This summer has felt like a battle against the elements when it comes to our home's vegetation. Take our ivy, for example. When we purchased our home in 2003 it was one of the few things, along with the large tree, that seemed to be growing in our urban "garden." 

While it was thin, a little scraggly, and did little to provide a much needed bit of greenery to inside of the yard as well as the outside of our wall, it was what we had to work with.

For the last 13+ years we've been slowing cultivating our relationship with this green monster. Sweeping away cobwebs, removing dead vines, and carefully trimming and sculpting the mass into a thick, lush, and sometimes overbearing bit of foliage. What was once a haphazard stringy collection of vines is now one of the favorite parts of our backyard. In some places the ivy is up to roughly 18" deep and adds a significant amount of privacy in the way of extra wall height. Today those scraggly lengths of vine now look like a border to a secret garden.

We're very proud of the effort we've put into turning this ivy into something respectable, especially since we don't have the best track record with keeping stuff alive. It took many years of cutting back the ivy three times per year, but it's now one of those elements in our garden that even our neighbors appreciate the added character it brings.

Many times we've become so focused on interior projects that the long green tendrils get out of hand, like the grasping clutches of a monster lurking outside. It grows high, it grows low, it provides shelter for vermin and mosquitos, and in some cases has become so cumbersome we can hardly open our back gate.

The record breaking heat of this summer has done little to dissuade its advances, and for weeks I've been commenting on how Alex and I needed to take the time to tame the beast. In fact, we have several exterior projects that have been looming for ages. Projects like trimming the ivy, repairing our deteriorating original windows, repainting the metal roof, back gate, front stairs and entire home's exterior, and rebuilding our brick back step (where the garbage truck has repeatedly run it over and broken off the corner). When looking at the list as a whole, it makes me want to completely shut down, but heck, when looking at the entire list it's easy to pick "trim ivy" as a manageable project we can knock out in a few short hours.

In year's past we hand clipped the ivy, a blister and profanity-inducing endeavor that prolonged the agony exponentially.

Sometimes the old way is the better way and that's the way we should do it, but sometimes the old way can give way to much better ways to accomplish the task at hand with less overall effort.  

In the years we've lived in Old Town, with our 15' wide row house and brick back courtyard, one collection of tools we've not amassed is an impressive array of yard and garden tools. While we've collected a seemingly massive number of indoor power tools, especially of the woodworking variety, there's been no need for outdoor items like a lawn mower, weed whacker, or hedge trimmer, among the dozens of other implements that are nearly standard issue for less urban dwellings. But now that we have a house that's far more country than not, and we have a sizable garden and yard to tend to, we're now in the position where we need to buy ourselves some solid yard tools.

Ever since we bought our house in the country we've been doing a lot of research on the yard tools we wanted to purchase. While we grew up using largely gas powered or corded electrical tools for yard work, technology has progressed to the point where battery powered cordless tools are not only available, but often work as good as their alternately powered alternatives. Lithium-Ion batteries have extended battery life and power of the tools, and a plan by different manufacturers to "dominate the landscape" of yard tools has made for a wide selection of tools to select from. 

After lengthy debate, reading lots of reviews, test driving many different brands, and combing over the tool offerings each brand's batteries could swap between, we settled on starting our collection with the GreenWorks 40V 24" hedge trimmer. Think of this as our gateway tool to the whole suite of options GreenWorks offers that all work with the same 40V batteries. From this first tool we can now jump to everything from a leaf blower to a chain saw to a lawnmower to a snow blower...all battery powered! One thing for sure, when Alex saw the list of tools that work with this battery, his eyes certainly lit up. 

We ordered the hedge trimmer and eagerly awaited its arrival so that we could officially add it as a new tool in our arsenal. When it arrived we were more than happy to welcome the super duper sharp and efficient electric hedge trimmer for our tool shed. And the best part? We're no longer dragging and draping extension cords to reach the far off hedges. Something that's proven difficult at the new house as well as here in Old Town.

The tool itself is light and balanced. It comes with a handy safety cover that protects the blades when not in use, and the handle allows the operator to twist and articulate it to easily trim the hedges from any any angle.

