I already shared that we are going to give this backyard at the rental a makeover on a budget.  We love being outside and love lots of different areas to hang.  This backyard isn’t functional AT ALL.  We love vegetable gardens, fire pits, barbecue areas, etc.   And since we will be here all summer, it HAS to happen.

When we first moved in, Deb was trimming the weeds in the backyard and discovered some old limestone slabs buried in the ground from the First State Bank here in our town.  I swear I remember it when I was young.  I have no clue when, how, or who brought them to this house, but they were here.

(This photo was found on our towns historical page.  It’s not mine)

Backyard Makeover on a Budget

We have no shed or garage here at the rental as I previously told you, so we bought a very inexpensive shed to store our mower and our lawn tools.  We brought in a load of 11F packing stone as a base for the shed.  I shared all of that in a post with lots of before photos, so check that out.  I am not counting the cost of the shed in this makeover because we will sell it or take it with us when we leave.

Limestone Slabs

There is a small step out the back door that stepped right down into grass… aka mud.  Deb had layers of cardboard down in front of her grill because she would stand in mud.  (Janky.. I know.)  So we decided that we would also add packing stone in front of that step to solve that problem and take that packing stone to the grill area.

Do you remember the large concrete pieces at our last house?  We repurposed them into paths and used them as steps.  Well, I got the idea to make a larger landing area out the back door here at the rental using those limestone slabs from the First State Bank.  So we dug them up and moved them the same way we moved the huge concrete pieces at the last house.

How did you move the concrete?

I’ve been asked that questions so many times over on Instagram.  You guys would die laughing if you saw us.  We feel like we are experts at this point.  ???? All you need is a shovel, a large pinch point pry bar, and two PVC pipes.   Usually I lift the one side with the shovel, and then Deb shoves a pipe under that side.  We do the same with the other side.  It’s fairly easy to roll or slide the concrete on those pipes into place.  I have no idea how we came up with that but we did.  ????  We leveled them all out with that packing stone using a long level.

These slabs are so old.  The lettering is obviously all hand chiseled because they are all different depths and different widths.  And some of them are broken, but I think they are just the coolest things ever.

Total Cost so Far

We bought a load of stone for $16 earlier in the week and leveled the shed area but needed more.  So we bought $13 more to level the First State Bank limestone slabs and make a pad for our grill.   So we have $29 in this backyard makeover project so far.  I haven’t told Deb that I want this makeover to be under $50… Because she would say it can’t be done, but I think it can.  ???? Stay tuned.

Next up….. our fire pit.  ????  What do you think?