Yet Again - Yard Work

So, time goes on, more work goes in, and we're still not done. The progress is certainly apparent, but completion is still far away. So, what have we been doing? With 40+ (I think I've lost official count at this point), this little adventure of ours is still a job in the making. It seems that with each milestone we reach, the end goal gets further away. Well, not really, but sometimes it does feel that way. Anyway, the crazy task of removing the leaf debris from the yard is now officially complete. Angel finished up that task last week.

So, you might say, we've found our backyard. Umm, well, not quite. The years upon years of leaf debris has been relocated, unfortunately, the yard still appears quite disheveled. The next daunting task that has begun as of yesterday is to relocate the celluloid debris and major weeds from the yard. In the years of neglect the yard has experienced there is quite the collection of vertical and horizontal brush that needs to be addressed. I've spent some time in the yard with the bushwhacker chopping down anything that I feel the tool can handle. Instead of cleaning as I go, I have just hit everything that I can find at one time and will address the cleaning afterward.

Thankfully, this perspective has paid off already. With the amount of crumbled stone, ivy and other vine like growth, and other miscellaneous tree debris (branches, twigs, ect. [aka cellulose]) trying to clean-up the small stuff to find bare earth is much easier with the tall stuff out of the way. At this time, with the exception of the undergrowth at the creek bed border, any weed, vertically growing vine, wild bush and seedling tree has been eradicated from our yard. Now the cleanup of that chopping is well underway. We're using pure muscle to yank up the vine growth (that stuff is a pain in the ass), rakes to collect the debris, and shovels (with the wheelbarrow) for anything else that piles up along the way. I would estimate that about 5/8 of the target yard area is in a condition to call clear.

There has been one recent development that I'm less than happy about. Apparently with my yard work yesterday, I managed to find some poison ivy. I was wearing my issue brown gortex boots, jeans, gloves, and a short sleeve shirt. That being said, guess where I have it. Yup, you got it, on my arms. This time does not have the appearance that it is going to be a horrible condition to overcome. I know that as a scout and from playing in the Court School parking lot that I've had this much worse. I guess at this age that it will be just a minor annoyance as my time outside and spent sweating is kept to a minimum now. Nothing like when I was younger whereas almost everyday consisted some sweat developing activity that would absolutely irritate the affliction.

Anyway, we're making a lot of progress in the yard. However, if you think that getting the little debris cleared of the yard is as far as we're going to have to go, you would be wrong. Even with the leaves, major debris, trees and other vertical growth chopped down that we would be nearing completion of the yard discovery and ready to decide what we're going to do with this additional functional land. Well, unfortunately, with the yard in the condition that it is currently in, that is not the case. Yes, once the little debris is removed we will have "found" our back yard. Unfortunately, finding it and being able to tend for it are two totally different topics.

Once we get the little shit out of the way, our next move will be to prepare the land for maintenance. One of the key features/tools that will be required to be functional in this new area is the lawnmower. Well, our land is very rocky. There are rocks all over the place. Many of them are jutting up and out of the ground in such a way that will prevent safe operation of a lawnmower in this area. Therefore, we will need to manually pluck these rocks from the ground and relocate them. We're not going to toss the rock into the creek bed because we have some other ideas that will give them an opportunity to do some good.

At this time, regardless of the ground cover we choose to employ on our yard, we have 3 construction projects that we would like to complete in the yard.

• Fire pit
• Horseshoe pits
• Boccie ball court

We don't yet know where in the yard these guys are going to go, but before any new install landscape goes into place, we'll have to determine how we're going to address these new features.

So, lets examine the projects individually.

Fire pit:

Well, Gwinnett County is unlike Allegheny County in that we are permitted to burn. However, typically burning is restricted to the non summer months. However, when you install a pit that is designed specifically for controlling the potential run of the fire, the restriction is all but gone. Since we are also trying to create entertainment features in the yard, the pit has potential for use all year round. The expectation for the creation of this feature will revolve around the use of rock that is already present in the yard. There is plenty of it all around the yard that I think I could create a functional pit with minor expense with what we already have.

Horseshoe Pits:

My intention here is to create a single game area that is up to specification with official regulations for all ages. Based on the brief research that I have already completed, I will need to get some experience with concrete mixing and working. The other options for material include paving stones, wood planks, or some other ground covering and controlling device. Cost and effort will determine which approach we take. To fit specifications with the regulations for kids, women, and men at the same time will require me to create a throwing platform that extends well forward of the pins (13' to be exact).