The overall construction is largely plastic, but it still feels sturdy, not flimsy like many battery powered tools. The trimmer's weight is sufficient but not overly heavy. I'm able to operate it easily with two hands, and when I need to switch to one handed operation when stretching for the hard to reach places, I can do so with ease. The safety switch for operation takes a little getting used to, but it's by no means hard. And the rechargeable battery lasts for about an hour and a half of cutting time and is able to reach a full re-charge in under 45 minutes.

One thing I'm very glad about is that we decided on the 24" trimmer instead of the shorter models. We have several areas that need trimming with a little reach, and the extra 4" or so allows us to reach everything we need to trim. Now that we have this trimmer for our country house, it can play double duty in Old Town where we no longer need to use the hand trimmers. Now instead of blisters and sore arms, I can zip through the cutting in no time flat.

I imagine that my cutting now likely looks a little like Edward Scissorhands crossed with the Tasmanian Devil. What used to take up to four hours to complete was easily knocked out in about an hour and half last week. That's on less than one full charge of the 40V battery! 

Now that we have this cordless trimmer in our outdoor tool collection, I'm sure Alex is already looking at the other options he can pick up. But before we get to that next major steps, we'll keep putting this trimmer through the paces to make sure we want to stick with the GreenWorks brand. I mean, picking a specific brand of tool and sticking with them for all of your battery powered needs is even more commitment than choosing wedding china these days.

Do you have any experience with any outdoor cordless yard tools? If so, any thoughts on the brand you chose and whether it's worked out well for you? So far so good for us, but we always like to hear opinions from everyone else.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Want to learn more about our first-hand experiences with other tools, devices or items used throughout our renovation? If so, check out our complete list of product reviews in our Toolbox Tuesday section. 

Note: We weren't compensated for this review. We simply want to share good products when we see them, and hope that learning from our mistakes can help save you time, money and frustration.

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I was sure we were going to tackle a bit more of our bathroom tile, but the long holiday weekend had different plans for us.

Wendy's parents were in town for the Fourth, and they enjoy working in the yard. We had planned to attend a cookout and the fireworks on The Mall, but beyond that, the weekend was pretty open.

As a result, the morning of the Fourth we found ourselves cleaning up our small backyard area, trimming our ivy, and staring at our decroded, warped, and flaking back gate.

You see, our back gate has been in sad, sad shape for months.

It may have a bit of a "cool" look to it at first, but peeling paint, rough edges, and water stains have shown its age and lack of routine maintenance.

Over the winter, when we received countless days of snow and rain, the failed and missing paint allowed water into the wood, causing it to swell to the point where we could no longer close the door.

For a time, we thought the door's days were numbered and we'd need to just build a new one.

Though building a new one would be okay with me (I'd get to fix the mistakes I made the first time around), ain't nobody got time for that. We have a bathroom to be tiling and storm windows to be building...finally...for real this time (really for real).

After a long drying period our back gate started to close again and things started to look up for the little gate that could. The key to its longterm success being we had to correct the issues before the next round of torrential rains. It was time we got our back gate in shape.

The first thing I did was remove the cast iron grate we had attached to the little arched hobbit hole in the door. I initially thought I was going to clean it up and remove the rust, then apply another layer of polyurethane to protect it, but once I got it down I realized just how cool the patina looks.

The rusty deep oranges and brown with an overall greenish hue was earned through years of bearing the brunt of difficult weather. It was character and charm that you don't easily find just anywhere, so we decided to keep it like it is.

But the paint on the door, that was another matter. You can't reasonably call this "character."

Peeling and flaking at every corner, I began by first scraping with a wire brush, and then sanding with steel wool.

The goal at every spot was simple, get the loose paint gone and leave a solid surface to work with.

Once we had a good surface with adhered paint, we spot primed any area where bare wood could be seen.

We used the same exterior fast drying oil based primer that we've used on our wood siding and other outdoor projects. This primer works great at hardening and keeping the weather out.

When we were done, our door looked like a reverse Dalmatian. Regardless of its look, it was already looking better.

Painting the door was, well, like painting a door. Not much too it. You dip the brush, you wipe it on the door, you repeat.

We used some high gloss oil based enamel and applied it to the entire door in long and smooth strokes. Wendy's mom did some of the painting, Wendy's dad did some of the painting, Wendy did some of the painting, and I did some of the painting. It was definitely a team effort. Well, except for Lulu who lounged in a nearby chair.

