Project Today: Removing the Asphalt Walkway
Doable and Budget Friendly DIY’s to turn the house we rented into our home
So just to recap… we are in the process of buying the house that we have been renting for the last three years and we are so excited to make this into our home! We are taking the dated exterior of our house and giving it a little face lift. We are doing a ton of new DIY’s like the concrete, new door and some lighting switches and some that I have done before like pavers, paint and some landscape.
So This is our transition of the house so far…
BEFORE & DURING
This is after donating the pavers and painting the door! The door paint is only a temporary fix because the last step of this refresh will include a new front door from US DOOR & MORE! I am so excited to get one of their exterior doors on our house!
REMOVING THE WALKWAY
So our next move was to demo the walkway to make room for the new concrete patio and paver walkway. With this project my main goal was a design I loved, to keep the costs down as low as possible, and acquire new skills along the way! I wanted to do this part on my own but it was much more budget friendly to hire out to my handy-man for this job. He already had the know how, the tools and I was already hiring him to haul all the asphalt away. I would have had to rent or buy and angle grinder, the blade and an electric jack hammer. No to mention it would have taken me twice as long.
I drew the line where I wanted him to cut and he used an angle grinder with a cement blade like this one to score a line in the asphalt
He then used his electric jack hammer to break up the asphalt into chunks to haul away on his trailer
The whole thing probably took less than a half an hour!
So below is my mood board for the project. This is how I want it to look when we are done! Kinda hard to imagine but it is going to be even better than this!
With the walkway removed we are one step closer to the mood board below becoming a reality! I cannot even tell you how excited I am that those dirty garden beds are gone now! I have hated those since I moved in. Our yard was always so “dirty” lol and filled with leaves. We literally always rushed inside and never spent anytime in the yard now it is turning into a space that we really utilize!
Mood Board for the House
Where we left off today…after asphalt removal
One of the more easiest projects that we knocked out was hanging the swing! The kids were so excited and we have already used it so much! We bought this swing a couple months ago and have been waiting to hang it forever. We recently bought a similar type of swing for the play-set in the backyard but it had fabric instead of the rope. It DID NOT hold up. It literally was out there for like two months and had some wearing from the sun and as soon as we sat on it it ripped. This has been out for a month or two now and is holding up great.
Projects To Do:
Demo up the asphalt walkway- Pour 2 concrete pads under each window (using only the best!)
- Paint Exterior & Garage
- Brick Walkway
- Fence
- Landscape
- Lighting
Swing- Side Driveway
- New Front Door with the best in town
These are all projects that are doable and affordable in phases! Two down and 8 to go! Make sure to follow along on my instagram for some real time action!
Project MVP’s
Sakrete Concrete
We are partnering with Sakrete to create the front patio of my dreams! I am so excited to work with concrete on this project! It has been on my DIY list forever! They are the best and have been around forever! They have so much more than just concrete mixes too! Will be sharing my favorites from Sakrete in the coming weeks!
You can use there concrete calculator here to determine how much of their product you need for each product!
US Door & More
In prepping for this project I spent so much time looking for front doors and one where the price would match the quality. I was blown away when I found US Door & More! They are based in Tampa and have a beautiful selection of doors! We will be sharing the exact one I will be using on next weeks post but make sure to check out their doors in the mean time because they have so many amazing ones!!
Shop The Mood Board Tools Here
Shop The Mood Board Decor Here
