I had been holding off on reserving a sod cutter for the weekend to see if the weather was actually going to be dry, so I got the 2-4pm delivery spot from Yard Rents. This left me a small window to get all the sod removed, sign out with the delivery guy, shower, and make it to the Portland Timbers game at 7. I was really hoping Yard Rents would show up closer to 2 so everything wouldn't be so tight.
At 3:45 they called and said they were running behind and I was a total bitch about it (I feel really bad about that still). When the guy showed up he made some calls, then informed me that he'd rather not drop off the machine, drive to the shop 30 minutes away, then turn around immediately to come back and get it. So he was just going to stay and help me with my project, and they were also knocking 50% off my cost for the day.
So with just 45 minutes (and a sprinkling of mulch) we went from this:
To this:
My total cost was $30. I highly recommend Yard Rents. I don't know if they regularly run late, but maybe don't wait until the last minute like I did and get an early spot instead. They were super nice. They deliver the machinery to you, show you how to use it, then pick it up and take it away when you're done. Apparently this was an unusually busy weekend for them, so I don't think it's normal for them to run late.
We still had a ton of sod to deal with. I was going to try and sneak small bits into the yard waste bin for the next four years, but Greg preferred taking four trips to the dump and calling it good. I decided to put it on craigslist, just to see what would happen. There's always SOMEONE who wants your free stuff on craigslist, right? So I listed it, explaining that it's not the nicest lawn, it has weeds (though the roots are still in my yard), but it's free.
And I got two responses. By the next afternoon all of these were gone. We went to brunch and came back to an empty walkway. It was amazing. Weird people of craigslist, NEVER CHANGE.
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I borrowed my sister-in-law's lady-tiller so I can break up things a little, work in some mulch, and regrade everything away from the house. Worms, consider yourself warned! I hate it when I cut you in half. Then I'll dig the rain garden, create a small hillock for an agave, and start landscaping. I'm so excited!
I say don't feel bad for the bitchiness, that's why you make a reservation - so that they come on time and provide the service you paid for. But totally awesome of them to make it up to you by staying to help out and then not charging as much!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a project you got going. I was overwhelmed by a small project to widen our spruce berm by three feet. In our defense, we hand cut and dug the sod, no YardRent guy to help. And we laboriously hauled the sod out to the meadow to smother invasive plants, but of course it won't deter them at all.
ReplyDeleteI like they way your project went much better. Can't wait to see what goes in.
Congrats! You're ambitious, I dug up my front yard over several years, and still have grass paths between beds. I also dug it up by hand, don't ask me why. Looking forward to forwards he transformation.
ReplyDeleteI always dig my sod by hand so this was such a treat!
ReplyDeleteJust clearing a foot of sod for the perennial lab took days, so I can't imagine how long you must have worked to get that clear! I'm saddened to hear that your plants didn't walk themselves forward like you'd wanted them to. :)
Wow...that's amazing...what a change for a few hours of work! We were pretty happy with our Yard Rents experience too...they were pretty nice and even let us keep the auger we rented an extra day because we had so much trouble digging the post holes (not their fault...the ground was too wet). How unbelievably awesome is that blank canvas now...I'm too jealous! I wonder if anyone would want the pile of sod on the side of my house...probably not! I hand-dug it and it would NOT make a good lawn at this point ;-) What are your plans for the front yard (sorry, front GARDEN) at this point?
ReplyDeleteWow what a change! We found a guy to come cut and haul the sod from our back yard (where the patio is now) but on the first swipe he broke his sod cutter and never came back. We ended up doing it by hand, your way is much better.
ReplyDeleteGood to know about Yard Rents and thanks for the line on easy disposal of my last sod in the back garden: it amazes me what will go if you put it on craigslist. Great job on the front - I'll check it out for real this Saturday!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome turn of events!
ReplyDeleteCraiglist people are weird. A couple of years ago we cut down an acacia tree. We sat with the logs in our yard for a year. Then I told The Huzbin to put it up on CL to see if we got any bites. An older couple showed up and spent hours carting it all from the back of the house to the front of the house to their small pickup truck. Hours.
This is so exciting! Nothing like a (mostly) blank slate. :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to dig it up my hand (that's usually how I do it too) but I knew it would take forever. I'm slowly coming around to power tools. I removed 11 arbor vitae from the hell strip by hand and now I wish I'd had a pro grind the stumps out--it takes them no time at all!
ReplyDeleteThat happened to my neighbors--they went and picked one up, then it broke one strip in. You can still see it on the aerial Google Maps images, it's kind of hilarious. I would have been so frustrated if someone never came back--I hope you didn't pay him!
ReplyDeleteI used Yard Rents at your recommendation, so thank you! I have very vague plans for this space, aside from the rain garden. I'm hoping to get input from you all this weekend. I have some ideas about grasses I want to run by you . . . :)
ReplyDeleteI apologize in advance if I pump you for planting suggestions for the front. :)
ReplyDeleteYou say "old logs", they say "well seasoned firewood." I don't know how we survived without craigslist. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's also intimidating! :)
ReplyDeleteThe joke was certainly on them if they planned to use it for firewood - that stuff burned so smoky!
ReplyDelete