When Tanner Cummings went up north for work, all he was hoping was that someone mowed the lawn of his home at Third and Orton.
Instead, he came back to a brand new garden, brand new deck, freshly painted house and more – courtesy his brother Conrad.
“I was pretty stoked about it, very surprised,” said Tanner after returning home late Friday night. “Wait a minute? I had a carport and a garage and now I have a double garage? That’s different.
I did a loop around with my truck and was blown away, absolutely blown away. I couldn’t recognize it.”
Conrad said he did the work as a surprise for his brother – someone he described as always helping others but not asking for anything in return. “If we tried to do this while he was around, he would say no,” Conrad said.
The work included a large deck out the back, with a bar wrapped around a small tree. The house was painted blue. Alongside the house the grassy yard was transformed into a rock garden. The centrepiece was an Easter Island head.
It was aa plan the brothers had discussed together. “He thought we would do it together in the spring,” said Conrad, a carpenter by trade. “He gave me an idea and I ran with it.”
The work took the better part of two weeks and required the help of many friends and family. The change is striking, especially if you’d noticed the lawn before.
While Conrad did the work as a gift, he said he’s received more than 20 job offers as a landscaper since he started. However, he’s content with being a carpenter.
As for Tanner, he won’t have to worry about the lawn getting mowed while he’s away anymore.
Check out photos of the work in the slideshow below: