Man Who Kept Drilling Holes In Backyard Cashes Out

Holes Out Of Nowhere

She had a great view of the green garden when she went to bed. But when she woke up and looked out of her window, she noticed that the once beautiful yard her neighbor owned was now full of holes.

She knew that it wasn’t her yard so she had no control over it. But she still was curious about what was happening to the neighbor’s yard.

Speculation

She watched from her window perplexed at what she was watching. He was doing something alright, was it a pest problem? She wanted to find out.

Jill Thompson felt a gnawing feeling at the back of her mind telling her to snoop. But when she saw him digging in the dirt with his bare hands, she was a little intimidated by the sight.

Special Delivery

She had never even personally met the man before. The most she had done was smile and wave to him when he first unpacked his moving truck some time ago. But the huge renovations on his yard made her feel quite suspicious.

She just felt a bad feeling, the digging into the yard had her suspicions flaring up.

No Introductions

When new people move into a neighborhood they normally greet the neighbors and at least introduce themselves. But this man had never even spoken a word to her before.

He seemed like actually quite a quiet and conserved person. He had only moved in a month ago but she already had her reservation about him.

Strange Encounter

He almost ignored Jill whenever she tried to wave at him from across the street. He didn’t so much as acknowledge her existence. She just wanted to know how he was finding the neighborhood, the move, and more.

And now that he had been doing this strange work on his yard she wondered if he had skeletons in his closet. She was sure he was hiding something from prying eyes.

Unexpected Delivery

A week after the holes appeared, an old truck arrived in his driveway. She and the other neighbors watched from their houses. Long strange packages were offloaded into his yard.

It seemed that whatever he doing was way bigger than she had initially thought. But he hadn’t even considered letting any of the neighbors know.

The Plot Thickens

Jill discovered the next day that he had ordered wood posts. He must have been constructing something, but what?

The planks were in his yard lying in a pile. He kept up his digging to get them deep. He would work in the evening where most people wouldn’t be watching him, or so he thought.

A New Addition

Jill couldn’t tell what he was doing, but when she finally focused on what was important, she was left scratching her head.

The posts were put into the holes that he dug throughout the week. It looked like a weird monument to something. Then the newest set of helping hands came out of the house.

Cute Alert

As the diligent man continued to work on the strange project, a young boy emerged from the house and came over to join him.

“That must be his son,” said Jill to the other neighbors. But none of the neighbors knew he had a son and he never mentioned it to Jill when they spoke. In fact, he didn’t tell her anything about him at all.

Deepened Mystery

The appearance of the young boy came as a surprise to everyone. Jill wondered how she didn’t see him before. She never saw him playing outside or heard him making noise as young kids do.

The mystery surrounding this new neighbor grew bigger and bigger: what was he up to?

Young Apprentice

The neighbors were now all fascinated by what was going on in the strange man’s backyard. They watched as the young boy fetched materials and tools for the man – the kid was certainly eager to help get the project done.

His tiny hands were put to work, picking out weeds and carrying big stones. It was a cute sight to watch if it were under normal circumstances.

Pile of Rocks

At this point, taking a guess at what they were building became a hot topic in the neighborhood as well as trying to spot another family member.

They wondered if he was a single father, taking care of his only son. Speculations and gossip spread through the neighborhood. But Jill took a different approach and knocked on his door.

Becoming Aggravated

She brought baked goods and again, unleashed a string of questions. He confirmed he had a son but had to suddenly leave before getting a chance to answer the rest.

Jill left aggravated with no choice but to continue to watch from afar. With the wooden posts now all upright, a huge pile of gravel that appeared in the man’s yard further confused the curious residents. But they started to get a clearer idea of what was going on.

Strong Foundations

It appeared that the man and his son had been working on the foundations for some kind of structure.

Not a lot happened in their sleepy suburban street, which meant Jill enjoyed concocting theories as to what was being built a little too much. And she was ready to start a war if it was going to ruin the aesthetics of the well-kept neighborhood.

Basic Structure

Before long, more lumber and construction materials arrived at the house and it became clearer that the man was building something ambitious.

Jill wondered if he got planning permission for this. Perhaps that’s why he was being so quiet and odd about the whole thing. She waited until she could gather more proof. But she had no idea who she was dealing with.

