Ta-Da! The Potting Table

Pretty awesome, huh?  Red and I built it on Saturday using reclaimed lumber from my next door neighbor's deck.  I still need to get pulls for my faux drawer fronts, and I want to get an old sink to drop into the surface area down towards the rain barrel.  I am just so pleased with it!

We didn't have a pattern -- but I used this photo from Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie as a jumping off point:

Potting table

I have two compost tumblers in my yard.  I love them, and I do use them, but they aren't the prettiest things to look at.  Maybe you've seen them in photos I've posted -- looking as though they don't really belong...

I was brainstorming with a neighbor in my backyard this weekend, and I came up with an idea that I am really excited about.  (So unusual for me, right?  HA.) 

I have a cement slab behind my carport/shed.  Right now it has some plastic shelving on it, which holds all my clay plant pots.  I realized I'd rather look at the pots than the tumblers, so I decided I would move all the pots out, and put the two tumblers back there.  They do best in the sun, and I do think they would get enough sun there.  Here's where my pots currently live:

So then, where to put the pots?  Enter my friend Jamie Durie and his great Outdoor Room ideas.  One of the recent episodes I watched featured this potting table made from a re-purposed piece of furniture:

Love.

He took a table (you could also use an old dresser) and put some planks on top and a one up the back to create a shelf.  My neighbor schemed that I could also cut a whole in the top and drop in an old sink.  Yes!  And where to put the table?  I propose here, under the bedroom window (and see?  A compost tumbler!)

This is unused space that obviously needs some love. The utility piping going up the house makes it particularly unsightly.  (I've yet to rent a tiller and smooth that whole area out -- I need an entire weekend set aside and so far I haven't had an open one...)  I also have a hose spigot right there, so I could actually use the sink (it would just drain into the ground below) for rinsing pots etc.  And wouldn't the nearby rain barrel be handy for those newly potted plants?

I've long said that I want to build a wooden screen out of 1"x2"s to cover that (leaving the gauge visible for the utility company).  I had seen something similar in San Antonio on a sister weekend.  And then Jamie had these screens on the same episode!

I could totally blend that into the potting table and give that whole space a makeover.

I'm going to start watching thrift stores and I've already made some inquiries on Craig's List for some old piece of furniture I can re-purpose.  SO excited.

Zen Stones

Big Ol' Bag O' Rock

This is what 1,170 pounds of Mexican tumbled river stone looks like:

It  was delivered today.  They were able to drop it right next to the platforms -- so great -- because the idea of hauling 1,170 pounds of stone more than 4 feet was daunting.  Two of my neighbors came to help me spread it around the platforms; it took just over an hour.

The rock was pretty dusty so I hosed it down (-- yowser it was beautiful when it was wet!  Too bad there isn't a way to keep THAT look.  Or is there?)   The black rock versus the white was definitely the right choice, and the guy did an amazing job estimating how much I would need.

Today I'll touch up the sprout paint with sand paper and apply the water seal if it isn't too windy. 

I'm thinking I'm going to email a few photos to Jamie Durie to show him what he inspired me to do!

Perfect timing to have these complete, as my neighbor and I signed up for a 21 Day Yoga Challenge yesterday on Yoga Journal dot com.  One day down, 20 to go!

River Stones

 

I went to a local sand and gravel yard this morning to look at what types of river stone are available and what they cost.  They had two types on hand that had smooth surfaces;  a large white kind that was a little larger than a softball, and a small black type about the size of squished golf balls. 

I snapped a photo of each type -- and said I would call him back (upon which I immediately begain emailing photos to poll my friends for validation of what I really wanted:  the black stone.)  He said he could deliver today or tomorrow, and that delivery would be $75. 

River stone is sold by the pound.  When I showed the guy a photo of what I was doing and gave him the measurements, he was kind enough to help me calculate how much I would need:

78 linear feet x 1.5 for coverage = 117 square feet
10# per foot x 117 =  1,170 pounds

(He did those calculations at speed similar to what my mortgage banker did to calculate my mortgage payment when I was buying my house.  I was forever asking him to talk slower and on a really bad day to write it down, so that I had some hope of following... This morning was no different.)

Pros and cons of each stone were as follows: 

White - Less expensive by half.  A larger size than I had envisioned.  Due to its size, more likely to stay in place.  Too large to be comfortable to step on in bare feet.  (I hate shoes.)  Not as much color contrast with the wood as I would like.
Black - As mentioned, twice the price.  Extremely smooth and more polished than the white, more of a Zen look.  Black will attract more heat.  Smaller stones will likely slide out of the border space and will have to be corralled.  Small flat stones will feel pleasant on bare feet.  Great color contrast with the wood and green paint.

Votes from friends were fairly split, but in the end the black got 4 more votes.  Ultimately I chose the black stone and it's called Mexican River Stone. Even in a dusty bag (a bag roughly the size of my car...) it looks beautiful, smooth and very Zen.  Plus being just so pleased with how the platforms have turned out, it seemed wrong to me to not get the perfect stones for the border for a couple hundred bucks more.  "For Heaven's sake, don't cut corners at the very last step."  I knew that every time I stepped out I would be wishing for the black stone and be disappointed.

