Elegant Chill Pad

Need any help? We need a new bathroom. I'm not a bathroom guy. Are you kitchen? What are you? ANNOUNCER: He's Matt Blashaw and he's the Yard Crasher. How much do you charge an hour? ANNOUNCER: Nothing. He's giving away a new yard. Are you kidding? Oh, my god. Is he serious? ANNOUNCER: He is serious. What do you say? Yes? Yes. Yes to what? ANNOUNCER: To taking him home. Whoever does will get an incredible backyard transformation, complete with a redwood pergola dining space, fireplace hangout, outdoor kitchen with kegerator and a whole lot more. I know, right? No. You want to take me home? ANNOUNCER: Professional contractor Matt Blashaw stakes out home improvement stores. I'm giving away gold. ANNOUNCER: Looking for do-it-yourselfers I don't know. ANNOUNCER: What they don't know is he's gonna transform their simple project WOMAN: It's amazing. ANNOUNCER: It's like winning the landscape lottery. Yes. I like to see a girl in power tools. This is nice. I'm looking for work. I'm a contractor. Yeah. Oh. What do you do for work? I'm a bartender. Yeah. Who wants to come help me do a backyard right now? Do I look like I'm cheap? No. Okay. I look expensive? Yeah. Yeah. What is it, the hair? Uh, no it's-- Might be the hair. What are we searching for? A masonry bit? What are you masonizing? Um, I bought a house and it's cinder block. How's your backyard look in this masonry house? There's cement pathways going to nowhere and bricks and, a really, really ugly shed. So it's nothing that you like, whatsoever. Oh, no. it's awful. I think I can help you out. Okay. All right? With? With your backyard. Oh. Yeah. I don't know... I actually haven't even had a house warming party yet, because I'm too embarrassed. So this is what I do. I do a backyard in two days. I'll bring about 20 guys. Like the 20 guys thing. Make sure they're all single. I can't guarantee that. What we got to do is, we got to leave right now. That's the deal. As long as you don't tell me it's the worst backyard you've ever seen. Promise? I can't guarantee you that. Okay. I promise. Looks like you need some front yard crashing too. And so it begins. One at a time. Wow. This is what I'm talking about. This is awful. This is our attempt at landscaping. You did this? I did this, yeah. They're supposed to go out. Yeah. Where'd all this debris come from? Well, I chopped down that dead tree. Oh, okay, got you. Is that a Christmas tree? That is not your Christmas tree. That is my Christmas tree. You know what's funny? Is that I didn't even notice that. And that's how bad this yard is. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Seen better days. And then my lovely fence. Wow, it's falling. That's down. It's not even falling apart. It starts and then it just-- Looks like all the posts are rotted out. ( dog barking ) Okay, I didn't know there was a dog back there. That scared me. I'm gonna check my pants. What is this? Is that a pipe pergola? I do have to say, pretty resourceful. Although, I think it's against code to put a pergola and attach it to your fence. Everything, I think, needs to go, so we scrape this whole thing. Mm-hmm. Now that we scrape it, blank canvas. Now what do you see? I love to barbecue. Yeah. Okay. It's one of my favorite things, is to have friends over, have a barbecue, have some beers. Yeah, I don't see-- Some sodas. You're a bartender, I think it's okay. Okay. What else do you want? Little-- Maybe a little fire pit. A water feature. Okay, and you got roommates that can help? Okay. Roommates, friends, family. You're bringing about 10 people? Sound good? Awesome, yeah. You get to work and I'll be back. All right. See you soon. There ain't nothing I'm gonna keep. You guys outnumbered us. Do you know everyone? Um, kind of. Incredible, this is the roommate, right? All right, man. You're the virtual husband today. Yep. Sounds good. All right, get ready to work. Let me introduce you to my team. This is Michael Glassman, he is from Michael Glassman and Associates. Nice to meet you. And that is Josh Martin. He is from Charis Landscaping. All right? Let's go see the