Landscape Status

8/07 Plan

• Fountain:

  • AR: swoo: Contact Stephen Wong regarding the stainless steel design.
  • AR: Pepe: Install 4 fountain nozzles, pump and filer, and underwater lights.
  • AR: Pepe: Create access panels in case plumbing fail.
  •  
• Rear Fence
  • AR swoo: For the fence door by the fountain, create a silhouette. Work with Jamie 
• Path
  • AR Pepe: Fill more gravel. Install the decomposed granite. 

• Rear Gate
  • AR swoo: Work with Jamie to get the dog panel done. 
• Retaining walls
  • AR Pepe to contact contractors: Drill piers.
  • AR Pepe: Build the retaining wall.
  • AR swoo: Decide if a second, lower retaining wall for the lower terrace is needed.
• Rear Stairs
  • AR Topher/Robert: Do the design for the stairs. What contractor can do it?
• Misc
  • AR Pepe: Will place stainless steel post/railing with satin finish to ensure safety at the Hansel's steps
  • AR swoo: Buy a large planter to block Hansel from getting out at the concrete bench.
  • AR Pepe: Remove plantings at the lower terrace.
  • AR Pepe: Trim down the plants in the back of the back fence/fountain.
  • AR Pepe: Remove three trees  with bark in front of the garage. Remove the othe three trees with the white bark.
  • AR Pepe: Install the door closing mechanisms for the two fence doors.
  • AR Pepe: Install the irrigation for the rest of the plants at the side yard.
  • AR Pepe: More dirt for rose planter.
  • AR Pepe: Remove dog's palm.
  • AR Pepe: Move the faucet closer to the patio.
  • AR Pepe: Seal concrete bench.

6/13 Highlights

door frame built	close-up of door frame	Post for the side-yard placed. The fountain patio is really a piece of real estate that's created out of almost thin air. It has a great view of Mt. Tamalpias.	Almost ready to install the bollards.
Topher's #1 assistant. :-)	Topher's #2 assistant. :-)

5/29 Plan

• Fountain:

  • Decision Made: Will go with Stephen Wong's stainless steel for the fountain, planter for the lemon tree, and planter for the Japanese maple.
  •     AR: Topher: Contact Stephen Wong for next steps.
  • Decision Made: Will not use stainless steel for the rose planter. Will try to use Medallion rose as ground cover
  •     AR: Theresa: Pick out the Medallion roses.
  • Decision Made: No infinity fountain. 
  •     AR: Pepe: Work with Robert to get 4 fountain nozzles, pump and filer, and underwater lights.
  •     AR: Pepe: Create access panels in case plumbing fail.
  •  
• Rear Fence
  • AR Pepe: Complete the fence
  • AR Stephen: For the fence door by the fountain, create a silhouette, such as the Oakland Zoo photo.
• Path
  • Done AR Pepe: Finish drilling the access holes for the bollards in the path. 
  • AR Pepe: Install the decomposed granite. 
  • AR Pepe: Use metal edge to extend both the front- and back part of the path.

• Rear Gate
  • AR Pepe: Finish installation of the fence.
  • AR Topher: After the door dimensions are known, get the panel cut. 
• Rear Stairs
  • AR Topher: Ask Robert to send someone to do the feasibility and cost estimate for the rear metal steps and "re-enforcing" rods as retaining walls.
• Rose Garden
  • AR Theresa: Buy roses at Reagan's
  • AR Pepe: Install the irrigation system.
• Misc
  • AR Pepe: Will place stainless steel post/railing with satin finish to ensure safety at the Hansel's steps
  • AR Topher: Bring the planter for the bench to to prevent Hansel from escaping the yard using the concrete bench
  • Done AR Pepe: Fix the sprinkler system.

