The Concrete Jungle

What’s up everyone,

Last week I publicly posted for the first time that I was going to be writing this. I was very hesitant to hit publish—but I’m so glad I did. I’m grateful for whoever’s reading this.

For those that don’t know:

My girlfriend Kasey and I bought a neglected property in South Florida last summer. And when I say neglected… I mean a lot of “What the hell were we thinking?” moments. Over and over again.

Our plan from the start was to do the majority of the renovations ourselves. Not because we know what we’re doing but because we’re scrappy enough to figure it out.

Every two weeks, I’ll share what we’ve been working on—what went right, what didn’t, and what it’s teaching us along the way.

This week: concrete removal, irrigation prep.

🌱 The Project — Yard Prep for Irrigation + Sod Install

What we wanted:

A backyard with actual grass.

For context: our entire backyard was concrete. Not an ounce of grass for our dog, Asher. Poor guy was going to the bathroom on the concrete for far too long.

What we did:

• Moved 1,000+ square feet of concrete pavers out of the yard

• Cut out old wooden and metal posts set in concrete

• Listed the pavers on Facebook Marketplace for free (Marketplace is gold)

• Got advice from a local landscape supplier

• Started planning irrigation. South Florida = irrigation is a must

What went wrong:

• Moving 250 pavers takes time

• Cutting the posts turned into a dusty, spark-filled mess

• Free Marketplace listing ➡️ hundreds of messages ➡️ too many flakes

What went right:

• Backyard is fully cleared + ready for irrigation

• Every last paver is gone. Shoutout FB Marketplace folks that showed up.

• We can pretend were at the beach—backyard is all sand 🏖

💭 Builder’s Lesson

Big projects often start with a small, impulsive move.

I made a split-second decision to start pulling up the pavers.

Kasey wasn't exactly thrilled...

Five minutes later, she was working alongside me.

Project was officially underway.

🕰 Stories From the Archives — August 2024

Our very first “project”? A full gut of the interior.

Took several days, N-95 masks, demo tools, 20-yard dumpster, and hours of demo.

Imagine the smell of ‘80s carpet mixed with 45 years of cigarette smoke.

Demo is a beautiful thing.

🧠 Thinking About:

There’s people in this world that are willing to help—you just have to ask.

Shoutout Kirk (local landscape supplier) for pointing us in the right direction.

Saved us time, money, and headaches.

👋 Until Next Time

That’s it for this week.

Appreciate you being here.
One house, one weekend, one project at a time.

— Wes