design. Everybody in the back, let's go, let's go. Yeah. Check it out. Okay. ANNOUNCER: Matt's design includes a propane fireplace with an area to hang out, rustic metal seat wall, redwood pergola with shade. The back of it is gonna have this wire screen, that we're gonna do an espalier to it. All right? ANNOUNCER: With a dining area underneath, bordered by colorful landscaping throughout the yard. And in that block wall over here, we're gonna do a really cool picture frame planter box. It's gonna go up there. ANNOUNCER: He's also giving Jenn an outdoor kitchen with a grill and kegerator tapped with beer. Oh, that's awesome. Kegerator, Yeah. ANNOUNCER: A couple of basalt water features, and a slate tile overlay for the patio. Oh, this is gonna be amazing. Yes it is. Yeah. Yeah. Let's go, let's start ripping this place up. Woo-hoo! Oh, there we go. Michael's got anger issues. All right, Michael, tag team. Come on now. There we go. Go, go, go. The shed is dead. The shed is dead. ANNOUNCER: Coming up, an easy way to transform ugly, old concrete into something amazing. You don't have to be an expert to do this. ANNOUNCER: And Jenn runs into a couple of hiccups while building the metal seat wall. Oh, my. We got it. You make tools sound... They're like screaming. ANNOUNCER: Jenn Christen was in desperate need of a backyard makeover. So it's nothing that you like, whatsoever. Oh, no, it's awful. ANNOUNCER: Luckily, she ran into Matt. It's a re-do, Jenn. ANNOUNCER: They wiped out everything. Now they're grading the yard, painting the house, putting in new fence posts. And Matt and Jenn move on to the first project. Now the retaining wall that you had... It didn't cut it. So instead of just putting up wood or just putting up concrete, we're gonna have a metal retaining wall. It's like this. This is 1/8 inch steel, and you can see the holes are already drilled where our posts are gonna be. So first things first. Let's cut our 4 x 4s, our 2 x 4s, All right. Something tells me you haven't used one of these before. No, I have not. Okay. All it is, is just pull, down. I'm really nervous. That's like step one and that's the only step. No, you're good. Whoa, jeez. Oh, my God. So listen. What'd I do wrong? No, you got to finesse it. All right. You want to try this again? Yes, you'll be fine. Even pressure. Here we go. So much better. So much better. It's happy, we're both happy. Let's keep on going with that, all right? ANNOUNCER: Jenn's cutting is starting to look good and so is her yard. Michael and Jonathan are covering her ugly concrete patio with a slate tile overlay. You don't have to be an expert to do this. You just have to be careful and take your time. ANNOUNCER: They use a notched trowel to evenly apply the thin set, lay the tile and use spacers to make uniform joints. That looks good. Yeah, I like it. ANNOUNCER: It's midday. The crew forms out the patio extension. They nail on the fence boards. And Matt and Jenn move on to the next step for the metal seat wall. I'm just worried I'm gonna ruin another-- No, you're not. It's fine, this is fresh. This has-- No, it didn't hear about your other date. ANNOUNCER: They attach the metal to the posts with lag bolts. Nice. ANNOUNCER: And use malleable washers to bring a little style to the wall. We're gonna connect these together and then we're gonna lay this on top of these. Okay? Use those arms, there you go. Boy, you make tools sound... They're like screaming. Imagine how much longer this backyard would have taken me myself. Ready? Okay. Beautiful. Okay, cool. Use your legs, all the way up, there you go. ANNOUNCER: Next, they use 6 inch lag bolts to join it all together. Just like that. ANNOUNCER: And screw composite boards onto the top for the seat. Beautiful. Cool, it's got enough *** room too, all right? Yes. I'm sure--pass out, I think it's gonna happen. ANNOUNCER: They may need a place to pass out after their next delivery. You know what a big truck equals? Big trees. This is the time that I really appreciate your 20 friends. Yeah. Plants are done. Woo! ANNOUNCER: With unloading complete, the guys rush to finish compacting base rock and setting the pergola posts for the concrete pour. And they better hurry. Concrete's a coming, get ready. Let the wheel barrow games begin. ANNOUNCER: They pour concrete for the patio extension and the new dining area. Then screed it, float it, and torch it to help it cure faster. And it's needed. Come to me, but don't look. ANNOUNCER: Because Matt has a big surprise that's going on it. I'm not looking. Are you ready? Check it out, boom, barbecue. Oh. Isn't this beautiful? Friends, you like? Yeah. Yeah, we got claps. Sweet. You ready to help get it off? Okay, good. ANNOUNCER: Once the bar's in the yard, they assemble the two pieces, attach the beer tap and move it into place. So we're gonna find out if this is good to walk on. Oh, I love quick set. Nice. Done deal. Stucco that up, my friend. ANNOUNCER: As day 1 comes to an end, they bring in the metal seat walls. All right. ANNOUNCER: And use a dry concrete mix. We should probably get some masks. Looks like a Snoop Dogg concert. ANNOUNCER: Mixed with water to set them. And finish off the day with the fireplace base. Awesome. Lot of work we did today. We did a ton of work. And it shows. You are dirty. So what we got to do tonight to be on target for tomorrow, we're gonna put the pergola up, so we can paint it, finish all this. Do all the tiles. All the tiles so we can grout it. All right, let's go. Awesome. ANNOUNCER: Coming up, a cool use for old picture frames. We're gonna make like picture frame planter boxes. ANNOUNCER: The pergola comes to life within an espalier. So what we're making is a wire version of what's already on this Meyer lemon. ANNOUNCER: And it's more new tools for Jenn. Oh! ANNOUNCER: Take a crash course. See the crash of the week and tell us why your town should be crashed. It's all on the crashers section of diynetwork.com/crashers. Good morning, my friends. I like that. ANNOUNCER: Last night, Matt and the crew stayed late, building and painting the pergola and laying tile. How are you doing? Exhausted. Hey, Michael how you doing? Good, good, good. You are amped. How much coffee did you have? A lot. Alright, cool. First off, you and I, we are gonna hit up the wall. All right, and do our picture frame project. All right? Why don't you get working on the hillside over there? I'd love some. I think Jonathan's got your name all over it, buddy. Yeah. All right, let's go. Day 2, let's get started. All right, you and I. ANNOUNCER: It's the final day, the crew starts planting. Jonathan grouts the tiles and Matt shows Jenn a great way to recycle old picture frames. It is time to get rid of that ugly block wall. Okay? So what I thought would be a good project to do, okay, Okay. And we're gonna make like picture frame planter boxes, Oh, wow. That we're gonna put pots in. ANNOUNCER: They pull out the mirror and measure out for the box. Gonna raise this blade up so that it cuts through our 3/4 of an inch. Yes. This is exciting. You don't like blades, do you? There you go. ANNOUNCER: They use the table saw to rip down the plywood. Your old friend's back. The saw from yesterday. It's like, "No, don't do it again." ANNOUNCER: And the chop saw to cut out the box pieces. It's definitely easier than yesterday. Yes. Yes, indeed. ANNOUNCER: They screw together the box and attach the picture frames using trim head screws. All right. All right, that's a done deal. ANNOUNCER: They build the rest of them, then Jenn and her friends paint them. These are gonna look so cool. ANNOUNCER: The planter boxes aren't the only things Jenn has to sing about. There we go. ANNOUNCER: Matt and the guys assemble the fireplace. You like? Real nice. That's unreal. ANNOUNCER: And her new lemon tree gets the espalier treatment on the pergola. So what we're making is a wire version of what's already on this Meyer lemon. Okay? ANNOUNCER: First, they wrap the post with a boot. So guess what? Giving you the big gun. All right. Fire in the hole. Nothing happened. It wasn't working at first, I don't think I had it pressed in far enough. Nothing's happening. 