I called him to place the order and make delivery arrangements and the whole deal came to a screeching halt.  "We don't deliver a quantity that small." 

I was flummoxed.  Hadn't we just had this conversation not 2 hours prior?  There was no mention of a minimum...?  I reminded him we had just spoke of delivery and that he had not mentioned a minimum....?  He was clearly irritated with himself -- he recalled the conversation as clearly as I did.  He said he hated to tell me no, that, in his words, "No is such an ugly word..."  I reminded him that I am a repeat customer, and that I would likely come back for future purchases. 

And so, I am pleased to report -- his truck will arrive tomorrow morning to bring me 1,170 pounds of Mexican River Stone. 

I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...

Three Little Sprouts

I got home in time to do another round of sanding on the platforms today.   When I was done I wiped them down with a damp rag to get rid of the sawdust...  and then...

Wa-lah!!

Do you love it??  I do... 

I was sort of nervous to start rolling the paint on.  I had made a huge 5 foot by 6 foot stencil out of heavy brown construction paper using an image on my laptop and a projector.  I traced the image, (insert thanks here for not torturing you with all the details) cut it out, and then put clear mailing tape on both sides of the paper around the cut out and cut it out again to give it clean, tape-bound edges.  I was worried that the edges of the stencil would get soggy after one or two sprouts and that it would disintegrate before I could do the third.  And as long as it took me to make the stencil, I knew for sure that I didn't want to have to make a second one...

Anyway, I weighted the edges of the paper down with pieces of wood, and used a small foam roller.  It went very fast.  It was a tiny bit tricky to move the stencil to the next platform without screwing up the wet paint, but I made it.  Here's a close up of one:

My original plan was to sand the paint off a little in places to make it look old and weathered.  I am not postive I am going to do that... regardless of that decision, I am going to seal the whole thing with Thompson's Clear Water Seal.  It won't substantially change the wood color, and it has some UV protection in it.  I'll put a coat on my cedar fence while I have it out...

I plan to go to a sand and gravel place tomorrow to see about having a load of river stone delivered on Saturday for the border around each platform. 

YAY!!!

Yoga for Three

Ta-da!!!

Aren't they fantastic?  We went to great lengths to have the planks all go at the same angle... We had some nail gun malfunctions along the way, and we were short one 1" x 8" x 10' board that we had to go get, but mostly it was a smooth completion of to the project.  Giddy.  Me.  Thank you Red!

Sanding, etc still to be done, and then -- river stones and plants! 

Yoga Platform Progress

I was off work yesterday afternoon, so I was able to work on the yoga platforms again.  Yay!   The sequence of events for construction is:

1)  Set corner support posts in concrete - done!  Two were done already and I had posts for the 3rd platform left to do.  I was worried that it would be really difficult to get them straight and in the exact location AND shovel the concrete around them by myself, but it actually turned out to be pretty easy.  So now all 12 posts are set and ready.  The concrete was cheap!  $2.47 per bag.  The project required 6 bags of QuikCrete.  The cedar posts totalled about $35.

2)  Dig up grass for each entire below-the-platform area (6' x 7'), plus a one foot additional perimeter area.  This is manual labor at its best (as my sister would say:  "reframe -- it's a great workout!")  I had one done and two to go.  Now I have 2 done and 1 to go.  It takes me about 2 hours per platform.  And then I have to deal with nearly 2 wheelbarrows full of dug up grass.  The grass from the first platform I put into my compost tumbler.  The grass from yesterday I bagged for bulk trash, because too much of one thing in the tumbler isn't so great for the compost formula.

3)  Lay out weed stop fabric for the area of each platform, and secure it to the ground with pins.  I've purchased two rolls of weed stop fabric, and two boxes of pins.  I haven't laid any of it out yet.  For each platform it will be a 7' x 8' area.  The fabric and the pins were about $75.

4)  Put down a layer of pea gravel on top of the weed stop fabric.  I selected pea gravel because it's inexpensive, and although isn't the most beautiful stuff and it has sharp edges, it really won't show.  It's purpose is to give the weed stop fabric extra staying power against weeds.  I don't want any greenery poking up between the planks over time, and then have to try to figure out how the heck to get under there to get rid of it!  Home Depot sells pea gravel for $3.87 for a 50# bag.  I'm guessing 3 bags per platform, but at this point that's truly a guess.  I'll definitely need Red's truck to get it home.

5)  Build frames and platforms.  Red is going to help me with this part.  Our current plan is to secure treated 2" x 4"S to the cedar posts with lag bolts.  That frame will become the support edges of the platform.  Then we'll affix lumber for the platform surface. (Hello compressor and nail gun!!  Yeehaw)  I think we are going to put the planks on a diagonal for visual appeal. 

