What to do with a tiny, barren wasteland?
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:30 pm
'Evening, all.
Long story short, my folks and I put our money together and moved to another rental house back in August of 2019. Their plan is to save up over "a couple of years" for a house deposit, but the way the world is going, I'm not convinced that's entirely realistic for us. These new houses are crammed together like sardines, built like cardboard boxes, and priced like five-star hotels. I digress..
In any case, I find myself in need of some sort of tramway on which to test whatever with which I keep myself busy building. It'll also function as a test-bed for structures and scenery - When we buy a house (if I live that long! ) I'd like by then, to have a stockpile of weatherproof structures, track and detailing ready for use. I've spent so many years building things, testing by trial and (mostly!) error, I just want to get on with building something reliable to enjoy in the long-term.
21/08/2019
The slate here is pretty dismal, but at least (besides the slope towards the fence) it's mostly a blank slate. The tramway area is roughly 13' x 25'.
I've plenty of track leftover from the Bad Old Days, (my first outdoor line) and a temporary setup along a closed industrial formation.
A smattering of plants salvaged from the last garden also helps.
20/11/19
A railway isn't the only thing planned for this side-yard, so the fence needs more privacy extensions. The fence itself also needs disguising. Some jasmine plants were bought to cover it, with chicken wire as something to climb on. The neighbors have started erecting a shed on their side, so I'll have to wait for them to render it's walls, before I can fit the last of the fence extensions, and the second, higher roll of chicken wire.. The owners of the house aren't concerned by any of this, as we have a spotless record in over 20 years of tenancy, and even though when we move, I'll be taking as much as my own added plants etc. as possible, we're still increasing the value of the property with this screening and future garden, at no expense to the owners. Worst (unlikely) case, if the owners don't like it, I figure anything I put in, I can pull out later.
Some of the jasmines have been re-potted in some old buckets with drainage holes, to let their root systems (and therefore the rest of the plant) expand a little. Bricks, old and new, will be retained with some star pickets, and hold the earth away from the fence, when I get to leveling the yard.
The timber under the gates has been packed up a bit, as the yard slopes not only toward the side fence, but also toward the gates. I still don't think the yard will be level enough, and will likely re-hang the gates a couple of inches higher, and so they open outwards rather than inwards.
I'd never calculated volume for landscaping before, and chronic fatigue is a vicious b****, so I gave up and erred on the side of caution, ordering nine cubic meters of soil. Honestly, I was rather shocked when the truck turned up.
Accounting for settling, this was almost double what I really needed. But it was only $225-ish including delivery, so I'm not complaining.
The navvies soon got stuck into moving the pile. They soon gave up, leaving their tools onsite, then headed to the pub, until I provide them a workable place to lay track..
The garden cart was pressed into use, and I slowly chipped away at the pile over the next fortnight, moving a cart-load or six, then going inside to do work on things less exhausting for a few hours.. I had a bit of help some days later, for which I was grateful.
02/12/19
The garden area is now mostly levelled. The opportunity was taken to try out a track plan. Still not sure if I'll include the buildings in this setup, or leave them around the back of the house to test their weather-proof-ness..
The gas bottles (for the hot water system) need to remain accessible for the gas people and their bottle trolleys. Two removable bridge/ramp units will be made from marine plywood, to allow the trolleys to pass over the track - once I decide on a track layout.
17/12/19
Before any further work however, my future house and workshop needs some long-overdue care, then moving into place.
29/03/2020
Work on the tramway is halted, as the caravan maintenance/modification continues. What with this new-fangled plague though, I thought it prudent to visit the local landscaping supplier for everything I should soon need, in case this part of the world completely shuts down. This should be enough crusher dust, sand, drainage gravel, cement and bark mulch for the garden..
19/04/20
Caravan's getting there, but it's a "crash" day for me, so I'm working on something easy instead. I prefer painted rails, and it's a hell of a lot less painful to do it at the bench, than it is laying on the ground. El-Cheapo Gloss Indian Red sticks strangely well enough without primer, and fades to a nice flat rusty brown over a few months. Painting pointwork on the ground is a nightmare, so those are done on the bench. The throws need painting and weathering before installing the points, anyway.