In addition to the pitching lanes, the creation of the individual pits will be an engineering feat. From what I've read and what I intend on doing is to use a 3'x2' concrete rectangle of variable width with a minimum depth of 6" (variable to prevent water from standing on it, slanting out from center) that will have the pin pushed thru at the correct angle while it is still wet. This concrete slab should hold the pin stable longer than what a coffee can or other anchoring system would do. I am thinking of taking this design a bit further and wrapping the hole for the pins in a rubber sheath to absorb some of the impact before hitting the concrete. Another addition would be to include additional horizontal support to the concrete by adding segments of the uprights from the fence that I removed from the yard.

Above and around the concrete, I anticipate using #57 granite gravel to facilitate the drainage from the game playing environment. Above the granite will be a layer of weed blocking landscaping material and then topped with a minimum of 6" of sand. Based on the dimensions of a regulation court, 7'x3' I will require .69 cubic yards of sand and something less than that amount for the gravel for both pits. Thankfully, I have found a local bulk landscaping company that will deliver this bulk amount of material at a reasonable cost including the delivery costs.

Furthermore, I intend on including a backboard into the design. Therefore, rebarb, wood planks and lag bolts will be in my future. I have a feeling that once I get into this, the construction will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 including the purchase of the game equipment. Unfortunately, I foresee more than a single weekend to get this project completed as I think I'll be doing the majority of the work alone or with only Angel's assistance. I have heard of this project being completed in a day, but unlike some people (yeah, you know who you are), I don't have as extensive of a support chain to assist with the grunt work.

Boccie Ball Court:

The last project is also going to be the most expensive, if done properly. As I'm sure to no surprise, I have done research on this topic also. A properly designed boccie ball court is 90' by 13' by international standards. However, in America it is acceptable to have a court as small as 60' by 10'. The court is to have raised walls to stop the balls from leaving the court. In my pursuit of examples of what some other people have done, I have found The Joy of Boccie and within their court design section, they've highlighted a few at-home court installations. I also found it interesting that one of them are in the Pittsburgh area. Anyway, seeing their design, implementation routes and final products, I'm not sure if I can afford any of these designs. Please have a look and see what I'm talking about.

Carmine D'Agostino, Franklin, MA - Gold Seal Standard

Frank Scenna, Canonsburg, PA - The idea I'm thinking of replicating

John Scarpelli, Beavercreek, OH

Henry Salustro, Marion, MA

So, as you can see, the durable construction of one of these guys is quite involved and on a quite a larger scale in comparison to either of the other yard projects. The estimated cost of just rock material for a 60'x10' structure with 6" of each material (gravel & granite dust) is going to be close to $720 and that is not including the delivery costs or the other materials required for the build.

As an alternative, I am considering the less involved design to cut the rock requirements in half 3" gravel & 3" dust and then covering it with outdoor carpeting. However, due to the desire to complete this project in the most expedient period of time and cost being a factor to determine how quickly it can be completed, I am thinking that even at $360 for rock will be prohibitive.

Lastly, another alternative would be to build our court with the building materials (wood, bolts, rebarb, ground cloth) that either of the aforementioned designs would entail (to some degree or another) and then replace the displaced dirt back into the box. Mind you, this would not be a direct replacement. We would have to sift the dirt (I'm sure I can rent or borrow something to do that) to remove the rock and unwanted materials from the area to create a smooth surface. This concept would be the least expensive and quickest method to implementation over the other options. The only major drawback to this method would be the "mud pit" that would likely be created after a rain. However, if we were really hard up to play, we could turn the pit or something to create a usable playing surface.

Horseshoes and Boccie Accents

One feature that I want to build to accent both of these projects is a score keeping location. My original though was to build pedestals at one end or the other of the courts that would be reminiscent of a miniature golf course. These pedestals would be topped with either a scorecard under plexi to be used with a china crayon or a whiteboard & dry erase markers with the score card outlined with pinstripes. However, after taking a lok at the "gold standard" court design for boccie, I am reconsidering this design. I think the cribbage centralized score card design is a nice design. I just might have to take his cue and make mine that way. I could use a centralized post for both scorecards that would face each court accordingly as I plan on the two courts to be parallel with one another.

Another feature that I want to put into place will not be immediate. I would like to add lighting to my courts also. I know that I hate it when I'm at a picnic and have to stop playing my game (either or) because of darkness. However, the requirement of cost will be prohibitive to get this installed this year with trying to get these 3 projects completed. That being said, will I get all three of these completed this year? I don't know. Will the finances be there to drop $300+ each on two different "pleasure" activities? I guess only time will tell.

I know that there are tons of details in here and I have high hopes. However, I wanted to document this information more for myself than for your information. As with anything else, once I've done the research on something, I don't want to loose it. With a topic like this, I guess here is just as good as any other. If and when we get ourselves involved in making this a reality, I'm sure you will hear about it.