Thursday morning the tree guy showed up with an assistant and they spent the next 10 hours trimming one tree and removing two others from our front yard. On Friday, he returned to take care of the stumps, which took about 3 hours with the stump grinder. On the positive side, you can see a lot more of our house now. On the negative side, you can see a lot more of our house now. The potential curb appeal has been greatly increased, but we have a lot more work to do to make the front of our house more attractive. But at least we no longer have to worry about any damages caused by trees.
Finally…no more stumps
I absolutely hated the line of stumps that had been left when they hydro crew removed five trees in our front yard. I hacked one down with a hatchet last year and planned on taking care of one or two each year until they were gone. The stump grinder was faster. And the plan that I had to rent one myself was just wishful thinking. The grinder is a large machine which I would have had to have delivered. It was much more cost effective to let the pro do it as part of the larger job.
So, for now, where I had a row of stumps, I now have several mounds of wood chips mixed with dirt. After a few rains, the mounds will be more compact and the wood chips will start breaking down. By the fall, we can remove the excess and throw on some top soil and seed. No more obstacle course when I cut the front lawn!
Heating system estimate is in
I had a ball park figure in mind, considering the increase in the cost of copper since we had the first estimate a couple of years ago. The new estimate is right in line with what I was expecting. No shocks or surprises, so we will be going ahead with the work as planned. Hopefully it can be done in the next couple of weeks so I finally finish the upstairs bedrooms.
The in-laws are returning
My wife’s parents will be here by next Sunday evening to spend the summer with us. My wife has been working hard at getting things cleaned up and organized, and I will get back to the spring cleaning this week. And the sooner we finish upstairs, the sooner we can move our daughter and most of her stuff up there so we are not all tripping over her toys in the family room.
It’s all about quality time
I hope to have much of the upstairs finished enough to be usable within the next month or so. Then, we can spend some quality family time this summer without a major renovation project hanging over our heads. Finishing touches can wait until after the in-laws leave in the fall. The next major renovation project will wait until our finances recover from the heating system work.