After the first coat was complete we could still see some of the white primer showing through, but it was looking 1000% better than before. We knew we'd need a second coat, but it didn't matter if we needed even more, that door was back from the brink.

Once we applied the second coat we allowed the necessary but excruciatingly long drying time for oil based paint, then reattached our beautifully patina'd and ornate grate.

Now, its color and aging looked even better against the crisp black door. Hopefully the door is sealed up so water will no longer cause us the issues we experienced. And hopefully we'll keep up with the necessary maintenance better this time around. But no matter what the future holds for this door, all it needed was a little TLC to go from neighborhood eyesore, to the welcoming glossy back entrance to our wonderfully relaxing yard.

With the weekend now behind us, and little to no actual work completed on our tiling project, I'm not disappointing by our progress in the least bit. The back yard is trimmed, swept, and looking good, and our back gate has lived to fight another day. Not too shabby for a holiday weekend with great weather and very helpful guests.

What did you do this weekend?

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A crucial decision and investment at the time was centered around the type of outdoor furniture we would purchase. We scoured stores, ads, and online, before finally deciding on a teak set -- a table, four chairs, and a bench -- from our neighborhood Crate and Barrel outlet that's just a few blocks walk from our place. Short on cash but full of new homeowner excitement and motivation, we scrimped together the greenbacks and wedding gift cards needed to make the purchase. How tight were we on cash? The table didn't fit in our car, and this was before car sharing options, so we went so far as to carry the entire set home the eight or so blocks in order to avoid paying shipping charges. That, was a long walk home.

Just look at my young face and the signature ill fitting clothing of the early 2000s.

While we've greatly enjoyed this set over the years, we found ourselves swearing at our decision year after year, as the maintenance of the wood was truly...high maintenance. However, we justified its worth as it gave us wonderful neighborhood settings like this scene.

Between special teak wash, oiling the wood, and even going so far as to sand it down for a better finish, we've often regretted dealing with this beautiful but decidedly delicate material.

Part of this high maintenance has to do with the material. It's wood, and wood needs a lot of effort and attention when left outdoors unfinished. But another major issue was our own mistake. We applied a teak protectant we thought was a good idea because it promised a longer life and less maintenance. Unfortunately, this didn't allow the teak to obtain that naturally weathered look, and it now looks fake orange in places. We believe this product also trapped water within joints and caused the wood to fail and crack in places. We should have just stuck with periodic teak oil application.

Don't get me wrong, we've loved this set, but with more than a decade spent enjoying this furniture set, we've finally decided to throw in the towel and look for something new. The problem is, we just can't seem to find exactly what we're looking for. I've searched in store or online at the following stores:

• Overstock
• Crate and Barrel
• Pottery Barn
• Williams Sonoma Home
• Arhaus
• Target
• Smith and Hawken
• Frontgate
• Ballard Designs
• Kohls
• Macy's
• Sears
• JC Penney
• West Elm
• World Market
• Home Goods
• Lowes 
• Home Depot
• And others I'm surely forgetting

Phew! No wonder I'm frustrated. (Or maybe too picky?)

So here we are. We feel like we want to go with an aluminum set that can withstand the weather with low maintenance. Given our desire to do other projects on the house, we don't want the maintenance of our outdoor furniture to require a significant amount of time commitment any longer. I know this means giving up the warmth and aesthetic of natural wood, but it's worth the sacrifice to me.

Of course, Alex would love to build a new outdoor set with a wood base and poured concrete top, like the one below from Restoration Hardware, but we all know that's not likely to happen before 2024, so I think buying a new set is likely advisable. I'll just tell him "honey, it's only temporary until you can build us a new set. Then we can use this one we're buying now when we purchase that farm house without plumbing."

In our search, I'm going to be looking for something that's similar in style to the set we already have. I like the look of a slatted table, and somewhat simple chairs. But I'm definitely looking for aluminum. Perhaps something like this one from Macy's.

I had initially thought about looking for something that is wicker or synthetic wicker, but that just seems like it will catch a whole lot of dirt and bird poop, ending up a real pain to keep clean. If we had an overhang the furniture would live under, like one of those great outdoor California kitchens, it would be more of an option. You know, something modest like this...

...or perhaps...