'Cause you have to press it. Oh! So when it did go off, it just really shocked the crap out of me. All right, so now that you know the punch, hit me right there. All right, pop that right on top of our boot that we put in. All right. Just like that. ANNOUNCER: They attach the 2 x 4 to the boots, then measure for the eye bolts, screw them in and string wire from one end to the other. ♪ Espalier, but you can call it espalio. ♪ ♪ Espalio. ♪ ♪ Enough to get the lemon up, yo. ♪ Yes. ANNOUNCER: Once the horizontal wires are in, they run wire vertically. Just weaving our way down, just kind of give it some strength. All right, just like that. Boom, boom, boom. Nice. Oh, we laid it out perfect. ANNOUNCER: The front of the pergola gets its own special treatment. The crew wraps the posts with 2 x 4s, painting them to match. And they hook up the basalt water features on both sides of the entrance. With the picture frame planter boxes dry, Matt and Jenn are ready to hang them. They pre-drill the ledger board. So just go through it, just till you hit the block, just a little bit. ANNOUNCER: And use it as a guide to mark the wall. Yeah. Left four marks for us. All right? So that's where we're gonna pre-drill Just as easy as that. ANNOUNCER: They screw on the ledger. Set it right on there, like so. ANNOUNCER: Then fasten the picture frame planter box to it. Nice, okay? Ain't nothing bringing this thing down. ANNOUNCER: Coming up, time to inspire the troops. When you're done, I'm buying the keg. Woo! ANNOUNCER: And Matt's a little tipsy over this amazing yard. I'm trying to remember what this place looked like. A dump. Yeah. ANNOUNCER: Matt wanted to transform an ugly yard. I actually haven't even had a house warming party yet, because I'm too embarrassed. ANNOUNCER: And he found what he was looking for with Jenn's yard. Wow. This is what I'm talking about. ANNOUNCER: He spent the past two days turning her neglected backyard into a kicking party pad. The crew has been working hard, but Matt thinks they need an incentive to finish the job on time. Everybody, look alive, hour left. How about this for some motivation? When you're done, I'm buying the keg. Woo! There we go. Let's go, hour, finish it up. ANNOUNCER: The crew immediately jumps on the sod and brings in the new shed. They paint the planter box ledgers and fill them. Matt hangs the shade cloth, Michael ties up the lemon tree branches for the espalier. And with a few final touches, it's time for their reward. Oh, that looks so good. For you. I don't drink on the job. Cheers. Cheers. You know why, this yard is done. ( cheering ) Before my yard was crashed, I couldn't use the space in my yard. I didn't like having people over because it was gross. Now that my yard has been crashed, I have more space, which I never thought possible. I have places to hang out, entertain people. Everything's just so gorgeous, all the colors and all the plants. I'm trying to-- I'm trying to remember what this place looked like. A dump. Yeah. It's true. I can't even believe it's the same space. Think about it, we had the shed in the back. And I think the pergola is a lot better than that shed that we had. All right? Now you have a nice little place for shade, sit back, have some dinner, relax. And the water feature is just amazing. I love just sitting out here and being able to listen to that. Beautiful slate, all the way through, gave you plenty of hardscape. You got a fireplace. And that wall that we built. Yeah, even the little details with pictures, frames and the flowers, it's just awesome. I've never seen anything like it. The bar. The bar. Grill. Beautiful marble top, beer. Hey, it's a full keg, guys. I absolutely love my new yard. It's gonna take me a while to get used to, I think. I walk out of my house and I feel like I'm somewhere else. It's just so awesome. It can be done in two days, right? Yeah, absolutely. Well, I couldn't have done it without my crew, give it up for these guys. Yeah. Thanks, guys. Josh and Michael. Michael's still amped. Like just nonstop this morning. 'Cause it's over. All right. That is a Yard Crash. Enjoy. We are out. Let's go, let's go.