New Faces

Jill watched as nails, screws, hooks, and mounting brackets arrived at the property in their hundreds, but that wasn’t all that showed up.

There were some new faces turning up too. But who were they and why did he need so much help?

Helping Hands

Jill and her neighbors heard a lot of commotion coming from the yard as more laborers piled in. Before long, the structure seemed at least halfway completed. They were desperate to find out what it was.

Now the project was really taking shape and Jill could see some very specific features that gave clues as to what the final result was going to be.

New Additions

More recognizable elements of the structure started to emerge. She could identify a wooden floor and a set of stairs.

More hints fell into place and the puzzle became more complete. Was it a small storage hut? It became apparent that this structure was some kind of holding space, but for what? For who?

Aha Moment

Autumn had arrived. Kids were getting ready to go back to school and the leaves were changing from green to beautiful shades of brown and red.

The project still wasn’t finished. However, enough of it had been completed that Jill could just about make sense of what it was. No wonder this was something he didn’t want to share…

Making Sense

It was all beginning to make sense now. He must have not wanted word to get out. If he was a private man, the last thing he’d want would be his neighbors to find out about what he was doing to his backyard.

It certainly was an improvement that warranted attention. Heck! Some people would even pay to experience it…

Winter Closing In

Just when Jill and her neighbors thought the project was finally about to be revealed, the man had put away his tools and materials and covered it all up.

Since the weather was getting colder and construction was getting harder, it looked like he would have to wait until next spring to complete his many months of work.

Spring Ahead

Months later, the man had finally started things up again. He peeled back the weathered tarps, got out his tools, and pulled out the rest of the wood that had been in storage.

Jill and other neighbors soon started peering over the fence again. The area took on the familiar sounds of banging, drilling, and sawing. By summer, they would finally get to see what all the secrecy was about.

Easy Access

Since moving in, the quiet man who was now established to have a wife and son, had enjoyed an above-ground pool for a while, but getting in and out with the flimsy ladder wasn’t just awkward, it was dangerous, especially for their son.

He was the only one in the neighborhood who had a pool. It was one of the selling points that made them want to purchase the home. But there was a catch.

Neighborhood Envy

The man knew how small neighborhoods were. He didn’t want people coming over to use their pool all the time. In fact, he wasn’t much of a people person.

So he decided he’d get rid of the danger quietly so as to not draw attention to his big pool that would surely become the envy of the neighborhood. But despite his best efforts, his secretive approach only made it worse.

A New Deck

The man needed to make accessing the pool safer. He decided enough was enough and that they needed a new deck for easier access.

But not just any ole deck, he wanted the deck to be a place of leisure. Somewhere to relax and look over the pool while basking beneath the sizzling sun. So, how did his DIY skills work out?

Impressive Results

The end result was something stunning – a professional contractor couldn’t have done a better job. A year of wondering what they were looking at had come to an end – Jill and her neighbors were really very impressed.

Sturdy beams held the floor in place, seams were met perfectly, angles were carefully measured, and all edges were beveled for decoration. As if that wasn’t enough, the family added a few finishing touches to turn it into something out of a magazine.

Finishing Touches

A coat of sealant was added to protect it from adverse weather and keep it pristine for years to come.

They also added a set of grey and brown deck chairs and tables so they could lounge in the sun after a cool swim. Jill took some notes. She’d learned a thing or two from watching this DIY project in action.

Truth About DIY

A project like this isn’t something to take on lightly. A lot of people think they can nail a few boards together and knock up something like this in a few months.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth – you need time. It also takes a lot of know-how and practice, as well as learning from mistakes. But there is some good news for budding DIY-ers.

Less Expensive

Doing your own construction, even small fixes around the house, can save you a ton of money.

For example, a plumber costs hundreds but replacing your own toilet pump can come in at under $50. Painting your own walls is another cheap project you can do on your own that gets big results. But there’s more to DIY than just saving money.

Proud Feeling

It’s no secret that there’s a large amount of pride attached to accomplishing something yourself – especially when you get to gaze upon your creation every day.

Start with small things and slowly move to bigger endeavors. There is an enormous amount of information out there for free. With time, you could be building your own luxury deck – even your own pool!