Hardin Home: Home Improvement Projects at a Country Home in Verona, WI
Home Improvement Projects at a Country Home in Verona, WI
As discussed in a previous post, I’ve been hard at work getting the yard into shape for the summer. In the recent weeks, I’ve shifted from the heavy labor of clearing downed trees, pruning branches, and putting down mulch to some of the easier late-spring activities, including planting flowers, shrubs, and grass. I have it … Continue reading Spring Landscaping 2025, Part 2
Now that warm weather is once again on the horizon, I’ve started working my way through the usual spring landscaping tasks. Before things were consistently warm enough to start planting and working on the lawn, I cleaned out the ditches alongside Range Trail, which accumulate trash and other debris during the winter. I then spent … Continue reading Spring Landscaping 2025, Part 1
While I wait for the next big lake house project (replacing the deck next spring), I’ve knocked out some smaller tasks that have been on my to-do list for awhile. First, I replaced the microwave in the upstairs kitchen, since the previous one had been destroyed by a power surge in one of the big … Continue reading Small Lake House Projects
Every year when summer ends and fall arrives, it means two things for me: football season, and a lot of maintenance tasks to make sure both houses are ready for winter. One of the first tasks is getting the boat out of the water for winter storage, along with taking the awning cover off of … Continue reading Fall and Winter Preparations
The last in a long line of projects to improve the waterfront at the lake house was to bring in a barge service to remove rocks, wood, and tree debris from both the beach and the water, to reshape the sand to be more usable, and to install more concrete steps to make it easier … Continue reading Beach Clean Up and Resurfacing
Along with my usual spring landscaping tasks, another thing I have to do every spring is open up the lake house, put the boat in the water, and set up the slip. This year was no different; I’d already done a lot of prep work at the lake house earlier in the year to remove … Continue reading Lake House Spring 2024
As is the case every spring, once the snow melts and the ground thaws there is a lot to do to get the house ready for spring and summer. Here was my initial list at the start of spring: Those tasks kept me busy for quite a few weekend! I was very happy with how … Continue reading Spring Landscaping + Pool 2024
Last summer I was kept very busy clearing trees, repairing railing, and cleaning up the beach at the lake house after a number of storms the previous winter and during the summer itself caused a ton of damage. I was pretty happy with what I was able to do myself, but this year it’s time … Continue reading Tree Removal and Spring Beach Restoration Prep
After the grass I planted around the pool came in nicely, I turned my attention to the rest of the yard. There were quite a few bald patches of grass that needed some love, due to a combination of the drought this year and leftover damage from the pool construction the previous summer. After planting … Continue reading Fall Grass Planting and Cleanup
Shortly after returning from a trip to Barcelona, Southern Wisconsin was hit by a number of large storms, which included very high winds. Up at the lake house, this resulted in numerous downed trees, and left a lot of chaos. While it was disheartening to see some of the railing that I’d recently worked on … Continue reading Lake House Storm Damage and Railing Repair
