# The Big Kahuna- Cnet24's Backyard Renovation



## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

After 6 years into owning our first home (and 2 kids later), my wife and I have (finally) decided to renovate our backyard and create more space. My home sits on a very unique grade and the hill pictured above is a steep berm building up to the main road that my neighborhood is located off of. We have a decent size backyard for Atlanta- I'd estimate it to be a total of ~5K ish sq feet, but the majority is this steep hill and thus very unusable. I have slipped many times walking up/down this hill- with our oldest starting to spend more time outside, worrying about her climbing this grade is not something I want to deal with.

As you can see, the grade flattens out where the home is located, and then continues to slope downward in the front yard towards the road.





The hill in the back yard creates a ton of issues from water draining toward the house and creates a tough environment for even the most alpha Bermuda grass to thrive. Since living here, I have done the following to help alleviate these issues:

-Installed drainage on the inside of my crawl space to help remove extra water that runs toward the house during heavy rain ($$$)
-installed 3 catch basins and underground drainage which empties toward the front of the house ($$)
-Removed two large shading trees: a sweet gum and pine tree ($)
-attempted manual and chemical aeration to help water absorbtion into the Georgia red clay ($).

These efforts have really helped drainage and establish a decent turf lawn, however even the best drainage in the world just can't keep up with the volume of water that comes down this hill.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

The star of the show will include a 100ft long x 4ft high retaining wall running the entire length of the backyard and will allow me to reclaim some of the hill as useable space. The contractor estimates that I will be able to add an additional 1,300-1,500K of lawn space, which in my opinion is well worth the money spent. We have yet to finalize the plans for this new lawn but anticipate a playground space for our kids as well as landscaping around the wall, and the balance will be sodded over with Tifway 419 bermuda to match the rest of our lawn. For drainage, the contractor will run a perforated pipe buried in aggregate with weep holes in the retaining wall. I am still concerned with the amount of water that will drain out of the weep holes (would love to somehow get this to my existing drainage) but the contractor has assured me the volume of water shouldn't be an issue. TBD on this...

For block material, we will be using Belgard AB Block in Toccoa color. It's got just enough character and variation in the block to liven up the wall and not look too institutional.



Side note: What an incredible time trying to secure block material and contractors. All of the contractors we received quotes from informed me that the product was backed up 3-6 weeks and the color selection from all manufacturers was extremely limited due to the recent surge in demand. Pricing also varied considerably, and it feels that some of my bids were submitted +~50% higher than some of my other quotes as the contractors are so backed up that they can afford to price this way.

After installation, I also have some irrigation heads that will need to be relocated to accommodate the new grass. Again, we aren't 100% sure what the final layout will look like, but our vision outlined above will certainly be an upgrade vs. the existing hill.

FYI- if you are reading this and have some ideas on landscaping around a retaining wall, I am all ears!


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Soon after posting the above, we received some packages that I am super excited about and will add even more character to this renovation. Shoutout to @Harts & @Ware for their previous threads on their landscape lighting, it really helped to aid me in my purchase. More to come on this later...


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Awesome. Cant wait to see how it turns out.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

following. I am on a hill as well... Not as crazy as yours but it makes things challenging sometimes.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

+1, can't wait to follow along!

The brick shortage is real. Our Acme brick store can't get some brick because it isn't being produced, and last I heard they were only supplying to builders for the time being (i.e. you can't just walk in off the street and order some brick). Same with a local window manufacturer. They are unable to keep up with demand.

I need to put a Volt order in soon for our new house. I have a rough idea of what I want to do in my head, but I need to map it out and generate a parts list.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Nothing much to report right now. The electrician came last week to install a GCFI outlet that I will use as a dedicated plug for the transformer for the lighting. I only have one outlet on the backside of the house and it is not in a location conducive for burying electrical.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

After a few days of terrible weather causing delays, and after hitting a huge buried bee's nest with their first dig, the contractors finally started on the retaining wall this morning. Will update with pictures later after work.

Edit: Lots of earth moved today. Nothing exciting found.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

End of day 1 and start of day 2. Started off by hitting a shallow buried internet line (yay) but luckily we will have a temporary line ran by EOD.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

I haven't had time to update recently due to work but what a difference a few days make. I'm amazed at the amount of prep work done by the contractor to set the foundational blocks, but after the blocks were leveled and locked in progress was quickly made.

The side of Atlanta I live on is notorious for rocky soil. Check out this BOULDER that came out of this hill. Unreal.


Here is a good angle to see how much yard space we will be gaining from the hill:




When the pallets arrived- overall 9 pallets of blocks and more rock than you can believe. I've spent the end of every work day sweeping rock shards back onto the driveway so I do not hit any with my JD 220e.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

And that brings us to current day. Wall is complete and just needs to be capped and back filled with dirt. The backyard is an absolute train wreck and will need to be re-sodded everywhere, but I'm good with it.

