Paging Landscapers (Hey dtel!!)

[Champagne taste beer budget]

GRRRrrrrrr... I ate my own post as I tried to edit it.

Here's some pics of our retaining wall/stairway from the parking level to lake level. We just took out some solar lighting we'd received for Christmas, they've been up a couple weeks and just weren't bright enough. The big box store (HD) we returned them to carries Malibu lighting for their wired lights. Wondering if there are better quality systems out there or better locations to shop at. We now have a store credit of $130, but can always use that toward something else if there's a better source for lights. Also, what are the tricks for running the wire under cement/pavers/stairs? I'm going to try (again) to throw in a couple pics so you see what I'm working with.

Also, in the background you can see our raised garden. Not huge, 24 x 8, but a lot bigger than what we had before. What products do/don't work for trying to keep deer/rabbits from eating up the garden, or are there better working home brew recipies you'd recommend? I know a fence wuold work great, but might not look the greatest down by the lakeshore.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

Looking up from the bottom.

[T2K]

A piece of PVC and an adapter for it to that garden hose in the background. Dig hole beside walk, turn on water and blast a tunnel under walk.

A 12 ga. shotgun and some seasoning.

Keith

[Champagne taste beer budget]

By the way, the power pole goes away this year so we have full underground electrical service, as does the downspout extension you can see sticking out, maybe get the sprinkler system installed. Next year, the wraparound deck and paver deck by the screen doors on the one side of the house. The year after that we put down the driveway/parking areas. The year after THAT... maybe I can look at new speaks.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

A piece of PVC and an adapter for it to that garden hose in the background. Dig hole beside walk, turn on water and blast a tunnel under walk.

That would likely work, first thought was of a broom stick after digging an access hole on one side.

A 12 ga. shotgun and some seasoning.

I could use a good pellet gun on the bunnies and cook em up without the neighbors knowing much, but taking out 2-3 whitetails a week might get me in trouble!!

Keith

[dtel's wife]

Champagne,

We usually dig an access hole on both sides of the walkway, etc, then use a piece of PVC to bore under walkways. Make sure the PVC is long enough and strike it on the end, it will usually go through "fairly" easy if the soil is not extremely compacted. The garden hose trick will help if the soil is really compacted. There are no quick fixes for getting under sidewalks, pavers etc.[:'(]

If the soil is not already compacted you may want to consider doing this in a couple of different places, you will need to cross sidewalks, etc. when you install the irrigation system. If possible use at least two inch pipe for the irrigation lines to pass through. Cap the ends using store bought caps, or duct tape until ready to use.

As far as the deer situation this may sound crazy, but liberal applications of cayenne pepper works wonders, not only for the deer, but also to repel insects. Put the cayenne pepper in a used seasoning container and sprinkle throughout garden. You must reapply the cayenne fairly often. Large containers (gallon size) of cayenne pepper can usually be purchased at Sam's at a reasonable price. Cayenne will also keep dogs and cats out of gardens, but doesn't hurt them. Another trick, string a couple of disposable aluminum pans together, then attach them to a stake. Hammer the stakes (with aluminum pans attached) into two or three places in the garden. This is effective if you have even a light breeze to "rattle" the pans.

There are a few options on the lighting, let me check into a couple of things and I will get back with you.

I will make sure dtel reads this and posts if he has any other ideas.

[michael hurd]

Not sure what the stores in MN have to offer, but in Canada, Canadian Tire has just come out with a set of LED lights that are hardwired, these have much more output than the cheapie solar ones, and last a long period of time. Good suggestions on the PVC for the garden hose!

[dtel]

Never tried the led lights, but the Malibu lights are OK, they are much brighter than the solar ones. The commercial ones are very good but Very expensive. I would go with something like the Malibu, just look at the transformer that comes with them. With the average set it is 88 watts, and each bulb is 4 watts, so you can buy a couple of the individual lights that have a different style for like where the walk starts and ends or something you want to accent like that landing halfway up your walk. As long as the total watts don't exceed the transformer your OK, We have used them before, not on jobs but in our own yard in the past, they seem to last a long time considering the price, buy a couple of extra bulbs when you buy them so when goes out you have a spare.

As for as a pipe under a walk we dig a hole on each side, not deep but long, a few feet on each side, longer on the side you start from, and about a foot wide. I then use a piece of 1" schedule 40 PVC a few feet longer than the walk and put it in the side that is only about a foot wide and try to hold it level while I hit it with a maul to drive it in. As it goes in it will seem to stop at times, pull the PVC out and hit it on the ground or if it's sandy I just swing it sideways and sometimes the dirt will just fly out of the pipe (with any luck). Just continue until you exit on the other side then pull out the pipe and empty it or replace it with a new pipe. It is easy sometimes , with luck you will not point it up and hit the walk or miss the hole on the other side !

The problem with using water is you can wash out too much soil in some cases, Bad deal when that happens. If you can keep the pipe pointing level and straight with the hole on the other side it is not that bad, most of the time it takes more time to dig the holes on each side than it does to get the pipe through.

Good luck

[dtel]

Almost forgot, I LOVE the rocks, and the way you did that walk ! We don't have rocks down here they have to be trucked here from Tennessee or North Carolina and are not cheap.

The job we are doing now has flagstone walkways and patio yet to be installed. Guessing, about 10,000 lbs of flagstone. The tractor will carry most of it but I will have to load and unload it into place, the worst part of this job, but it will look very nice when we get done. And the customer will be happy, Irrigation system, plenty of garden beds and new walks and patio, for the back yard. We did the front yard last year, and they called us back to do the back yard this year, Love happy customers. [Y]

We have already graded the back yard and put in the irrigation system , 10 zones in the back yard, 6 in the front, and built half of the beds so far.

