Light up my laneway

This light is a survivor.  It's the very last light fixture inside and outside our home to be replaced.  It not like it was broken or anything like that.  It worked.  And it wasn't that I didn't like the way it looked.  Well I didn't.  But it was the fact that I wanted more light in the laneway as we parked the car at the back.  It sort of gives off this dim glow everywhere.

Over the last few years my night vision has degraded and I blame this light.  This is what happens when you get past a certain age, and screen time make it happen sooner.

Well we finally got a T-approved outside light fixture about 20yrs after we replaced the porch light.  I can't even remember what that light looked like.   I just checked back like 21 years and it was something like this except only 1 and it was full of dead bugs, sometimes live bugs.

Now all the exterior lights have been replaced. It only took almost 20yrs.

It's finally off the house and disconnected and has been replaced with something else.  It was the end of the globe for this builders special.

The search for an exterior light is not easy in this house.  Things remain the same for a long time in this house before it's been given the boot to the bin.  Usually there's progress, then it stalls for years.  

I went on an exhaustive search for a replacement.  After a while I give up.  But if I get close I resume the search.  But it has always come up fruitless and that globe light keeps shining year after year.

Home Depot, Rona, Lowe's, Wayfair, Amazon....you name it, I searched.   But the thing is, our lights almost never come from a place that everyone goes to.  We always seem to find it in some obscure shop.  And it has to be designer grade.

And this is a company we have purchased from before.  So we knew the quality would be good.  Now it was just a matter of getting the right colour palate that would get approved so I can swipe that visa.  I was thankful I found the combination of size, colour and also inside shade colour that was going to get a thumbs up.

I figure if I need more light. I'll put in a brighter bulb.  The build of the light is steel and feels solid.  You know how some have this cheap, made in China tinny feel.  This one is not like that at all.  The finish is super.  And the mounting is precise and firm. 

It's very nice looking, both in the afternoon overcast light against the red brick and at night when it's lit up.

The way it lights up the doorway, it gives off this certain ambiance.  It's hard to describe. The light is not harsh although it is the same bulb as in the globe, but it gives the laneway a 1950's Chicago movie vibe.

As long as it brightens my laneway.

Another Brick in the Bin!

Our backyard garden was the plan for this summer's project for me to work on.  I finally got around to it in Sept after all the other busy-ness stuff was completed. I was free to tackle the eyesore, and replacing it with something more proper and meant for this purpose.

The previous owner was resourceful.  He reused what he had on hand.  The problem with bricks is that they are a sponge for moisture. And all that moisture it retains, freezes causing it to eventually crumble.  For the entire time we have lived here, I've watched this brick deteriorate.  I tried patching it as parts fell off.  But it was well past the best before date. 

It actually needed more than TLC, it needed to get removed and replaced.  The other issue with bricks is that it's heavy. The clean up and disposal took some effort.   After a buddy helped me source these blocks, I was able to begin the work to redo the garden.

Bit by bit, one day at a time, I managed to take it all down, dispose of it and prep the footings to lay the new blocks down.

I have never seen a product like this.  It's not what I was thinking, but it's a great system.  After looking a some products on line there are other stone systems that help landscapers can turn a ghetto backyard into a Cesar's Palace in a fraction of the time.  It's amazing.  

I didn't know the name of this product we picked up, I was trying to figure out how I should install them.  I didn't want to do it wrong and I'm so thankful to an architect buddy, who found out for me what product it was in an instant!  He even sent me the installation instructions for it.  The corners are done using a plastic insert to connect the fascia stone to the cement block.  It's so clever.

Since we picked up these blocks as leftovers from a house job site that had to purchase a skid of them for their retaining wall project.  I couldn't find where to purchase the plastic pieces, so I designed & printed my own, based on what I saw in the install video. I only needed 3.   It took me a few designs to arrive at the one that worked the best.

Weather has been summer like, but Fall was here and Winter won't be far behind.  I didn't want the broken brick to be sitting in the driveway and I didn't want to be working on this in the cold.  So whenever I was home, I worked on it a bit.  It didn't take long to remove all the bricks from where they were set in, but getting rid of them took some time.  I disposed of it here and there, little by little.   

Most of it in a bin.  Getting it to the bin in the car took a few trips. And getting it in the car took longer than getting out!  But thankfully it's all gone!

Next was installing the blocks.  Mixing cement takes effort.  I'm not a bricklayer, when I see those guys set up a wall.  My hats off to their skill.  This was dusty and laborious work. I was able to get it all the blocks cut and laid down in a day.   I had ordered the remaining 18 cap blocks I needed to complete the garden wall, so I could focus on just the caps and wanted the space to be clear for cutting the corner pieces.

The other challenge I had with this product was that it comes in 2 beige versions.  Which one was this? They both looked like it could this one or that.  I had to bring it a piece in to ensure I ordered the same caps as I had.  Good thing, since from the photo I could not be 100% certain and would have ordered the wrong set of caps. 

After many years of dealing with crumbling bricks.  We have a nice clean garden.  We are down to a few small projects left to do in our home.  It's a nice feeling.  I cannot wait til we are done.  But then I'm thinking.  What will I do?   I know.  I can chill-ax.