a typical day at the office. Report Inappropriate Comment

MRDPOLING 3/25/2011 4:19AM

I had sidewalk work done last summer... This winter I hope to have more concrete work down out back but not sure we'll get to that project or if it will have to wait until 2012. Report Inappropriate Comment

BRAVEONE92 3/24/2011 10:43PM

I have been reading your blogs and looking at your pictures. Your hard work is showing up, looking good. A little each day does the job! Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/24/2011 10:18PM

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Honey Bees, After, and Before

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Monday I mowed the lawn and dug out a bucket of weeds, both before and after the mowing. Tuesday I spent three hours with the pressure sprayer and cleaned off five sections of the sidewalk and did a few other things I can't remember. Today I spent two and a half hours cleaning the driveway, from the street to half way to the garage, and also did three sections of sidewalk. Tomorrow, with luck, I will finish the driveway. The whole thing was enlightening in that the part that I thought was clean really needed to be cleaned. As soon as it gets wet it gets a lot darker, and the dirt that comes off doesn't just float away - it turns into black sediment as if you were panning for black gold dust. I'll have to hose the whole area down if a blower won't get rid of it. I have both sand and black dirt on the concrete in some places.

I took a couple of pictures trying to catch the bees at work, but they didn't turn out well. I know there are bees around, but they hardly ever show in the pictures I take - either because I can't see them or because they are all hidden. There were a couple of dozen on the little Meyer Lemon, and hundreds of them swarming on the avocado tree. I also took a couple of pictures of the fence to satisfy anyone who wants to see it. Of course, I didn't take any pictures of the fence in progress, which would have been much more impressive.

The impressive thing to me is the dirty white shoes I now have - they're not just wet, they're dark gray.

This is the lemon three's best picture.


This is the best avocado tree picture. There is a bee in it.

This is one of four of this area of the tree, and the only one I know shows a bee. It's in the upper right corner of the picture.

This is a cropped corner of the picture, so the bee looks bigger.


And this is a picture of the fence (before I cut the weeds).




And this is a before picture of our sidewalk - you can see the difference between ours (the dark one) and Rob's, which he cleaned a year ago. Our house was built in 1986, and the pollution has been accumulating for 25 years. The porch floor is pretty clean, and things get progressively dirtier as you get away from the house.


PS - I just looked at Sunday's blog, and I guess I don't know what I did Monday. It's a lost day at this point.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

OURELEE1 3/24/2011 5:13PM

It looks very nice. I think I'm going to show my DH. It might give him an idea. Report Inappropriate Comment

THINRONNA 3/24/2011 5:02PM

Nice pictures! I can totally see the bee. Beautiful lemon tree! Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/23/2011 11:08PM

You make me tired reading your blogs. I feel so lazy. Everything is looking great in your yard. Sorry I couldn't see the bee. Report Inappropriate Comment

S3XYDIVASMOM 3/23/2011 11:03PM

I see the bee. Whee! Report Inappropriate Comment

Snacking Sunday

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The fence does look new, and I dug weeds for a half hour and mowed both the front and back lawns today. The grape trellis took a little more effort, but I'll get used to it. Now that we have a new toy, I realize that Rob (neighbor to the west) cleaned his sidewalk and driveway, so his concrete looks white an mine is all dark. I guess the sidewalk and driveway will be the next chore.

Both hands were stiff and sore when I woke up this morning. It's a lot of years since I worked in a steel mill, and I might be getting older, too.

So far, I have been eating cereal, soup, and fruit today, it's past suppertime, getting dark, and I'm not hungry. The BW was busy planting a bunch of flowers under the bay window, and I think I need to put away the hose. I don't think we will have supper tonight - maybe a snack later.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

THINRONNA 3/21/2011 7:05AM

Snacking is kind of how Norwegian kids (and mine now) eat. They are fed at 8, 11, 2, 4, 6 and 8. That is 6 meals a day! I would say it is the way to go though. A person may eat less at each little meal but they are fed all day and never hit a low. I think the grownups eat more like 4 meals a day though. I hope you post some pics when your place is all power washed up. My husband says not to get to close to that fence or you may take some paint off! Have fun! Report Inappropriate Comment

S3XYDIVASMOM 3/20/2011 11:16PM

It sounds like you've been putting your new toy to good use. Report Inappropriate Comment