I've struck a really good relationship with my contractor- he has an excellent eye for detail and is thinking ahead just like me. Because of this, he completely regraded my backyard (see first post- I had a ton of low spots), repairing damaged drainage pipe, and re-installing my irrigation heads for a great discount.





Upcoming portion of the project includes creating a 14ftx16ft playground area, bordered by blocks, landscape fabric, and filled with mulch, drainage repair, irrigation heads, and finally sod.

For anyone following along- there is a delay around 1 week for sod so I will have a few days to prep the topsoil for sod. Any recommendations on what I should do to further prep the top soil for sod?


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Today was the first day back to work on the retaining wall build after down 2.5 days from a broken skid steer. Lots going on today- capping on the wall started, replaced broken drainage pipe from a gutter, laid out the new irrigation layout (and even found an old head that was no longer in use-score!).

The contractor ordered Tifway 419 but I am really thinking about changing my order to Tifgrand. Ive done some research and absolutely love the color. My backyard does get some shade, and the shade tolerance attribute of the Tifgrand has my attention. I will talk with him more tomorrow to see what the price difference will be.

Sod is scheduled to be installed 8/10. Prior to this, we will need to have the playground area marked off and topsoil added. It's really starting to come together and I am hoping for an extended summer to help my new turf establish. I will also be doing a sand leveling on the new sod post install.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Really started researching bermuda cultivars last night and this afternoon and am torn on what to install. One thing is for sure and that is I believe I want to get away from Tifway 419 in my backyard- I'd like to have another cultivar to play around with and test before (maybe) sodding the rest of my yard during a renovation. I tried to explain this stress to my wife today during lunch, who responded with a "Really?" glance :lol:

Shade tolerance is the main reason I want to switch cultivars- my backyard isn't "shaded" out but doesn't get as many hours of direct sunlight as my front yard. I have enough sunlight for any of the below cultivars to thrive.

Here is what I have narrowed my scope to, based on what is readily available around me:

-Tif Tuf: I was not considering this in order to be "different" but this visual from NG Turf caught my attention, having the best shade tolerance of the major cultivars. It is also readily available by all major sod farms in my area, so supply moving forward shouldn't be a concern if I want to match the rest of the yard in the future, or do any repair work.



-Tif Grand: I have seen some lawns on this forum and absolutely LOVE the Tif Grand color at a low HOC. I spend the majority of the year between .350"-.500" HOC, so I think this would look great. Tif Grand is only available from 2 growers in my area, so future renovations and repair work could create supply challenges. Still, it appears to have great characteristics based on the chart above.

-Celebration: The wild card of my choices. Haven't done too much research on this one yet but I know it is a popular choice on this forum. Only one grower in my area offers this but there seems to be no shortage on supply.

Would love anyone's input and experience with any of these cultivars!


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Some pictures of the rest of my lawn- still keeping up the front and side yards despite my backyard being torn up:


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Man I would almost drive all the way to Atlanta to get large stones like that for my yard down here in South GA. Almost.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

@Amoo316 ive got more rocks that size just sitting at the top of my hill.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

:shock: :shock: :shock: 
Wall finished, lighting installed, playground area set, and ground prepped for sod. Celebration to be delivered and laid next Tuesday.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

cnet24 said:


> @Amoo316 ive got more rocks that size just sitting at the top of my hill.


I legit have to come up to Lanier for a tournament next month. That's really tempting. Sadly I wouldn't be able to bring my trailer as I would be pulling my boat. Which side of Atlanta are you on?

Also the wall and lights looks legit good. I'm more a white light instead of yellow light person, but even with that they look great.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

SOD INSTALL DAY

After fixing a few grading issues, the new celebration sod was delivered and installed on Tuesday. Since then we have had very favorable weather for new sod. After install it rained 1 inch in about 1 hour and today it has been lightly raining for much of the afternoon. I've only had to run one irrigation cycle, which I did as soon as soon as the sod was laid.

I am liking this celebration- it is very thick and tight compared to the 419 in my front yard. I'm looking forward to learning about this cultivar.

Still need to lay starter fertilizer, which I plan on spreading tomorrow.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

I've been following your project and must say that it's turning out real nice!
Love the lights on that wall, that should really allow for some nice backyard hangouts come cooler weather! &#128077;


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## Meximusprime (Jun 21, 2019)

Nice! Sod looks in great shape and wait till you see it in it's full glory! Also seems the sod farm was maintaining a lower HOC.

My last two deliveries from local sod farms of Celebration were very leggy.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Took the celebration down to .5" today and it was my first mow with the JD 220e. Felt terrible to scalp the majority of green leaf but I know after three weeks it was ready.

Seeing a lot of low spots in the turf that I know I can level out with sand, I'm just really fighting to do it now vs next year once the turf is more established and growing well.


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