May Highlights, Lowlights, Plans

Highlights

• Made  good progress with finishing the rear of the side-yard. 
• Finished the metal steps on the side of the fountain. Planted the post for the fence.
• Placed one of the Japanese maples at the side-yard. Finished the irrigation system for it.  
• Place the third Japanese maple at the rear of the yard. It turned our that hospital project was finished without needed these two Japanese maples. It was good that we saved them. They are now two of the focal points at the side- and rear-yard. 
• We cleaned up the side-yard enough so our guests for Mandy's bridal shower was able to enjoy alfresco dining last Sunday noon. It was nice sitting on the warm bench since the afternoon breeze was a little cool.
• Pepe secured the 6 concrete mounts for the bollards. George and his two crew were able to do more work doing the wiring Friday afternoon.
• I know it's a small thing. However, I got a new water faucet at the rear of the side-yard which I can use to fill the water in the fountain.
• Install some drainage pipe
• Amy did a wonderful job with the silhouette for Rondo (lower left: Rondo was looking out the second-story window at Tahoe Keys) and Hansel (upper right).

Lowlights

• Irrigation pipe joint burst twice. I'm now a proud owner of a water key. Pepe also fixed the irrigation system.
• Cracks in the concrete bench. It will be a challenge to fix or mask them. Functionally they don't present a problem. However, they are eye sores :-(

Plans

• See below

4/18/2004 with 4/25 updates

Next Steps

• Fountain:

  • Select the stainless steel finish. (AR Topher. Can we just match the satin stainless steel finish with the existing railing?): Please send Rick of Emco (spl?) or Walter Mork(spl?) over for quoting price
• Select the type of fountain spout. (AR Topher. Can you help?)
  • We either use 5 regular nozzles or 5 elephants with upturned trunks :-)
• Select the pump. (AR Topher)
• Select the lighting system (AR Topher. Do you know any contacts?)
• Install the electrical system with controls for light and fountain (nozzles and overflow). (AR Pepe/George)
• In addition to the nozzles/elephants, we will also control the water level so the water will cascade down the side! With lights at night, what a spectacular sight. This is no Niagara Fall, but it will be nice :-)
• Will consider placing floating glass balls or stainless steel balls (like Oakland).

• Rear fence
  • Drawing of the rear fence and gate. There is a reason why Kai-yee is the artist of the family. I cannot draw if my life depends on it :-)
  • Select the fence material (AR Topher)
  • Select the simple, elegant, and functional gate to the rear yard (AR Topher)
• Path
  • Done: Install the bollards in the path. (AR Pepe)
  • Finish the electrical installation in the utility room. Install the transformers and X10 switches. (AR George)
  • Install the decomposed granite. (AR Pepe)
• Rear Gate
  •  Theresa and I are still going with the Rondo/Hansel silhouette idea. We will ask an artist friend of ours to do a sketch.
    • the door itself could be 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet high, with a 6" inch border, the actual door panel could be 3 feet wide by 4 feet high
    • the door will swing outward from the yard. The pivot will be near the wall between our and neighbor's yard.
    •  
• Planting on the side yard: honeysuckle. = Theresa needs to decide and approve still.
• Will place stainless steel post/railing with satin finish to ensure safety at the Hansel's steps
• Keep two Japanese maples: one by Hansel's landing. one by the air conditioner
• AR Topher: Bring the planter for the bench to to prevent Hansel from escaping the yard using the concrete bench
• Done AR swoo/Theresa: Go to Ikea to look at planters.
• Dropped AR swoo/Theresa; Look at outdoor furniture at Knoll.
  •  (415) 837-2100
  • 315 Montgomery St
  • San Francisco, CA 94104
    

4/11/2004

Highlights

• Three electricians did a mock-up set-up. I was happy with the placements of the bollards.
• Completed the Brazilian slates from the deck to the pathway
• Decided to build a pool and fountain.  
• 
• Completed the steps from Hansel's landing to the pathway.
• Completed the edging of the pathway with Brazilian green slate
• 
• Lowlight: Next door neighbor vigorously complained about the noise.

2/28/2004

Highlights

• Patio slate stairs is taking shape. The next steps will be pouring the concrete for the base on top where the Brazilian slates will be placed.
• Topher said that after curing the concrete bench can be sealed as it will nice clean and bright.
• What is this picture of? When Hansel is indoor, then he gets to have fun chewing on shoes, paper, and Theresa's magazine in this case! Hansel is looking forward to a larger yard to explore and keep himself entertained.
• Decided to implement Hansel's steps in green concrete with plants growing on both sides. It will look more like a sculpture! Here is Topher's design with a can of orange spray paint. How magical.
• Placed Hansel's rock so we can sit on top if we like.  
• Decided to move some of these glorious magnolia trees so we can enjoy them more and also will not block neighbor's view when they are full grown. Neighbors here are very passionate and protective of their views. We spent more than 1 hour during a recent neighborhood meeting discussing about view preservation, which I totally support :-)
• The walkway will likely be made of decomposed granite. It will be more natural looking than exposed aggregate concrete. It will still be easy to maintain and should be very durable as well. We will place 10" wide strip of Brazilian slate on the edge. The walkway should look great. I'll ask Theresa to approve the design.
• Topher surprised us with two ceramic elephant tea cups! Very nice.
• We may want to remove the three Japanese maple trees. However, we may want to keep one for shade for Hansel during the summer. Or what should be planted instead?
• Will re-use the aircraft cable fence to fence one side of the rose planter to keep deer out and Hansel in. We get to re-use otherwise materials that we were going to throw away.
• I will get the pleasure of doing some preliminary design of a miniature schnauzer door for the rose planter. It will be interesting... Stay tuned for proposal.
• I will continue to explore the ideas of a slate/granite table/bench. Will also embed some step lights from  http://www.robertssteplite.com/ 

2/16/2004

Highlights

• Nice to see the rose planter filled with soil. You know that saying "dirty cheap?" Not true. Not true. That 15 cubic yard of soil is almost $700. Let's hope the 16 rose bushes that we will be purchasing by summer will like their new fertile home!
• Nice to see the slate stairs taking shape. It seems Pepe's crew has done a good job cutting up the slates to be even at the ends.
• Very successful meeting talking to Topher about the various design decisions and challenges. See below

Lowlights

• I want to deny it. Unfortunately the engineer in me is bugging me with the fact that the lemon tree planter is no longer parallel to the house. Maybe we will fix it since it's like a little pebble in my shoes. It's not going to kill me, but it's sure annoying. At the same time we may also finish the back of the lemon tree planter. Fixing both minor issues could be "creeping elegance," which is what we say "painting a snake but adding feet." in Chinese :-)

Decisions Made/Challenges/Plans

• Topher assured me that there is no need for a massive retaining wall, perhaps constructed with http://www.versa-lok.com/ cast-concrete, interlocking concrete blocks. Instead we could use some pillars stacked two high. We will work on that during phase 2 of design.
• As regard to the pathway and patio, may choose decomposed granite mixed with concrete rather than the previously decided exposed aggregate. No need to use Vermont slate in Ashlar pattern as paving stones since we don't want that many materials mixed. We want to keep things simple. This reminds me of KISS=Keep It Simple and Smart!
• Action Required: Topher to ask Pepe to do a 2x2 feet sample of decomposed granite.
• As regard to the table/bench at the end of the rose planter, the three design alternatives are
  • Vermont green slate with black concrete footing
    • AR swoo: Finish feasibility and cost analysis.
  • Poured concrete, just like the concrete bench
  • Stone furniture from China
  •     AR: Topher: Send name and contact information for the place in Union City.
• AR Topher: As regard to the deer fence, please send a picture and have Pepe deliver a sample. We may enclose the whole rear yard with this easy to install and relatively inexpensive materials. We will have plantings in front to cover most of the painted fence anyway.
• AR swoo: Continue to refine the placement of the uplights and bollards. Don't place them in such a way to cause people to stumble. Make the lights around the slate bench/table to be recessed. 
• AR swoo: Look into http://www.robertssteplite.com/ 
• AR Topher: Work on Pepe on the design of the steps in front of Hansel's Landing.
• AR Topher: Eventually select that interesting black mulch materials at American Soil Products or something similar.
• AR Topher: Want to buy those BK uplights? They are $101 per fixture. I have 8 of them.

2/08/2004

Concrete Bench 

Highlights

• Last weekend the crew poured the green seat back of the concrete bench. The crew worked late into Sunday evening in order to smooth the concrete surface as it cured in the cold evening air. The tarp that was covering the bench was eventually blown down Monday due to the high wind.
• Fortunately this weekend was sunny, clear, and warm. The crew is on track to finish the stainless steel rose planter this Sunday. So far 10 out of the 15 cubic yard of soil has been delivered and will be moved to the planter. 
• I'm impressed by the attention to details. I believe a drain was placed at the bottom of the rose planter. A moisture barrier was also placed on the back of the concrete bench. There is a little "break" between the concrete bench seat and back in order to allow rainwater to drain away. The planter is also reinforced on the inside by two horizontal steel bars.
• Hansel's concrete landing etched and cleaned. It looks much better now. I know think the animal scratch marks were made by him rather than some other wild animals--at least I hope!
• Had a nice chat with George the electrician. It looks very feasible to run all the wiring to our utility room and remotely control (on, off, dim) using X10 controller and dimming switches.
• The FX bollards look great.  http://www.fxl.com/documents/post_moderne.htm 

Lowlights

• I was disappointed with the Delta Star uplights for the rose and lemon tree planters. The color was dull aluminum grey rather than a shiny stainless steel. The re-stocking fee may be at least 35%. Most likely will return these and order the FX uplights ( http://www.fxl.com/documents/macchia_ultimo.htm ) instead http://www.bklighting.com/products/Flood%20lighting/Delta_Star.htm The FX uplights will have the same finish as the bollards so everything will match perfectly! As you know, you cannot go wrong with stainless steel in this house, whether indoor or outdoor :-)

Challenges

• Though I'm a electrical engineer, but I am not an electrician. I better find out what transformer to buy for these FX bollards and uplights. One of puppies will be almost $500! ( http://www.fxl.com/powerx_transformers.htm )
• Have to figure out how to design and implement the deer-proof fencing that's attractive and will keep the deer out of the rose planter and Hansel in.
  • The height of the fence I have been told needs to be 6 feet high!
  • Perhaps it can be at the end of the rose planter. That that will be 7 feet deep.
  • The width of the door is up to 6-feet wide.
  • Maybe we can aircraft cable in the same style as the existing patio.
• Have to figure out the patio at the end of the pathway. There are several possibilities
  • exposed aggregate concrete just like the pathway
  • paved green tiles, like our next door neighbor's front entrance
  • paved slate with an interesting geometric pattern
  • my latest idea is to have a low seating bench/table, here is a picture of the ones we saw at Embarcadero when we were watching the Chinese New Year parade at San Francisco.  How about one that's made of Vermont bluestone?! We can sit and have a simple picnic there. Perhaps we can two Vermont bluestone bench/table: one on the top patio and one at one of the lower patios. 

This picture is a little crude, but you get the idea. A possible size may be 4 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 18 inches high. The idea is really for us to be able to rest briefly on the bench/table if we have to hike up or down the steep hill. Of course, I may be tempted to do yoga in the morning as this spot is usually bathed in sunlight in the morning :-)

1/25/2004

Highlights

• Poured the black seat portion of the concrete bench, after embedding the light fixtures in the bench. 
• I was happy that an outlet was also placed for my BBQ halogen light.
• Chose not to plant bareroot roses. Instead we will be planting container-grown roses a couple of months from now until the deer-proof fence is done. 
• We have gotten roses before from Regan Nursery ( http://www.regannursery.com/ 510 797-3222 4268 Decoto Rd. Fremont, CA), which Pepe and Topher have said that it's the best place in the San Francisco Bay Area for roses. We will be going there again to buy 16 container-grown roses. In addition to our usual favorite, such as
  • Double Delight
  • Sterling Silver
  • Angel Face
  • Peace
  • Chicago Peace
  • Mr. Lincoln
  • Honor
  • Tropicana
  • Beloved
  • We will also get Stainless Steel, which will be perfect for this house :-)
• Decided to implement the stairs from the deck to the rose planter pathway with 6 sheets of Brazilian slate. A quick calculation shows that we will be able to use a tread depth of 18 inches with riser height of 6 inches. This is exactly what Topher likes. 
• Ordered bollards for the pathway
  • http://www.fxl.com/documents/post_moderne.htm 

    The FX Luminaire PostModerne is engineered without compromise in the spirit
    of a large contemporary commercial bollard. Constructed from aerospace T6
    6061 aluminum alloy, the PM is built to last for decades. The most obvious
    application for the PM-20 is, of course, any project that exhibits a
    sophisticated, clean and modern theme. The PostModerne can also be mounted
    on decks with optional deck mount.

