One of the main reasons I chose this home was the large fenced in yard.  It was important to have a large yard the dogs could play in.  The backyard was meticulously-maintained by the previous owners and cool features like a garage with carport, fire pit, and deck were installed.

All we really had to do was get some furniture and a grill and enjoy the space!

Due to the nature of the detached garage, the driveway was not fenced in and I needed a solution.

I tried to partner with a local company to install an automated driveway gate.  The previous owners had a gate and the posts were already installed.

Unfortunately, all local companies wanted $7500-$8000 to install a driveway gate with automation.  I did a ton of research and found a company, Amazing Gates (www.amazinggates.com) that has been manufacturing gates for many years.  After speaking with them, I was able to get a driveway gate and automation for less than half the price of the local guys.  My dad and I easily installed the gate and the automation is coming, so that’ll be a new update for the page. 🙂

I love having the gate as it helps create a sense of privacy and gives the home a “compound” feel.

There have been a few changes to the outdoors at Spring Street.  We’ll highlight some of those changes here.  The first thing we did was finish the automation on the driveway gate.  We had to dig a trench and use conduit to bury the wire and connect it to both sides of the gate.

Next, we used the pavers to hide the wires and conduit.

The next part was to connect the arms to the gate.  These are the motorized pieces that help the gate move.  We also mounted the control box to the side of the house.

The gate is now complete.  It opens quite easily with Multi-Code Garage Door openers.  I even have one on my keychain.

We also did some things to spruce up the front curb appeal of the house.  First, we painted the mailbox post, added a light on top, and installed a new mailbox and house numbers.  It was simple change for a big impact.

We also put a new house numbers on the house with a planter box we purchased on Etsy

Lastly, for the curb appeal, we installed hardwired LED landscape lighting.  There are four pathway lights and six spotlights.  It really adds a wow factor to the exterior of the house at night.  These are hardwired lights that required the wire to be buried.