Our Landscaping Story

Thanks Lisa!

I can (and will) find out for ya; we only got quoted for the total job but I don't think the wall by itself would be too dear. It's just a simple stud frame covered in cement sheeting with just enough sheeting on the back side of it to go below the fenceline, so it doesn't look ugly from the neighbours side. It sits 1.8m above the deck level for the dual purposes of maintaining that height above foot level, and also that if I decided to cover it with that brush or bamboo stuff that you get in a roll, it would be an exact fit. I will probably just paint it though. It is 4.1m wide.

Thanks I need something to block out my neighbours - I might need to put a rocket under my brothers bum and get him to help me - he is a chippy

For some reason I just thought of that literally - if your neighbours saw a rocket up anyones bum they'd draw the curtains forever and you wouldn't need to screen them out!

hahahahaha

Our deck extension project has slowed considerably over the past little while, due to weather and better things to do etc.

6 weeks ago I bought some paint for the wall and immediately applied the sealer undercoat, but it was only today that I applied the medium texture render finish. It will be further coated in our chosen colour, Colorbond Deep Ocean, to match the trims on the house. Hopefully this will happen tomorrow. Then, all I have to do is clean and oil the deck extension, arrange the water feature and some furniture there, and whack some gardens in along each side. I still haven't really made up my mind what to plant; my latest idea is to maybe have some sort of vine grow along some stainless steel wires or something. Grapes, maybe?

The wall, firstly after undercoat, and secondly after 2 coats of Dulux medium texture, finished with a sponge wipe. The hole is for the lead for the water feature and the light patches are reflected light from the windows on the house.

Wall looks great already.

How did you find the render to use? We were reading the backs of the tins today wondering whether it's the right thing to use on our concrete letterbox.

Ohhh, catjim, if only I knew what I didn’t knew!

I got some advice on how to apply this particular type of paint, and had the correct type of roller (it looks like it is made from the hook part of Velcro, only longer). I was told to paint several strips then go back and finish with overlapping downstrokes to make sure all the little bumps faced the same way, to make sure it all looked even, while that section was still wet.

I applied the first coat, from the right hand side of the wall, and everything went very well until the last metre. For some reason the roller started to become bogged and it was skidding across the surface instead of rolling. Nevertheless I finished with the downstrokes there but it appeared patchy. So, I downstroked the entire wall but I then ended up with tell-tale vertical stripes all over! Arrrggghhhh!!!!!

So much for trying to get away with one coat! By the way, the advice was that 10 litres of medium texture might have been barely enough anyway (area of the wall is a little over 10 square metres) but I had only used half....hmmm. So I proceeded with a second coat. It quickly became obvious that I was going to run out of paint! I started to dilute it down, and experimented with finishing it off by wiping the wet paint with a sponge (which was the finishing method that was written on the tin!). That worked very well and I’m now spewin’ that I didn’t try that with the first coat! Anyway, by the last square metre I was virtually out of paint, and I was actually applying it with the sponge. Now, I was spewin’ that I didn’t apply it that way to begin with!!!!!

The very left hand part of the wall does look a bit rougher than the rest, but it should come up alright still I think.

Oh gosh, it doesn't sound easy. We've got two rendered portico posts in paperbark and we'd like to do the letterbox to match. Might have to do a bit of experimenting first.

No, have ago at it! If you are only doing narrow areas, it will be easy. It’s only because I was painting such a wide area that it was always going to be a bit d0dgy how the transition to the ‘wet line’ was going to end up.

Good stuff Eager!! This time of year hasn't been very good for outdoor projects

You're not wrong! Even getting the deck built in Autumn was bad because it was way wetter than usual. But at least it should all be done in time for the warmer months, so we can actually get out there and enjoy it!

More progress! After waiting forever today for yesterday’s second render coat to dry , I applied a coat of Deep Ocean. It went on well and at a glance it looks excellent, but what I found when I stepped back is that a dark colour shows up more imperfections than a light finish. I might just let it pass. The bold colour looks great against the timber though, and has the desired effect of matching the trims on the house:


The other thing I did today was to buy some heavy gauge perforated sheet metal from a local industry and cut it to shape to be used in my water feature as a tray to hold pebbles. This is for two purposes; firstly to make it look a whole lot more attractive including hiding the inlet hose from the pump, and secondly to quieten down the splashing noise from the water falling back into the trough:

Looks great Geoff!

Thanks mate!

Yep, looks really great eager! That piece of metal is perfect too, clever thing aren't you!

Aww, shucks.

Absolutely love your work. Like how you have thought about all the details for your water feature.

love it. cant wait to see it finished

Thanks for sharing - looks great! Lots of useful info here ...

Thanks, everyone!

Also discovered today that a brick standing on its end is the absolutely perfect size to support the pebble tray in the water feature (it was only just balancing there before and would have fallen in with any weight on it). DW suggested it. I doubted her. I'll never learn.