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Desperate Landscape: Garage Facelift and Sod Replacement When you can't see the grass for the weeds, sometimes it's best to just start from scratch. From "Desperate Landscapes" episode DDSL-102

Joe and Margie Eves and family

Desperate Landscapes heads to a neighborhood where a popular family is being pushed to get help for their barren front yard.

Their neighbors say Joe and Margie Eves are great, but with a house full of kids and busy jobs as a firefighter and a pharmacist, the Eves are just too busy to fix up the yard.

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Enter the Desperate Landscapes crew. DIY's Jason Cameron helps the Eves create a colorful and lush front landscape where there was none. To the delight of the neighbors, Jason also gets rid of an eyesore everyone on the block has been talking about, the Eves' family's RV.

Before

Before

After

After

	Figure A
	Figure B

Garage Door Painting and Facelift

This project begins with the garage door, which needs to be painted and repaired. Before it's painted, it needs to be cleaned and still have time to dry, so the Eves kids get to work on that (figure A). For stubborn dirt and stains, clean the door with a stiff brush and soapy water.

To spruce up the door, Jason replaced a piece of molding that fell off and replaced a missing medallion (figure B).

Molding

The molding is lower casing which is available at most lumber mills.

• Cut the molding to the desired length.
  
• Attach the molding to the garage with new use construction adhesive and then used finish nails to secure it.
  
• Caulk the holes.

We found the missing medallion in the garage. We cleaned it up and secured it with wood glue and nails.

Figure C

Tips For Painting A Garage Door

• Priming with oil-based primer is recommended for lighter colors, but since we're going with a darker color, we're skipping this step.
  
• If the door has already been primed, you can spot-prime areas where there is damage.
  
• Use two coats semi-gloss exterior paint (figure C). Semi-gloss is preferred since flat paint tends to show a lot of dirt.
  
• Avoid exterior painting projects when temps will dip below 50 degrees.

	Figure D
	Figure E

Spray Paint Railing

The railing leading to the front door is rusty. The crew tapes off the area to prevent over-spray and uses a special spray paint designed to be used directly over rust (figure D). No scraping or priming required. However, with the amount of rust on the Eves' railing, Jason recommended a quick once-over with a wire brush to even out the surface a bit. The good news is we chose paint with a hammered finish which will help hide the flaws.

Cleaning Siding

This siding next to the front door needs a good cleaning. Jason recommends cleaning it with a brush and vinyl cleaner mixed with warm water (figure E). Jason does not recommend using a power washer on vinyl siding because it can force water behind the siding and cause damage.

	Figure F
	Figure G

Retaining Wall

The yard needs a retaining wall to keep all the dirt from going into the driveway. The retaining wall is also a great architectural element to add to the yard. This wall is short (less than 2 feet high) and made by stacking cut fieldstone. It does not require any mortar. Here are the basic steps:

• Dig a trench about 12 inches deep and create a level surface before laying any stone (figure F).

• Install a layer of large stones for good stability at the base (figure G).

• Stagger the joints as you lay the next level.
  

  The completed wall

• The top of the wall should be at finished grade to allow runoff.

• Fill behind the wall with crushed stone

• Note: If you're building a wall higher than three feet tall, be sure to check with your local community to find out if a permit is required.
  
  
  

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  ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  	Desperate Landscape: Garage Facelift and Sod Replacement