But since our furniture will live under a tree that is frequented by our neighborhood bird and squirrel population, bombs away means a need for easy cleanup.

And finally, I want to stay away from any sort of faux wood looks. We're not buying a wood set, so I don't want to pretend we're buying a wood set. If it's aluminum, I'm embracing it and all of its low maintenance glory. Besides, the faux wood items I've seen simply aren't convincing.

My search for our aesthetically pleasing yet affordable furniture continues through the dark corners of the Internets, but I'd love your two cents on the subject. We'll hopefully be buying something very soon, but any last minute words of encouragement or advice that may help to steer my decision would be wonderfully appreciated. 

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So there I sat. One day later. No hopes of the coming calvary that had been our saviors the day before, no delusions that this project was going to get easier as the scaffolding got higher, and no desire whatsoever on my part to be the person that was going to climb up and down the scaffolding to help my less-afraid-of-heights-spouse install the remaining siding.

So there I sat. Dreading the day, dreading the work, dreading what was to come.

So there I sat, in the middle of our kitchen floor, as Alex prepared all of the tools and supplies to put in another day outside on the scaffolding.

So there I cried, as I sat, in the middle of the kitchen floor, overwhelmed and exhausted, not sure how I was going to get through the day.

In all of our years of home improvement projects before and after, there have occasionally been tears, definitely arguments, and sometimes frustration, but this moment, during the siding project, crying on the kitchen floor, I felt simply defeated. I had reached my breaking point. I didn't know how we could possibly complete the project, let alone complete it before the painters showed up just two weeks later.

There I sat, amidst a complete and total meltdown, sobbing into my hands, wondering what was next? At that fateful and defining moment I heard our backyard gate's latch make the telltale "click" we know so well. I slowly raised my head, wiped the tears that were clouding my eyes, and focused on the person who had just sauntered into our backyard. We weren't expecting anyone dropping by. We hadn't planned on any visitors. Hell, our backyard was an unmitigated disaster area, so the last thing I wanted was a neighbor wandering into our minefield of siding construction. I looked up through my glassy and tired eyes and saw our friend, Michael, who had been one of the people helping us the day before.

As Michael walked in the back door and found me slumped over in my own tears, I was probably blubbering like a child (it was far from my finest moment). Concerned at the level of human wreckage he just unearthed, he looked down at me and said "Mary thought you guys might need another hand. So I'm here."

It was like the second coming. I simply can't describe to you the immense and immediate sense of relief that swept over me at that very moment. Michael's wife, Mary, was my first friend that I made when we moved to DC, and she knows me about as good as anyone. Mary sensed the runaway train of emotions the day before and sent her ultra capable husband back to our home for round two. It was the single biggest gift and act of friendship anyone could have bestowed upon us in my fragile state, and I couldn't have been more grateful. I gave him a huge hug, and tried to dry my tears.

Alex was outside and hadn't seen Michael arrive. When we walk around to the scaffolding Michael looked up at Alex and said, "How can I help?" It was like magic words were coming out of his mouth.

Siding install is very much a three person job, so this was a perfect setup. I would be responsible for cutting, Michael for priming the cut ends, Alex for applying the thick beads of caulk in the corners, then Michael to support one end of the board while Alex nailed along the defined areas.

We were running like clockwork and knocking out the upper half of the wall. Alex had made two jigs that he and Michael were using for siding placement to ensure each course of siding was placed with appropriate spacing between the boards.

The boards need to overlap but remain separated by about 1/8" to allow for moderate expansion. Without this gap the boards would begin cupping, warping, and pulling away from the side of the house in no time. If you ever see a warped and bumpy siding install it's usually because the installer didn't prime the backs of the boards and/or didn't maintain proper minimal spacing.

This whole day, though long, ran so much smoother than the first. We found our groove and were able to get all but the last six or so boards up on the side of the house. We were feeling really good and really proud of what we had accomplished. The project I imagined there was no way we could complete was taking shape.

We still had a fair amount of work to do before we could mark the project as "complete," but I could finally breathe a sigh of relief as I felt like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We still had to complete the back of the house and do some work on the bay window, but that didn't involve work up on the scaffolding. It was looking like maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to get everything on our list done before the painters came two weeks later.