Long story short, my folks and I put our money together and moved to another rental house back in August of 2019. Their plan is to save up over "a couple of years" for a house deposit, but the way the world is going, I'm not convinced that's entirely realistic for us. These new houses are crammed together like sardines, built like cardboard boxes, and priced like five-star hotels. I digress..
In any case, I find myself in need of some sort of tramway on which to test whatever with which I keep myself busy building. It'll also function as a test-bed for structures and scenery - When we buy a house (if I live that long! ) I'd like by then, to have a stockpile of weatherproof structures, track and detailing ready for use. I've spent so many years building things, testing by trial and (mostly!) error, I just want to get on with building something reliable to enjoy in the long-term.
21/08/2019
The slate here is pretty dismal, but at least (besides the slope towards the fence) it's mostly a blank slate. The tramway area is roughly 13' x 25'.
I've plenty of track leftover from the Bad Old Days, (my first outdoor line) and a temporary setup along a closed industrial formation.
A smattering of plants salvaged from the last garden also helps.
20/11/19
A railway isn't the only thing planned for this side-yard, so the fence needs more privacy extensions. The fence itself also needs disguising. Some jasmine plants were bought to cover it, with chicken wire as something to climb on. The neighbors have started erecting a shed on their side, so I'll have to wait for them to render it's walls, before I can fit the last of the fence extensions, and the second, higher roll of chicken wire.. The owners of the house aren't concerned by any of this, as we have a spotless record in over 20 years of tenancy, and even though when we move, I'll be taking as much as my own added plants etc. as possible, we're still increasing the value of the property with this screening and future garden, at no expense to the owners. Worst (unlikely) case, if the owners don't like it, I figure anything I put in, I can pull out later.
Some of the jasmines have been re-potted in some old buckets with drainage holes, to let their root systems (and therefore the rest of the plant) expand a little. Bricks, old and new, will be retained with some star pickets, and hold the earth away from the fence, when I get to leveling the yard.
The timber under the gates has been packed up a bit, as the yard slopes not only toward the side fence, but also toward the gates. I still don't think the yard will be level enough, and will likely re-hang the gates a couple of inches higher, and so they open outwards rather than inwards.
I'd never calculated volume for landscaping before, and chronic fatigue is a vicious b****, so I gave up and erred on the side of caution, ordering nine cubic meters of soil. Honestly, I was rather shocked when the truck turned up.
Accounting for settling, this was almost double what I really needed. But it was only $225-ish including delivery, so I'm not complaining.
The navvies soon got stuck into moving the pile. They soon gave up, leaving their tools onsite, then headed to the pub, until I provide them a workable place to lay track..
The garden cart was pressed into use, and I slowly chipped away at the pile over the next fortnight, moving a cart-load or six, then going inside to do work on things less exhausting for a few hours.. I had a bit of help some days later, for which I was grateful.
02/12/19
The garden area is now mostly levelled. The opportunity was taken to try out a track plan. Still not sure if I'll include the buildings in this setup, or leave them around the back of the house to test their weather-proof-ness..
The gas bottles (for the hot water system) need to remain accessible for the gas people and their bottle trolleys. Two removable bridge/ramp units will be made from marine plywood, to allow the trolleys to pass over the track - once I decide on a track layout.
17/12/19
Before any further work however, my future house and workshop needs some long-overdue care, then moving into place.
29/03/2020
Work on the tramway is halted, as the caravan maintenance/modification continues. What with this new-fangled plague though, I thought it prudent to visit the local landscaping supplier for everything I should soon need, in case this part of the world completely shuts down. This should be enough crusher dust, sand, drainage gravel, cement and bark mulch for the garden..
19/04/20
Caravan's getting there, but it's a "crash" day for me, so I'm working on something easy instead. I prefer painted rails, and it's a hell of a lot less painful to do it at the bench, than it is laying on the ground. El-Cheapo Gloss Indian Red sticks strangely well enough without primer, and fades to a nice flat rusty brown over a few months. Painting pointwork on the ground is a nightmare, so those are done on the bench. The throws need painting and weathering before installing the points, anyway.