Hi guys,
My wife and i bought this home last year and we love the home but the back yard is odd af !
We have this retention wall in our back yard which makes it extremely hard to figure out what we want to do to the back yard.
We have 2 younger children and would like to make this kid friendly but adults friendly as well.
Will you guys throw some ideas out or point us in the right direction we’re open to any / all ideas.
Thanks for the read
by SignificantEmotion59
47 Comments
Man that is so weird lol you’re not kidding. Why was the wall built there and not…closer to the property line/fence?
Think id plant up the upper level. Trees and shrubs.
Maybe add a playhouse after a decade, up there.
A trampoline down in the point. In front of that an above ground pool, and deck. In front of that, swings and slides where the wall is shorter.
The kids will be fine, happy to jump off the wall, stop that from happening. At least a hedge.
Put a railing on that wall, make it a garden bed.
some sort of mini golf course. i would just be mindful of the storm drainage
Move the retaining wall. You already have all the blocks. You just need more dirt to level it out. Make friends with the neighbors on the right (looking out) remove the fence. Dig a footer on the property line and bed it with gravel and a run of geotextile.
Take apart The retaining wall and stack near the house. Take your first course and set them on the right. Now bring in fill dirt and backfill one course at a time. Backfilling with gravel along the retaining wall. Then another run of geotextile and repeat. Once you get to the top, put the fence back up.
This seems like a ton of work, but a week off work, a mini skid steer rental, and a few loads of dirt and some geotextile fabric and you could do it.
If not that stupid wall will be in the way for the rest of your life. Buy once, cry once.
It’s weird but.. weirdly awesome?
I think your yard floods
Looks like the future site of an amazing backyard put put hole.
Food forest, with lots of micro climates
l i m i n a l s p a c e
Lawn bowls on the left, slip and slide on the right.
Tear this wall out. Build a wall next to the fence.
“What do you keep back there?”
“*My secrets*”
Keep your cardboard down there until you have enough to do something with it (you won’t do anything with it)
That wall looks perfect for a slide.
Make the wooden fence into another brick wall like the opposite side and whenever it rains you would have yourself a muddy swimming pool.
You’ve got like 1/3 of a survival bunker there just go with it
Dog even looks scared.
I would have so much fun with this lol
Disc golf basket
Reposition those blocks to the property line and add fill and top soil. Seed for next spring. Turn sod before adding fill.
What’s behind the fence at the back?
What why?
….swimming lap pool. (Kidding)
What if you fill it back in. Back fill? Level and seed it in over time?
I feel like I’ve seen this yard on here before…
This looks like someone used roller coaster tycoon to messed up your back yard.
This looks like someone used roller coaster tycoon to messed up your back yard.
I should say!
Very weird.
I don’t hate it. Maybe bottom part for kids to play and keep any toys. Upper part for parents to hang out? I’d be a bit worried about the dog jumping the fence
My dads got an awkward corner in the yard and they put a water feature there
I’m sure there was not a lot premium for that lot.
I don’t think it would look so odd if all the fences weren’t there and converging into the Bermuda Triangle of your backyard.
The neighbor to your left, is that house right next to the fence?
I’d imagine if their house is as close to the fence as it seems, they’d probably have a big issue with you removing the retaining wall and moving it back.
If there was an easy, cheap solution, I’d imagine it would have been done.
Time for a water feature!
Plunge pool.
Put in a slide from the top of the retaining wall down to the lower ground. Kids and their friends will love it.
Skate park?
When your kids are older, some plywood, cardboard, or lighter-weight material could make some really neat forts against the retaining wall.
I love it. Needs trees.
A V-shaped pool would fit nicely there. Deck on the high side.
The first yard I’ve seen here where no one will / needs to recommend a french drain
🙂
Got some good fortification when the tree folk attack
The wall has to be there instead of the edge for historical reasons and not intentionally.
Long-term you’ll want to re-grade away from and build the wall against the low neighbor’s property line.
And given the height, you’ll want to pay extra for a serious wall, imo. I’d want some giant gravity blocks.
A progressively deeper pit that your children spend time digging when they’re in trouble or you dig yourself as self-punishment while slowly losing your mind.
Or maybe like a cool water feature/hanging garden or something.
Did you ask about the backyard before you bought the house? Like why ?
I say pull down what fences you can and pull down the retaining wall, it’s not there for you
Im simply flummoxed.
Put a nice patio up there that looks out into the space over the fences (if the view is worth it) or some type of elevated garden area.
It wouldn’t be very child safe, but that’d be a pretty fun shaped pool!