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Renovations in PoPville Vol. 76 – Backyard
Dear PoP,
Back in February we asked about landscaper recommendations for our backyard and we appreciated the advice and comments from PoPville!
We ended up going with GreenSweepLLC and are very pleased with the results. We’re looking forward to enjoying the summer in our new backyard and hopefully adding some more plantings and a raised vegetable garden.
Looks great. Enjoy!
Ed. Note: If you’d be willing to share photos of your renovations (bathroom, yard, kitchen, basement, etc.) please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail with PoPville renovation in the subject line.
Category: Renovation
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Looks great – you must be thrilled!! Enjoy! We’ll look forward to the first PoPville bbq…
Looks like a really nice improvement!
Now’s the time to start thinking about plants and trees. Definitely try to get them in this Spring–it will also be a lot easier to dig up the sod where you want to plant before it gets rooted in.
I’d start with a tree in that back right nook of fence. Probably evergreen to hide the red house a bit, or an ornamental, like a weeping cherry. And then some plants along the fence to soften it some.
Wow looks great! Love the rounded patio and the fresh coat of paint/varnish/whatever on the wood really pops. Mind sharing a ballpark figure on cost?
I’d love to know a ballpark, too. Most of the landscaping issues we have include replacing a lot of hardscaping and I’m afraid of how much that will cost!
You will have to constantly water that grass – you will notice a spike in your water bill.
Depends on what kind of grass was planted. Why not let them enjoy the success it is so far, Angry?
Jeez, cue the Debbie Downer sound effect for AngryParakeet….
AngryParakeet is right– my water bill goes from $70/month to $110/month in the summer. And that’s just to water the plants and tree.
An additional $40 a month for a few months is NOT a significant investment if you’re outside enjoying that yard quite a bit.
grass, once established, doesn’t need watering except in extreme dry periods.
How long did this take them to do? Did your yard have anything “complicated” (regrading, drainage issues)? I’m considering redoing my backyard, but we have regrading/draining issues, & old broken walkways that need to be jacked up. The quotes we got from 2 companies started at $30 and ran upwards of 60k (with all the bells and whistles). Can’t really justify that much on a yard right now.
That sounds ridiculous. Forget jacking up broken pavement–have it removed and new paving (or pavers, or stone) installed. Grading, unless you have a huge yard, shouldn’t be much either–it’s a bobcat rental for a day, and maybe some fill dirt, which per PoP yesterday should be readily available.
Yeah, plants and installation will cost you, but you can do that over time. Do like the OP–get the yard sodded and then cut beds later once you want to plant.
Like the simplicity of it
Looks super.
Not a big fan of grass in the city, it doesn’t typically wear well in small backyards, but maybe yours will succeed.
Very smart to make the separated stone path, that will give WAY fewer maintenance headaches in the long run that a paver path, and allow you to put in a tree or something else with bigger roots without worry.
Yard looks great! As “ah” mentioned, an evergreen in the back right corner would be nice. I’m a sucker for the classic Southern Magnolia. They are a little messy, but beautiful.
Not to be an arse, but I wish people who send in these lovely transformations would mention what they spent; I know that talking about what things cost is vulgar, but those of us with ugly yards need to know what it costs for these transformations!
I didn’t mention anything about cost in my initial email, but don’t mind sharing. We ended up at $12k for tearing up the old concrete (and hauling it away), installing pavers on the parking pad and patio, putting in the stepping stones, putting down sod and mulch, and painting the porch (not pictured). We also have a side yard not pictured that had a sidewalk torn up and more sod/mulch put in that is part of that price.
The original quote was around $20k and included a larger patio, a bunch of plantings, a raised vegetable garden, and a firepit, but we were able to meet on a lower price and get the basic work we really wanted done immediately (patio, parking pad, grass). We didn’t really have any re-grading.
The work began on a Monday and was done by Friday midday.
Yes, we realize the water bill will be spiking (we already got an email from DC Water about an increase in our usage this month!), but hope that it levels off a bit after the first few weeks of lots of watering to get the sod to root.
We’ve already started some plantings in the side yard mulch and have a small garden on the left side of the fence that isn’t pictured. We’re hoping to put in a raised vegetable garden in the mulched area by the parking pad.
Thanks for the update, it looks great. Enjoy it!
Thanks for that! I have a HUGE concrete pation in my backyard (like 15 by 30 feet) that’s going to have to all come out, and I’m not looking forward to that expense…
I like it, although as working mom I probably would have opted for a completely paved/brick path from the car park to the back patio – sometimes you just don’t want to get mud on your shoes.
Please plant at least one tree!
+1. See yesterday’s post about $100 rebate on trees from Casey. If you opt for smaller (currently) trees, you can get them almost at no cost.
We have had GreenSweep do both our back and front yards Kyle and his crew are great!
Agree with folks that the little “nook” at the back would be a great place for a tree/shrub. I suggest crepe myrtle – evergreen, very fast growing, good in sun, and great vibrant colors in the summer!