Category: construction

Finishing Landscaping Projects

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This has been a year full of really cool landscaping projects! I’ve had a lot of excellent opportunities to expand my skill base and have worked really hard to make some yards stand out, look beautiful, and function properly

Getting into Fencing and Carpentry

These last three years I’ve done a lot of work. Recently I’ve gotten into something that I did not foresee; carpentry! Now I’ve done over a dozen fences and gates and am looking for more big projects to take on.

I was also able to build some steps and a landing for a client in Newcastle… I think it came out really nice! The before and after pictures are further down below.

Installing Artificial Grass

I’ve also gotten a chance to hone in my turf skills and work with some high quality fake grass. It’s a lot of work! The grading took several days and included road base, 3/4 crushed rock, decomposed granite, and sand. I also built the smaller fence to hide the pool equipment horizontally according to the customers specification.

Full Yard Installs

This year I’ve done a couple of full year installs, but also got to do a lot of repairs. Its definitely easier to start a yard from scratch! Usually I try to make everything as accessible as possible for repairs, because I am usually the person that repairs things, especially outdoor irrigation and drainage.

Back Yard Play Area, mini-fence and wooden gates

Antelope Xeriscape Front Yard Installation

Newcastle Back Yard Full Install

My biggest project this year was the back yard revitalization in Newcastle. Check out some before and after pics!

Lots of work for a smaller sized yard! This project will be continuing to develop over time and I will be maintaining it.

I’ve also finished some smaller yards, and some major repair work!

From a smaller back yard in Rocklin. I repaired the water feature and installed lots of new plants!

Repair Work

I was also able to save some clients money on their irrigation systems and fencing repairs! What a year of fun projects!

Irrigation Repair

Gate Repair (new posts with existing panels)

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Recently Constructed Fences and Gates

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Recently Constructed Fences and Gates Read More »

Building New Fences in 2021

Leave a Comment / construction, fencing, landscaping

This year has centered me around replacing fences in the area due to the major storm damage that insurance companies categorized as catastrophic. Thanks so much insurance companies! I have already finished 2 brand new fences and am actively working on the third and am bidding on lots of projects including smaller fences and some big landscaping projects. 2021 is looking fantastic so far!

The First Fence of 2021

My first fence of the year was a recommendation from another client. Though I didn’t get to use my “go-to” steel posts, I did get to paint a fence for the first time, which was really cool and fun with a paint sprayer! Painting and staining is a lot of hard work with one. The fence came out very straight considering I had to deepen many of the holes by 6-10 inches to ensure that the posts were two feet in the ground.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the result and so is the client. I did two cans of paint and used some really nice redwood materials. This was about 65ft of fence that turned into 80ft once the owner saw the work we were doing out there 😀

The Second Fence of 2021

The second fence was a recommendation through yoga, which is just such a great way to connect with people that are likeminded about nature, durability, and quality. My client wanted more privacy and needed her whole fence redone which ended up being about 200 feet of fencing.

This time I got to use steel posts and kicker boards to bring the fence up an extra foot for more privacy from the neighbor’s yard. I was lucky enough to find a fence board supplier during the massive shortage that California is currently experiencing.

The second fence of 2021 from the street

I will be adding a latch to the bottom of the gate and am also hoping to stain the entire fence to help to optimize the lifespan of the boards. The client was so happy that she agreed to do a testimonial, so I will add that to the site as well as a post getting into more details about the project.

Moving Forward in 2021

I am already in the middle of my next fence project and am always looking for more work. So far this year has been very steady for work and I just want to keep that going. I also enjoy learning and working with unique situations so I am very excited for the potential of some of this years projects. Here are some progress photos from the job I am working on now that is right on the border with Folsom Lake.

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Elliot Telford’s Landscaping Projects from 2020

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Check out the recently updated Landscaping section of my site in the menu above!

This year I have gotten some excellent opportunities to work in the Sacramento area. My projects are happening from Antelope to Auburn with lots of work in Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, and other places in Placer County.

I’ve been extremely lucky to have great customers that appreciate the level of quality, durability, and value that I can create in a project.

My projects can fit into 3 major categories:

1. Planting

Salvia and Drought Tolerant Hedgeline by Elliot Telford Landscapes — Salvia hedge and privacy fence in Roseville, CA

Most of my other work revolves around create an appropriate habitat for plants so that they can thrive. Plants are well suited to all environments, and sometimes it takes a bit of experimentation to get plants that work in tandem.