That day was one of the moments in DIY home renovation when I've never felt so low, so unsure of our abilities, and so utterly dejected. But at the same time, you realize how much you love and value your friends. Especially those that don't mind mascara streaks on the shoulder of their tee shirt.

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We were never ones to throw a house warming paint and pizza party where we plied friends with slices whilst thrusting rollers in their hands. Something about that tradition doesn't sit right with us, and the typical end result we see in homes of people that have done this, well, you shouldn't expect stellar quality from often non handy "workers" paid by the hour in pizza. (Or perhaps you should think twice about serving beer with that promised pizza.)

However, facing a hard deadline on the siding project, we felt compelled to enlist the help of others who had been offering to assist as they learned of our siding project and goals.

As I mentioned in our last post on the siding, Wendy's brother had come into town to assist in pre-priming all of the siding lengths in a neighbor's yard. This had worked out perfectly and (in spite of a minor morning shower the day after the paint) the work slated for the Friday of our planned long weekend of effort had been knocked out.

Feeling rather good about our progress, we woke up bright and early on Saturday morning, ready to take on the day, and we began preparing for next round of cavalry's arrival.

While Wendy and her brother had been painting almost all day, I had installed the lower copper drip edge at the base of the house, and I was up on the side of the house installing the Azek corner boards, window trim, and eave boards. I decided to use the Azek PVC based boards for these trim areas since they are so prone to rotting. As an added benefit, Azek boards remain stable during weather changes, reducing the amount of expansion/contraction and keeping the caulk in the corners of the siding from cracking, which keeps water out, which keeps bugs and rot away, which keeps Wendy happy.

By the time our friends arrived on Saturday morning we had breakfast ready, primed boards waiting, scaffolding setup, the tools we needed outside, and a plan to work for a good half or more of the day and just see how far we'd be able to get.

Within the hour we had three friends helping us out, our neighbor Paul observing, and Wendy and I were managing our various jobs. While our normal pace on any of our typical home projects more closely resembles the excitement of watching a snail cross the sidewalk with the occasional foot traffic to add a little drama, our home and backyard seemed like it was buzzing with activity.

Mary and Michael were organizing and transporting the dried boards from Paul's backyard back into our yard.

Wendy was cutting boards to length as I yelled out measurements.

Our friend, Bull (his nickname because he's 6'6" and shaved his head for no particular reason...twice...when we were in college and looked like Bull from Night Court), was rolling a coat of primer on the ends of the newly cut boards prior to install, and apparently posing for the camera while helping install the longer boards.

And I was laying down a thick bead of caulk in each corner, embedding the boards in the caulk, and then face nailing the boards in place.

We were running like a well oiled machine!

Due to the size of the wall we were siding, which was about 12 feet long, and the lengths of the siding we had ordered, which were 16 feet long, we wouldn't need to have any siding joints on the wall. But that also meant we had to measure each and every piece of siding very carefully.

I knew the first course of siding was the critical and most important, and that establishing a level line from which to begin would set the tone of the entire job, so I took great care to properly level the first length. I think I used three 48" levels simultaneously to make sure everything we correct.

After that first board, things started to humm right along.

Pick
Measure
Cut
Prime
Caulk
Hold
Nail
Repeat

Having all of the people helping out was a bit overwhelming, but in an entirely positive way. We had reached a point in a major project where we were repairing serious damage to our home and were finally able to feel like we were making some good progress. But the progress was a bit deceiving. Throughout that first day we made a serious dent in the siding application. There were a few delays along the way while I noodled through various items, like cutting a notched board for the top of the window using only our old and horrible jigsaw, but we were still rolling.

By the end of the day and when our helpers all had to leave, we had covered the lower half of our large wall with siding. It wasn't as far as Wendy and I had wanted to go, but it was looking good. The profile we selected was just perfect for our home, the way we were installing the siding felt right, and we were looking forward with balanced excitement and dread to finishing this incredibly intimidating project. Would we be able to actually pull this off? Only time would tell, and the key to the whole project was the second half of the wall, but as I said, we were feeling good. We were over the hump, and felt like we were picking up momentum.

Have you ever enlisted the help of friends or family when pulling off a big house project? If so, how do you repay them? Pizza? Beer? A home cooked meal? Even trade for babysitting? Let us know.

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