Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Outdoor nightmare

I've been working inside to organize/clean and get ready to work on more projects once the summer heat comes along. Lately I've been working on the outside. This area below is stressing me to no end. The dogs love to dig and roll in this area and therefore a ton of this sandy dirt ends up in the house. 

So I need a solution. I'm one step away from artificial turf or indoor/outdoor carpet in this spot----TACKY. 

So I'm anxious to hear YOUR thoughts. What would you do? I'm looking for a quick, cost effective solution. Something that can be done this weekend.
 

 I forgot to add a couple pictures from the original post...
 This is what I mean by dig, roll, and lay in the dirt-- and then bring it all inside... Molly and Peyton are guilty too. Not just Gracie...silly pups.

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10 comments:

  1. Having been an owner of 3 very large dogs, Saint Bernard, Rottweiler, and Shepherd mix, we gave up on trying to grow grass at the main entrances for our dogs. I would suggest removing a thick layer of the dirt/sand, putting in a weed block liner, adding some flexible edging, and filling the whole thing with smooth gravel.

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    1. gravel is a good option. My only concern is it getting flipped into the yard and being a pain to deal with when I mow the grass... Any thoughts on contending with a mower?

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    2. That's where the flexible edging comes in. We kept the gravel slightly lower than the edging with the grass at about the same height as the edging. We still had some escapees, but not nearly as bad without that edging keeping it contained.

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    3. Unfortunately, we have moved and never took photos of it or I'd show you what we did.

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    4. Flexible edging is definitely in the equation. I posted an updated entry today with more pictures of what I'm dealing with. Thanks for your suggestions!

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  3. I would definitely shovel some good dirt on there and lay some sod, if possible. Perhaps a little later, after the sod takes, you could lay some cute little patio stones at the base of the stairs.. :O)

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    1. Julianne,
      Definitely laying some sod down near the stairs. This dirty mess is all the way to the gate on the right and a long path from the gate to the opposite side of the yard where my compost bins are. I'm thinking maybe pouring some concrete at the base of the stairs-- giving the pups a cool spot to lay on.. and then a gravel path from the gate to the compost bins? The path would go parrallel to the vegetable garden which is out of sight but on the right hand side.

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  4. Ooops, you have stones there already....take them up, lay some sod (somehow keeping the dogs off for a while) and then re-install the patio stones once the grass has taken??

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    1. Yea, whatever I do here need a solid foundation. The sandy soil is tricky to contend with! Argh. Major overhauling happening this weekend. Need to price out my materials and come up with scrap wood/hardy plank for a concrete form...

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