Breaking up IS easy to do !

Its the hauling away thats the hard part. . .
We should have rented this in the first place ! What a big difference the right tool makes. Even Karla took a turn at the power hammer. This really made short change of the side walk. GOT JUNK came out on Thursday to haul it all away. Next will be the deck. We started taking down the the posts and other parts of the deck that will be replaced by the arbor but got hit with snow and cold. Maybe it will warm up soon so that we can get going on our outdoor projects !

Arbor Detail

Deck images

We're thinking it will take one afternoon to remove the skirting, the ugly plastic lattice and the bricks that surround the deck. So far the plan of attack is for Greg to break up the sidewalk and Karla to pressure wash the deck.
The arbor construction worries me only because it seems too easy. I'm hoping that the 20' 2X8 supports will be stable enough and we will not have a sagging issue to deal with.
Karla is very excited about putting the brick patio in. I hope the kids don't mind hauling the stone, sand, and brick into the back yard !

chicago flower & Garden show

Karla was a kid in a candy store !
A child on Christmas morning !
Like Greg in a bike shop !
The show was not as big as we hoped it to be, but we got a lot of ideas. Parking was confusing but once we did a series of U turns we found our way in.
I enjoyed the massive water features and outdoor table settings, once Karla brought me back into reality, we were able to focus on what we really came there for.
There were some great pond ideas. Smoke on the water seemed to be the running theme for the show.
We decided on the "pondless water feature". We think it will give us what we want with less digging and without the big expense.The pond pictured in this posting is what we are going to base ours on.

Besides the candy and the Captain Kerk Hosta, I think the arbor here, was Karla's favorite part of the show. I think the dimentition of the lumber used will fit nicely in proportion to the yard and provide just enough shade on the deck during the summer.
We left the show and headed to Manard's, Sids, and Home Depot where Karla got a head start on the patio by buying four of the 16 X 16 bricks we are going to use.
We cant wait to get started !