Just a small retaining wall job he said…

Willow Creek Eurostone in Creme with Slatestone around fire table. WillowCreek Ledgestone Bar with Tiki inlay. Versa-Lok Weathered Retaining walls

“We just need our old timber wall replaced”

After designing the small wall replacement, I met with our client to walk through the initial plan briefly. He laid out the deck plans and I scratched my head. This led to a conversation that started a brainstorm session that led to an extreme backyard makeover. The old plan left a huge mound of dirt against the foundation, blocked access and the view from the basement to the pool. A sea of jagged old limestone surrounded the pool, I could go on but suffice to say It was a band aid, not a plan. So we devised a plan that allowed for a smaller deck and more patio space by the most valuable real estate in the yard. The pool seemed small because the area around it was confined and useless.

Our Goal: Supply a recreation area close to the pool for a gas fire table, bar under the porch, space for a table and access from the basement slider to the pool and proposed deck step.

I was concerned

About water from the pool running on to the paver patio and staining the pavers. So the rock area by the fire pit was dug out to be a large french drain to filter out contaminants and stop flow on to the patio. When we removed the sea of rock we discovered an old concrete sidewalk and deck footings from the original back yard that I got to yank out with the Bobcat.

We had an idea to install the bar around the deck posts so it would be protected from the elements and that required moving the hill. I had an idea to re purpose the soil in the back corner of the yard to increase the size of usable yard space and avoid haul out costs. Pipes were installed under the gravel base to allow for installation of the gas and electrical.

So the small wall job went from a 3 day project to 4 weeks and led to a complete back yard make over.

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