    Model Shown: PM-20
    Finish Shown: Silver
    Colors Avail: All Standard FX
    Height: 35.56 cm (14.00")
    Diameter: 6.35 cm (2.50")
    Lamp Type: Halogen AR-11
    Max Lamp: 20 watt ~ 12 volt

    Halogen AR-11: Slightly warmer color rendition than the MR-16. Robust
    mechanical connection. Smooth edge beam pattern - perfect for downlighting.

• Ordered 8 Delta Star for the rose and lemon tree planters.
  • http://www.bklighting.com/products/Flood%20lighting/Delta_Star.htm

    Delta StarT gives the lighting designer two choices of deep cutoff options.
    When the design requires the highest degree of brightness control of the
    MR16 lamp, Delta Star is the answer. Its precision, machined aluminum
    construction and deep cutoff design combine to make Delta Star a very
    economical low-brightness, low-voltage lighting instrument.
    Features:

    Tamper proof design.
    Completely sealed optical compartment.
    Clear, tempered glass lens, factory sealed.
    Enclosed wireway mounting knuckle.
    Machined aluminum construction with stainless steel hardware.
    ARL & CSA listed with MR16 lamps to 50 watts.
    For use with remote transformers

• Proposed to Topher regarding the future lighting plan for the whole yard. As regard to the control I have to decide between
  • Lutron's RadioRA: More elegant, more expensive, more limited in terms of suppliers being Lutron only
    • http://www.lutron.com/radiora/overview.asp 
    • RadioRA Single-Location Dimmers 1 ($142)
    • RadioRA Single-Location Dimmer for Electronic or Magnetic (what's the
      difference?) Low-Voltage Lighting 2 ($202 * 2 = $404)
    • 10-Button Cordless Tabletop Master Control 1 ($400)
    • RF Signal Repeater 1 ($300)
    • Approximate Cost of Bill of Materials: $1246
  • X10-based system: Much cheaper, many suppliers for various transmitters and receivers
    •  http://www.smarthome.com/x10map.html 
    • Receivers ( http://www.smarthome.com/x10_smart_switches1.html ) (3 * $100 = $300)
    • Transmitters ($100)
    • Approximate Cost of Bill of Materials = $400
• Saturday was threatened with rain, so a huge tent was erected. Very resourceful.

Lowlights

• Theresa accidentally broke a ceramic decorative mushroom. Regan actually charged Theresa for it even though they did a bad job of placing these items on display. We did not find out until we got home. The worst part was that they threw away the two pieces that could have been glued together easily. That's $15 down the drain. In the grand scheme of things, $15 is nothing. But it's the principle!

1/11/2004

Highlights

• Took down the railing in front of the concrete bench.
• Created the wooden mold for the concrete bench.
• Held a very successful meeting with Topher.
  • Re-iterated the design goals:
    • Create a fenced side-yard that's Hansel proof, including a tan-bark area for his bathroom
    • Create a fenced side-yard that's deer proof
    • Extend the living space in the side-yard
    • Allow access from the side-yard to the front of the house and the back-yard
    • Artfully enhance the garden by deploying new flowering plantings, lighting, and landscape elements.
    • Enable easy maintenance
• Decided to have the bench color to be black seat with green back, which is shown on the right-hand side. We all agreed the checkerboard rendition is kind of fun though :-)

     

