Posts
1913 Renovation Project #Home Improvement
Good morning! Backyard Brian here.
Some of you have been following the posts that Victoria has been sharing on the renovation of our own house here on Walnut Avenue in Waynesboro. We’re really excited to have the ability to renovate this old place and are currently focused on the interior remodeling so that we can move in soon. However, I wanted to take a few minutes to show you all the backyard and expand on some of our ideas for the renovation of this outside space in the future. This is one of the things we really like about this house. The backyard is one of the main reasons we chose to purchase this place.
As you can see, this is a pretty old, classic home on the side here. It’s got a great, full, wrap-around front porch. Here in the back, we have a second-story balcony porch that we’re really excited about. It’s a great space up there. We have a deck on this side, so we have brought our table over. We also have a swimming pool! This was not something we were intentionally looking for, but with teenagers in the house and lots of extended family, we are really excited about having the opportunity to host fun, outdoor gatherings. This is one of my favorite places in the backyard.
One slight, problematic thing I’ve observed about this existing setup is the deck right here; our main gathering area. There’s a rail between it and the pool, which means that you have to go down these steps and through the gate to get into the pool area. We’re planning to change that since most people will gather on this deck. Changing this will enable people in the pool to go back and forth easily. Our goal is to add another deck light level here to bridge the elevation difference between the pool and this upper deck to create easier access to the pool.
We also have a gate over there for security on the pool, which can be closed to create a better space here. The pool deck is concrete right now and a bit cracked. We’re planning to lay Travertine over the top of this concrete surface. Travertine is fantastic for swimming pool decks because, unlike a lot of stones, when it gets wet it increases the traction rather than becoming slick. It stays cool underfoot and looks great. We plan to also remove this scraggly tree and fill in some of these beds with hardsapes instead of mulch so as to prevent tracking into the pool. The pool has just been opened, and we got the pump and filter running to continue clearing the water up. We also plan to extend the hardscape around the pool so that there is more space for people to gather and hang out. Our extended family lives close (and there are lots of them) as well as many of our friends, and they are all excited to hang out here at the pool.
Beside the pool over here, we have a garage, which was an unexpected blessing. We weren’t planning on/looking for a detached, but it was a bonus. Once again, this fence will be removed to create more open space around the pool. Since we’ve got the security of the larger fence on the outside, there’s no real need for this fence here.
Another long-term dream we’ve talked about is to build a covering for this deck – possibly a rooftop sundeck – which will create shade down below. So, maybe a two-story, deck addition down the back that would tie into the garage and create a little more space inside the house. Those are a few things we’ve considered and look forward to implementing.
This second-story porch is really nice as it provides a great space to relax in the shade and overlook the pool. We’ll share progress as we go, but this is the beginnings of it all.
Everyone have a great week!
We will talk to you later, bye.
My thoughts on the new #Waynesboro Comprehensive Plan
Backyard Brian here. I wanted to take a few minutes to share some thoughts on the new Comprehensive Plan for Waynesboro. I got a chance to go to the city council meeting this past Monday, and I’m standing here on Main Street right beside the City Council building. I’m really excited about what our local officials have worked hard to put together, and I want to give a shout-out to Terry Shore, Bruce Allen, and some of the others on the City Council that have worked to make this happen. Based on what they shared, I’m really excited for the future of Waynesboro. May family and I moved back to this area about two years ago. We lived in Nelson for a number of years, but Waynesboro is where I grew up. So I’m excited to see Waynesboro move forward in this way. Although, there was something shared in the meeting that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit this past week.
One of the things that’s hurting Waynesboro is our buildings, both residential and commercial. As a whole, compared to surrounding areas, our buildings are really run-down. There are a few things that the city and public can do to improve the structural quality. However, it’s ultimately up to us as city residents to really think about what needs to be done to initiate improvement of maintenance, care, and condition of our homes and buildings. It’s time for us to take some pride in Waynesboro and show that this is a great place to live. We’ve got awesome parks that are only going to get better. We’ve got the Wayne Theater behind me. We’ve got an awesome downtown. We’ve got many great local businesses like The Farmhaus Coffee Co., The French Press, Heritage on Main, and Green Leaf.
If we want this area to draw others to visit and live here, we’ve got to do something about the condition of our buildings. We must take initiative to say “Okay.” To make sure our yards are cleaned up and homes are maintained. The buildings that we have influence over are our responsiblity. And lending a helping hand is important to. Maybe we have a neighbor who’s struggling with keeping their place up, so let’s offer to help. It’s time for us to have some pride in our community and really step out. To choose to work together and make sure Waynesboro looks great. Our city councilmen can’t help us do that. they can encourage us, but we are the ones to musst take action in the end. It’s up to us.
According to the consultant that presented the Comprehensive Plan, real estate values of our homes and businesses are about 20 percent below what they could be because of the condition of our buildings as a whole. We have a lot of opportunity and room to grow. This is an opportunity for all of us in Waynesboro and put money in our pockets if we want to. If will work together and we’ll see the quality of our neighborhoods and streets improved.
Anyway, it’s a great opportunity. Let’s work together to take it. Pass the word. Share this with others. If you want to see the Comprehensive Plan, it’s on the city’s website. There’s a lot of other great things in there that I’ll be talking about over the next couple of weeks, but let’s start by working together to make our communities, homes, and business buildings look great. All right, talk to you later. Have a great weekend. Bye.
Financing Options
