# Need help designing backyard



## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

Need help to design this... originally we had about 1600 feet of concrete planned that we would then stain. And then I would redo the sprinklers and turf.... Now I am thinking since there really isn't any flat area anymore of doing something different that would have no turf in the backyard to maintain.

Here is a walk around to see what we have to work with:






Any thoughts and critiques are greatly appreciated, I severely underestimated the amount of work to do after the pool was done.


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

Better pics of what we have to work with.


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

I don't have audio, so I apologize if you address my first impression in your video.

The biggest problem you have is the lack of a fence. There's nothing to keep small children and critters away. That's a violation of National Building Code. Safety and complying with laws is now your main priority. So I hope you already have a fence installer lined up and ready to go. Again, I apologize if your video says the fence is being installed next week or something.

Back on topic, I find that turf is the lowest maintenance landscaping possible. Large mulch beds aren't a bi-weekly chore, but they require two or three major overhauls each year. As you learned, hardscaping is crazy expensive. So if you have budget and time constraint at the moment, lay down bermuda sod, save money for a few years, and begin searching for a local landscape architect or trained designer. it's harder than you might think to find someone with classical training and a portfolio they can show. The dudes who run a fly-by-night lawn company are easy to find, but they usually know nothing about good landscape design.

Now after I've saved my pennies for a few years...

* Low, curved retaining wall where that pile of gravel sits (yellow).
* Fire pit facing the pool at the top of the retaining wall near the house (blue).
* A raised deck from the back stairs at retaining wall height for the fire pit (red).
* Surround the pool with Belgard Megalith pavers (gray).
* Second short retaining wall at the shallow end of the pool (unseen).


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

@hsvtoolfool fence is scheduled for April 8th.

Retaining wall needed to be 4' 8" so thinking about splitting it into a bi level wall.

We had mulch the past 2 years and absolutely hate it, so going with river rock.

There is a tad bit of the Tahoma 31 left, not sure if enough to feed it and have it spread.

Waiting on new quotes for the wall and concrete now that we are up to 2200sq/ft.

Trying to talk wife into making the rest like a beach area.

Redoing the sprinklers is going to be killer if we decide to go with turf, which in that case the only thing I'll put down again is T31.

Thanks for all the ideas!


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## kc8qpu092200 (Feb 29, 2020)

Is that a fibersglass pool?


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

@kc8qpu092200 no, it is liner.

Wall is done, concrete and fence next. I'll post some pics when I get to my computer.


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## egk2 (Apr 16, 2020)

I like how you said you severely underestimated the amount of work that has to be done after the pool was built. That is exactly what we said after ours was installed. I didnt know where to begin, it was overwhelming. I joined trouble free pool forum and got alot of great ideas for my own design.


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

Concrete was put on hold since I noticed we had a leak, they came out yesterday and repaired a leak in the liner. Concrete and fence are scheduled to start on Monday.

Wall ended up being 3.5 times more than the original quote, so other than getting some sprigs probably won't be doing much extra in the backyard for a few months.

Here are some... maybe a lot of photos of what we have been upto over the last couple weeks. I should have bought a tractor with a front scope and back hoe, I have rented equipment 4 times now for over $1400.... Still need to rent something 1 more time to prep the front, 1 side and back yard for sprigs.

O, and don't ever get a trencher with wheel if you have sand.... that POS got stuck so much and I had to use my tractor to pull it out. My shoulders were like the jello the next day and ended up going to get an excavator to finish digging trenches the next day.

I ran 240 from pool panel down to the shed and a network cable on 1 side of the pool. On the other, we ran the 3/4" water supply down to the shed and 1.5" up from the shed to under the house for the waste water that will be pumped up with a macerator pump.

Just have to finish the plumbing under the house and in the shed, then finish wiring up the sub panel in the shed.


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