I am enjoying creating xeriscapes and using more drought tolerant plants; I am also learning to special the plants for different areas. Auburn is slightly different than Antelope, or even Rocklin, so the optimal plants are slightly different also.

2. Water: Irrigation/Drainage

Drainage is essential for the health of plants, especially drought tolerant and Xeriscape oriented plants. Sometimes, you can get away with superficial drainage, or non-subterranean drainage, by creating a creek bed in the landscape to create a path for water through the yard. Below, you can see a creek bed xeriscape I created in Antelope, CA:

3. Masonry, Carpentry, and Outdoor Structures

I have also been working very hard to learn masonry and mortar setting rock and brick. Masonry is really fun for me because I love to create long lasting work.

One of my most recently completed projects was a black slate patio in Roseville. This took me a couple of weeks of work with concrete that was already set. I did rough up the concrete a lot to ensure that the mortar had as much traction as possible and washed the rock with muriatic acid at the end. Check out the video!

I have also included some photos of my other projects. Enjoy!

Steel Gate in Roseville — Outside View of Privacy Gate

Trellis with Jasmine Vines — Salvia Hedge 1

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Landscaping Full-Time in 2019 (Placer County)

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I’ve recently finished a few projects that I am proud of and I have an awesome mentor that is showing me how to do all sorts of incredible things with outdoor construction, landscapes, planting, cleaning up yards, taking down trees, etc. I’m getting into great position to generally setting people’s yards and property up for success and durable function.

I have ‘Partnered Up’ with Dave Thomas

I have a mentor and partner who is working with me on all of my projects and ensuring that I can be successful in the things that I am endeavoring. Dave Thomas will be working with me on my projects for the foreseeable future and that makes me stoked. I am working on his website now, get ready to view a catalogue of his 12+ years of landscaping projects.

New Truck, New Tools

I am investing the best tools I can get my hands on which includes an old 91 Dodge D250 thats only two years younger than I am. I can’t believe I’ll be 30 tomorrow, yikes!

I have a few recent projects that I am very proud of and plan on doing a bunch more this year. I’ve gotten very familiar with outdoor construction and am looking forward to learning as much as I can. I have pretty much all the tools that I need to landscape, so feel free to get into contact with me if you have a project, or want an estimate.

Finishing the Spiro’s Yard in Late 2018

Last year I got to install a front-yard on the borderline of granite bay and Roseville and it turned out great! Here are a few pictures of the walkway, patio, creekbed and plants that we installed. I’m really happy with how everything turned out and their new walkway is awesome! First project with mortar set flagstone 😀

Full Front Yard Rehab (new creek bed, DG Patio, three white Eurpoean Birch trees, and two red leaf maples

New Mortar Set Flagstone Walkway
New DG Patio

Jamie and Joe Bryant’s Yard in Old Roseville

At the end of last year and beginning of this year, I endeavored into a new project, this time a full backyard install complete with fencing, a new front gate, two new side gates, two larger planters, a garden fences, a trellis, and a completely new drain system, irrigation, and plant layout. Here’s how it turned out! (I’ll do a more comprehensive post on this yard later, it was a ton of work and a lot of it isn’t shown here.)

Left Side
Right Side
Trellis (side-yard privacy)
Front Gate for Driveway

Jody Summer’s Yard in Old Roseville

A couple of weeks ago, we finished Jody Summer’s yard in old Roseville and it went swimmingly! it was a total of 5 days and we removed a on of concrete from an old sidewalk, got rid of 4 or 5 tree stumps, stump ground the remains, tilled the area for sod and reconfigured the irrigation (including adding a new timer and a dedicated drip valve. We designed an entirely new plant layout, constructed a brand new decomposed granite entry walkway, new sod, bark, and a little wildflower area down by the street (also covered in bark).

Tree Work in Berryessa and ForestHill Ranch

I got a chance to use my chainsaw a bunch on some bigger trees, its really a terrifying thing to be cutting huge sections off of multi-ton trees that could squash me at any second. I got a chance to work with my buddy Alex who is a tree expert and got to see him do some incredible climbing and John who is more of a ranching expert, but also knows a lot about trees and climbing. Tree work is dangerous as hell, man.

Notice the giant chunks of wood, these trees can be extremely dangerous.

Onto More Projects in 2019!

Right now, Dave and I are working on a Tonnos off Greenback in Orangevale. I’m pretty excited for this one and will have some pics once everything is finished. I got to use a ditch witch for the first time! I also am employing a drone now, so my photos will be way better soon and I am going to start using more video footage. I’m looking forward to this next year of landscaping work in a big way!

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