We love our jobs, but not the heat !

[PhilMays]

Nice looking place!

I have heard about the garden hose and pvc. I too think the solar lights are cheap looking. One thing I dislike about outdoor lighting is the new "metal halide" look rather than the softer look of incondesant's. Not sure about the LED look. Again it sounds like it would not give the soft glow of outdoor lighting that is relaxing.

Dtel is correct on the transformer. I would buy the most you can get and then perhaps upgrade to 7 watt bulbs.

I love the tumbled stone landing between the steps!

Of course, my opinion on lighting is just that, my opinion[]

[oscarsear]

I've installed outdoor lighting several times.  Was going to have the landscapper do it this time but I knew he was screwing on the price so I told him to skip it.  Although there are a number of products now available the new Malibu line was the most cost affectvie.  They're now made of metal, not plastic and come in a range of styles with different levels of illumination.  I got a massive outdoor transformer and ended up using 2 brands of 12 volts lights but primarily the Malibu product. The transformer is large enough that I can expand by 100% if the whim ever strikes me.   I also have a lit fountain and rope lighting that back light the deck stairs. They are all set up on indoor switches allowing me to run them by timer or at will.  I have a kill switch on the fountain so it cannot be errantly run during the winter when it is kept dry.   In an prior home I did on one occassion have to burrow under a side walk.  It was a real pain.  You have got to dig deep holes on both sides to have space to work with the pipes, etc.  Since then I planned ahead and had conduit installed prior to concrete.

The cascade of stairs you have is very nice.  Living in Idaho I can't help but wonder how well they serve you in winter.  That rock must get ice covered and I see no hand rails.   Looks to be a bit daunting when it turns frosty.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

Well doesn't that just bite?

I spent 30 minutes trying to respond to everyone in one post, and lo, there was an error processing my request. I'll try again, albeit limited. [:@]

[Champagne taste beer budget]

Attempt #2.... grrrrr......

Thanks to everyone for the advice and compliments, knowing the group they come from they mean a lot.

I'll try the PVC deal, lord knows I have enough of it lying around. Does it help to start with a smaller diameter then do a bigger hole, or just start with a big one and get on with it?

We'd heard about the pepper deal, but there is no place close like Sams. I'll check the price at the local places, but might be high. If so, not looking forward to frequent applications of high priced product, may search for a better plan, if there is such a thing.

I didn't see any LED lighting at HD, but I'm sure it's coming. In the business you (Michael) and I are in, Lord knows every week a new tool supplier has a new LED light to sell you for $89.95.

The icing really isn't an issue, but then the stairs have only been here one winter. We don't use them in the winter, we go out the walkout to get to the lower yard, and with the predominant NW winds and our SE exposure, once it starts to blow and snow the snow swirls around the house and makes the stairs smooth and a foot or more deep in snow. A good launch ramp for a sled heading to the lake, if you steer clear of the trees. []

This better post or I'll be pi ssed.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

Oh yeah..

Without buying a "Lighting Set", I believe the biggest transformer they had was 900 watts. I just assumed off the bat that that was the one I wanted. More Power.. Argh Argh Argh and all that. (Actually, I just figured that would cover by butt down the road if I wanted to add more lights, and with the wrap-around deck and paver patio set for next year, I'll likely end up with another one or two transformers just to make everything beautiful.)

[dtel]

Never tried a smaller pipe ? Smaller may bend to much, the 1" is fairly ridged in a 5 or 6 foot piece when driving it through the dirt, don't drive it to hard because it gets hard to pull back out to clean the pipe out. Really you are just filling the pipe then emptying it, it's not pushing the dirt to the sides or out the other end . If it gets stuck try rotating the pipe while pulling it out. We have really hard clay here and it still works, it just takes a little time and more trouble cleaning out the pipe.

After a few mild hits and pulling the pipe back out you will get the hang of it real fast. If you have really sandy soil you may just be able to go straight through then wash out the pipe with a hose.

Good luck

[Champagne taste beer budget]

Yeah, I was thinking about starting out with 1" then going up to maybe 4 or 6 in some places to get both the wiring and irrigation pipe through. Kinda like drilling a 1/8' inch hole before you tried to drill a 1/2 hole into metal, just something to guide the way.

I need to find our old house footprint scale drawings so I can see just what and where I need to light as time goes on. Might as well plan now before it gets tougher to do.

Thanks again for the advice, I'll make sure and show some "after" pics once we get done, though I can't promise how soon that will be. Money is not only the root of all evil, it's also the bane of this homeowners existance. We get one project done at a time and move forward as money allows.

[dtel's wife]

"We get one project done at a time and move forward as money allows"

I didn't know there was another way to do it!!!![]

[dtel's wife]

Hey Champagne,

Check Sam's and other outlets online for the cayenne. You could also try restuarant suppliers, one in your area may supply it. Let us know if you have a lot of trouble finding the cayenne and want to try it. It works really good.

[PhilMays]

While the Dtels know what there talking about with the PVC, I have another suggestion.

There is a drilling device they use to bore tunnels for road ways and the such. The lastest I can think of was used under the English Channel.

It's your choice....use some wimpy 1"pvc that will take maybe 45 minutes, or, use the English Channel drilling rig that will take maybe 3 seconds, Argh, Argh, Argh! (Of course the down side is you have to leave it in the ground as they are non removable!

Just a suggestion....

Still either way you go you have a very nice place! Every consider renting it out on Spring Break?

Phil

[T2K]

I started to post this the other day but the money part crossed my mind. I see that part is on your mind too. I've seen these for ~ 89.99 before. Check out the link and Google something like 'boring under sidewalks' for other, maybe cheeeper, ideas. Good luck.

http://sidewalksleever.com/

Keith