The Ultimate Outdoor Experience
The blue crew’s very first project. This family needed an outdoor space to be an extension of their home. A space to cook, eat, gather around the fire and watch the game.
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This family came to us with an idea and a sketch of what they wanted. After consulting with them and examining the property’s elevations and opportunities. We flipped their initial concept and lowered the fire pit to flow with the natural contours of the land.
As we worked on the retaining walls and columns, the homeowner would make progress on the shade pergola on the weekends. Lights were installed under the cap stones to help illuminate the space after dark. We then finished up with the pavers and steps, and created some mulched areas for planting that we would come back later and add plants to to make it a complete package.
the challenges
Elevation and slope
Large space with multiple uses
Need for shade with Southwest exposure
Needed lights as it is dark at night with a walking trail nearby
Massive hardscape needs landscape to soften
Our Design Approach
Step 1) Flip Flop Layout
We analyzed the homeowner’s plans and the elevations/slope of the backyard. We realized that the fire pit should be flipped to allow for a step down to this area and create separate functional use spaces within the larger hardscape. We also had to incorporate a cooking area and shade pergola with stone bases.
Step 2) Choose the Materials
Once we had the layout nailed down we had to select materials to tie in with the existing home and also have some variances to break up the mass of pavers. We went with 2 styles of flooring material to help delineate each level and space.
Step 3) Engineering
The project included retaining walls and steps between each of the levels. We had to choose a retaining wall block that would work well for this and include proper drainage and geo-grid reinforcement to help stabilize this hardscape.