• Decided to have the path to be exposed aggregate with several colored concrete possibilities. We are looking forward to some samples next week.
• Decided to buy a serpentine-asbestos boulder for Hansel :-)
  • Topher spotted this rock at American Soil Products ( http://www.americansoil.com/ ). Theresa liked the interesting color. This is what I called impulse shopping :-) I feel sorry for Pepe's crew for having to get this boulder back to our house! I wonder Hansel would have liked to spend $113.75 for something else--like a fire hydrant for him to pee on instead of this boulder.
  • Hearing about this boulder containing asbestos make me a little nervous. I complete some research on the web enough to assure Hansel that he is not going to get lung cancer :-)
  • http://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/geologist40398.shtml states some 200 million years ago, geological activity formed serpentine rock, which sometimes contains asbestos, a mineral that in some forms might cause health problems. The serpentine rock forms under intense pressure during a geological process at contact zones where ocean plates push under continental plates. The resulting deposits of serpentine rock usually are embedded in fault zones. Long narrow stretches of serpentine, California's state rock, cover about 17 percent of the state, according to Placerville geologist George Wheeldon. There are numerous veins of serpentine throughout El Dorado County, including the El Dorado Hills and Latrobe areas. For centuries asbestos has been valued for its heat-resistant and insulating qualities. Asbestos was used often in insulation, brake linings, fireplace linings.
• Decided to make the steps from the deck to the path made out of Brazilian green slate with grey concrete risers. It should look nice. ( I know the slate in this picture looks grey rather than green. It's really green.) The reddish marks are rust due to iron oxide. Brazilian slate is reported to be hard and slip resistant. One web site reports that Brazilian slate, as compared to other types of natural materials (including Chinese and Indian slate), is typically one of the hardest and most durable materials. Because of its high natural coefficient of friction: Brazilian material provides a non-slip surface. This turns out to be the perfect materials for our stairs :-)
• I worked with this very friendly and efficient lady Beverley at Central Wholesale Electrical Distributors, Inc. ( http://www.cwed.com/index.htm ) She was able to order some lights from Bega. ( http://www.bega-us.com/ ) We bought 5 stainless steel step luminaries ( http://www.bega-us.com/product/sub-pdfs/pdf/2218.pdf ) Even Beverley was impressed at the cost. Her co-workers thought these lights must be gold plated. Don't even ask me how much they cost :-) Beverley assured me that she charged me at contractor rates.
• Pepe's crew was able to put in a full-day worth of work on Sunday. They did not come on Sat because we thought it was going to rain. However, Sat turned out to be sunny and clear. 

Lowlights

• From the claw marks on Hansel's concrete landing, I'm greatly distressed to learn from Topher that we may have some kind of raccoon or opossums may be visiting our backyard. Hum, maybe I should ask Topher to put in an electrified fence to prevent small animals from invading our garage. Hopefully it's not a skunk!

Click on the thumbnails for larger images with captions.

1/04/2004

Highlights

• Poured concrete for the slab outside of the garage. Poured concrete for the base of the bench. Dug the area for the rose planter. Finished the concrete for the slab outside the garage. Pulled the form off the concrete bench base. After all the rain, this weekend was sunny and clear.

Lowlights

• Hansel was greatly distressed by the disturbance to his toileting area. Fortunately, we made it up to him as we allowed him to use the brand new black concrete landing as of Sunday evening. To him perhaps that black concrete landing is the most important element of this landscaping project :-)

Click on the thumbnails for larger images with captions.

12/21/2003

Here are the black and green concrete samples. I know the black in this picture looks bluish. We will use black concrete in front of the back garage door. 

The first step to the concrete bench involved forming the re-bar structure. The seat of the bench will be black concrete with the back of the concrete bench being green. Theresa approved the color choices that Pepe made readily.

This bench will visually and practically expand the living space of the patio. It's about 25 feet wide! I think from now I'll keep track the maximum number of people that will sit on the bench on any one time!

We spared no time, energy, and costs to create a 3x4 feet steel planter box for the lemon tree. Hum. Have we ever tasted the lemon from this tree? --- Just now I went out and got a lemon. I squeezed the juice and made lemonade. Very tasty. I'm glad this lemon tree will be one of the focal points of this garden. :-)

12/13/2003

This is the before picture. The side yard had bunch of plants and trees.

The crew cleared all the unwanted plants. It's amazing what four people can do in 4 hours. Fortunately all the debris were removed the same Saturday afternoon.

The crew installed a temporary stairway. They did such a nice job. It almost looked permanent

Cleared the un-wanted plants all the way to almost the front of the property line. One of these days I will ask the neighbor to cut down the rest of the shrubs. They began to get ready for the concrete bench.