Salvaged Trash Our Treasure and Prepping for the Swale
There was a lot of salvaged trash that became our treasure and we were prepping for the swale in our backyard to keep the water away!
Before the contractors came out to work on the swale, Nate needed to remove all the salvaged wood we had stored in the backyard and organize it.
SALVAGED TRASH FROM OUR NEIGHBORS
He stood in the construction trash bin that he built and was organizing the salvaged wood and removing nails from them.
When I saw the piles of wood everywhere, it just looked like junk everywhere! But it was our treasured junk! What is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
I love what Nate said when he was cleaning out the construction bin. That every neighbor’s trash is one man’s treasure. Well that is so true because we have taken “trash” from so many of our neighbors here. We’ve gotten old salvaged shiplap, beadboard, shelves for the built-in in our kitchen, and so much more.
And well, our entire kitchen and living room built-ins are completely handmade from salvaged wood. So this is actually and literally true for us personally. We have a lot of neighbor’s trash, or I mean treasure, all throughout our house. Even the rocking chairs on our front porch was salvaged from a neighbor who was getting rid of them.
Nate continued to remove the nails from the wood that he intended to salvage for a while. And even though he was organizing and breaking down that construction trash bin next to our garage, he constructed a new bin in the backyard where we can house all of our salvaged wood as well. Just another place where we can have that stored and kept dry as we continue to use it throughout our renovations.
This salvaged trash has truly become our treasure as we also spent time prepping for the swale that would be worked on next!
MORE TOADS!
We found more toads around our house! There were a few in the wood pile that Nate was sorting through and even stuck in our siding. I’m sure they ended up finding their way out eventually. I was worried about what would happen to them when the yard would be graded and the swale was put in.
Nate said they would of course not be out in the open when that happened and would be tucked away in holes and cracks they could find. I don’t think we have anymore around here now especially because we are keeping the water at bay. We have also done so much renovations that they probably have scattered and were like, we’re out, this is crazy!
It has been a long time since we’ve seen anymore of them. Hopefully this means the swale is doing its job! Running the water away from our house and into the street.
PREPPING FOR THE SWALE
I thought about how all the dirt piles in the yard would soon be gone. They would be graded down when the swale was put in.
Nate was prepping the foundation area for the grading and dug out a lot of the dirt. Then he marked on the cement foundation with a red chalk where he wanted the contractors to focus on. He asked them to grade down about four inches below the line so the water would stay as low as possible and away from the house.
He continued to dig around the whole house and used a laser level to mark the line at a very steady level throughout. I would have never thought that this was something you would want to do as you would just hire someone to come in and take care of it for you.
Well, it seems he’s always thinking ahead of when someone comes in that they do exactly what he needs them to do. Then he could check their work from the line around the foundation. When the contractors finished their grading for the swale, he could easily make sure the yard was graded down far enough.
They graded so much of the yard and made huge piles of dirt everywhere. There was one particular pile in our front yard that had grown the most. It was amazing! I ran up to it so that we could have perspective of how tall it was as it was nearly about my height or higher!
REFLECTIONS OF SALVAGED TRASH AND THE SWALE
The salvaged trash that became our treasure and prepping for the swale was a success and we’re so glad we were able to make the investment!
This was definitely something that I wanted to postpone for a long time because of the expense. Yet Nate convinced us that it was very important to take care of this early on so that our foundation did not suffer anymore water damage.
It’s amazing to think sometimes that what is unseen can be the most important part of something. Like the hidden foundation of a house. There are many scriptures that discuss the importance of a solid foundation. We can see now more than ever how scriptures can actually apply to all facets of our lives~ even renovations!
We really hope that many of these stories we share would be a true reflection of His glory in our lives. They are a testament of His provisions. May our stories bring Him glory and bring you hope and inspiration for your own DIY projects!
Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS
Thanks for joining us on this journey! We hope that you will find inspiration watching us learn as we go while we’re attempting to renovate and rebuild this old small historic cottage mostly on our own. Stay tuned for more progress updates ahead!
You can also watch a video about this here.
To see more adventures of our tiny fixer upper journey, click on the links below.
You guys are making so much progress and I love the way your recycle to help the environment and your wallet. Very smart! Keep up the good job!
Thanks Nikki!💕 We love the idea of salvaging as much as possible. So much more character and charm this way! Plus, you are right~ way better for the environment and our finances!🥰