When good projects go bad
 

I used to have a small to average size backyard. Four years ago, when I added a room addition, that back yard became very small. It's about 20' from my backdoor to the back fence and less than 50' wide.

Well, in that backyard was some equipment that we had purchased when our 11.5 year old was 2.5. Eight Phoenix summers have taken their toll, and my kids were begging me for a trampoline. After a while, I decided to go for it, because a good trampoline with an enclosure was for sale at The Sports Authority for under 250. My backyard slopes, so all I had to do was level some ground, right?

Umm....wrong.

The trampoline is 12' in diameter. I have two rather large Ficus trees that are 17" apart, so I figured I could put it between them. The slope I have to level is about 1.5 feet from the back of where the trampoline will be to the other side.

So I start digging. Oops - gotta redo some sprinklers cause I dug up the line. Oops - I'm hitting some roots of the ficus trees. Oops - when I dig down, I have a bare dirt wall staring at me that could collapse, so I have to put short retaining wall there, meaning I have to dig the entire circle out another 8-9 inches. Oops - What the hell am I gonna do with all the dirt I dug up? The only answer is building a planter along the back block fence (another retaining wall required) to put the dirt in there. Oops - that means I have to run more sprinklers. Oops - the enclosure for the trampoline is gonna hit a bunch of branhes on my ficus trees, so I gotta trim off a bunch of branches. Oops - last night we had a big desert wind storm blow through that moved my assembled trampoline a good 3 feet (stopped only by a ficus tree), so I have to figure out a way to anchor it. Oops - I can't mow under a trampoline, so I have to lay down plastic so no weeds grow and cover it with decorative rock.

So, my simple little project to put in a trampoline for my kids at well under $250 with minimal effort is now costing me about $600 (gotta put plants in the new planter, right?) and one hell of a lot more work than I thought.

Sigh. Best laid plans and the road to hell and all that. Every day now my kids ask me "how much longer till the trampoline is ready????".

So....how much longer till the trampoline is ready?

There's a good chance that the trampoline will be ready right about the time that the kids will no longer be interested in it!

I'm sorry, but as a fellow homeowner, I can't help but laugh. I have a few "projects" in the works, and I have a feeling one of them will turn out in a similar way. Oops, indeed!

And I was feeling dso good about myself. Back in May I actually knocked down a wall and moved it back 2 feet so that I could put in some built in pantries. Came in under budget and took less time than I expected.

So much for that track record.

I feel for ya! Sometimes it seems nothing ever works as it should.

That would be funny....except that it's NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! :p

I would say that I try to avoid these things by admiting my lack of expertise and bringing in a professional - but that has evil scenarios of its own...

I would say that you try to avoid these things bu just not doing them. :evil:

Heh - who needs landscaping when you're in Tokyo...