We may use yellow pine 1" x 6's or we may use the cedar fence pickets again.  I think I would want to stain both of those, and will definitely water seal whichever I choose.  The cedar will weather better than the pine, but it also will require more sanding than the pine.  I probably will not make this decision until I am standing in front of the lumber in the store...

6)  Put down a 12" perimeter of river stone around each platform.  I think this will visually "ground" each platform and the round stones will be soothing to look at. 

7)  Then I'll start filling in with plants -- lavender, maybe some sedum -- I'll definitely want something fragrant back surrounding the platforms. 

It appears that I am going to meet my goal of having at least one platform before my sister arrives in a few days.  Aren't goals great?  The phantom deadline definitely worked for me.

I can already feel the platforms supporting me and grounding me, and the sun on my face.  And I have more than one neighbor who does yoga too!  One of them wants to be a yoga instructor, and another has a mother who is a yoga master!  I'll be in great company.  I can't wait!

Zen Pending

Among other backyard items, I worked on the yoga platforms this weekend.  Three platforms like these are the goal:

Choosing dimensions for them took me forever!  I laid a yoga mat out and measured that, and then tried to envision what all I would want to do on the platform; e.g. soak in the sun, spread out garden books and catalogs, play Scrabble with a friend... I looked closely at the ones that Jamie Durie built in the photo above and concluded that while they were not true squares, they were close to being square. I finally settled upon 6' x 7'. 

So then I had to figure out where all the posts would go.  I started out with a tape measure, wooden stakes and string.  It was not hugely successful.  Then I decided to use 1" x 2"s and build a square which I could lay on the ground and mark.  Knowing the frame was very temporary I didn't do a super job on affixing the corners.  It ended up being sort of fragile and since my arms were too short to be able to reach 2 parallel sides to carry it, moving it around was challenging.  I did get it over to the area of the yard I needed it in without it falling apart.  I laid it down, and spray painted the perimeter, with some extra spray paint markers for the posts.  I planned to use the side perimeter lines to help me square up the posts to each other.

Then I dug the first 4 post holes:

I traded vehicles with Red, and I was off to Home Depot.  I bought 24 feet of treated 4" x 4" lumber, and had them cut it into 2' lengths.  I could do that at home, but their in store saw set up is so sweet that it's really easy for them.  I also bought 4 bags of concrete.

When I got home I dug the remaining 8 holes.   I dug the holes 9 inches square and 10 inches deep.  The goal was 12 inches deep.  I got tired, what can I say?  I used the dirt I dug up to fill in holes from the backsteps footings.  Handy.

My neighbor came over for something else while I was reading the concrete bag label, pronounced that she had worked a summer pouring driveways (?) and knew all about concrete mixing and pouring.  Are you kidding?  She helped me out -- I stirred the concrete in the wheelbarrow and she sprayed the appropriate amount of water in.  Then I held the post in the hole, using a level to be certain to get it vertical and squared it up using my handy spraypainted lines and a 1" x 2" and voila!  We got 8 of the 12 poured and before we ran out of concrete.  But that is enough posts for 2 of the 3 platforms.  I was giddy when we were through. 

Here's how it looks now:

The posts are different heights, it's true.  It's intentional.   When we are ready to build, we'll use my laser level and cut them off all the same height.  I hope to do that Saturday morning... my sister arrives Saturday afternoon.  And I know you'll recall my goal of wanting at least one built before she arrives!

I need to dig up the grass within the perimeter of the second one; the first one is already done.  And then tack down weed stop fabric, and likely put down a layer of pea gravel.  I plan to do a 12 inch border of river stone around each of the platforms -- but not before Saturday afternoon!  And then maybe some lavender or some sedum growing between the stones.  Ahhhh.  Zen.  Pending.  Stay tuned.

THIS WEEK!!!

My back steps are going to be installed  t h i s  w e e k.  THIS.  WEEK.  I'll find out today which day that will be.  As soon as I hear, I'll call and arrange for my ipe' lumber to be delivered, and line up Vic and The Magic Van for lumber installation.

Also this weekend I used wooden stakes and string to outline my 3 yoga platforms, and the decking outside my workshop.  I want to have a few days to look at the outlines and consider the new layout before I make them permanent.

GOAL:  To have at least one yoga platform built before my sister arrives March 5th.  It will be a push, but it might happen.  You've gotta have goals!

Things are happening, folks, things are happening.

The Cutest Thing!

Have you seen anything cuter than this?  It's like a little pumpkin! 

Santa brought me this compressor and a set of three nail guns (among a couple of other projects that I will post when they are done...)  I am positively over the MOON.

When my steps are installed, and I can figure out where my outdoor dining table will go, and then I can build some of these platforms:

(Do you watch Jamie Durie?  I love his stuff!)  I want to build a handful of those platforms that you see in the center of the photo.  I can use them for yoga, lounging areas... places to sit and pot plants... I can walk on them to avoid mud when it's raining... not to mention they are much better than grass.  Anyway.  Can.  Not.  Wait.  And the nail gun will make them go in SO much faster!