MRDPOLING 3/20/2011 11:08PM

Nah! You are not getting older... the rest of the world is getting younger. hehe Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/20/2011 11:01PM

Sounds like a good day. Hope you had a relaxing night Report Inappropriate Comment

TWOTIMESS 3/20/2011 8:16PM

You've been very busy! Sunday nights at my house is always light snacks - we have a big lunch. Report Inappropriate Comment

Short Day

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I got up a little late this morning and did a few chores before starting on the fence again. each 8 foot sections has 32 pickets and 32 edges - the pickets overlap. With three two by fours holding the thing together you have four separate parts to each section, so you have to clean 256 vertical surfaces, plus the three two by fours and the top of the pickets. I could be more relaxed about the whole thing, and I'm not sure that I'm going to try to put sealer on the inside when I get done.

I finished the back side today and started down the east side of the fence in only two and a half hours, but moving everything from time to time and climbing up the ladder and kneeling convinced me that I'm too old to try to do everything in one day, so I quit for today and pulled a few weeds. I also removed an old composter that I had made for the BW because it was in the way and hadn't been used for several years.

I pooped out before I got to cutting the grass, but the fence looks good when you look out a back window now. The BW is out shopping for food, and I'm going to read another Grishem book and do laundry.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MRDPOLING 3/20/2011 3:06PM

You make me tired.... hehehehe Report Inappropriate Comment

THINRONNA 3/20/2011 3:39AM

Sounds like a successful day to me! I miss books in English...sigh. Report Inappropriate Comment

TWOTIMESS 3/20/2011 3:12AM

I bet your fence will look brand new once you're done. No need to rush, though. Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/19/2011 6:52PM

Glad you decided to stop and rest. Enjoy your book. Report Inappropriate Comment

Finally Opened the Box

Friday, March 18, 2011

I saw my cardiologist yesterday, and he said to just keep taking the Atenolol and I would live forever, which was a relief. I was afraid that he was going to want to do another catherization. Then I weighed in in leeway.

Today I finally got the pressure sprayer out of the box, and couldn't get the detergent tank out of the body of the sprayer, so I had to call the help line to see if brute force was needed. It was. After that all was well until I tried to spray without the detergent, and couldn't get any water through the thing. After reading the entire book all over again, and trying every possible problem fix, I called again. It turns out the quick disconnect has a backflow preventer, and I had installed it backwards. Then it worked.

I had started on a rocker, but the BW came out and before I could go on I had to do two white plastic chairs and the bird bath. She got in on the second chair, and was cutting away at the sidewalk when I told her to just let me know when she was done - at which point she told me to take it. I offered to set it up for her whenever she wanted to mess around out front.

Then I started on the fence. I used the detergent by spraying it over the dark patches, then hit the fence with clear water. I did about two thirds of the back fence in three hours, and finally realized that I had wasted eleven dollars when I bought the detergent. The way this thing cleans is to abrade the dirt away. If I get too close I can make groves in the wood, and have to be careful to keep the spray at a shallow angle, just as the book says. The manufacturer claims 30 degrees is good, but it's hard to keep it at that angle all the time. The net result is that it's sort of work, but the area I cleaned looks like a new fence. I would guess there's another six hours left if I do all the fence.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

TUBLADY 3/19/2011 4:47PM

That sounds like some work. You must of burned up some calories doing all that power washing. Take care. Tisha Report Inappropriate Comment

THINRONNA 3/19/2011 11:51AM

OOOOHHHH! I LOVE power washers! And you have one at home! I have only used them at work. Fun! Report Inappropriate Comment

BREWMASTERBILL 3/19/2011 9:01AM

I love power washing. It's tedious and time consuming, but you're right, the fence and concrete looks brand new when you're done. Report Inappropriate Comment

TWOTIMESS 3/18/2011 11:37PM

I'd love to play with that pressure sprayer, but methinks perhaps not... How will it work on concrete walls, I wonder? Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/18/2011 11:28PM

Just lost what I said. Have a good weekend.Find some time to relax and do nothing Oops looks like I didn't lose it Comment edited on: 3/18/2011 11:29:06 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

MS.ELENI 3/18/2011 11:27PM

You are one busy man as usual. Sounds like too much work to me. Congrats on doc's report. have a good weekend and find some time to just do nothing and relax. Report Inappropriate Comment