My backyard is segmented into two areas, the lower and upper yards.
The lower yard originally had pavers, a concrete patio area, and concrete skate ramps. I’ve since removed the pavers and installed sod which has not lasted as long as I’d hoped. Additionally, I removed some sections of the concrete skate ramps and put sod down to replace them.
The upper yard has been in poor condition since we bought the house. The soil seems to be mostly clay like. Water run off down the cliff is an issue since there’s no grass or large plants up there.
Does anyone have recommendations for:
- Handling water run off from the upper to the lower yard?
- Reducing flooding around the fire pit area?
Any general thoughts on this yard are also appreciated!
by osdyr
18 Comments
OP, buddy you got a megalithic stone wall in your back yard and your here asking thoughts on what reddit would do?
1. French drain
2. French drain
3. Ngl your concrete work looks like it was built to be a skate park—— you skate ? Just lean real hard into that if so.
Use it as the backside of a sick pool. Assuming that’s a cliff that continues vertically below grade.
Please get rid of that masonry!!!!
Huge tall wall limits you. If it were me I’d create a middle level that’s maybe 4 feet wide (assuming you can lose that off the lower), and that gets rid of the landscape timbers. You can dump some concrete in the middle tier base also. Turn that stairs-of-death into something of an L shape with a landing halfway up (I’m not even sure if something that long is code anymore). Widen the fire pit using another type of stone (something big enough to not kick onto the grass).
For the runoff issues you could replace the bushes with lots of Mediterranean Heather (don’t skimp out). The bushes aren’t doing much for erosion given their spacing, and they exacerbate the shade problem.
I’d figure out how to drop a screen in front of those rocks and have movie nights back there with friends
Build a pondless waterfall with an underground reservoir bigger than you need so the runoff can fill it up. You’ll never have to worry about topping it off if runoff like that happens fairly regularly.
Mt. Gushmore. Carve yo face innit!
Next time it rains spend some time really watching how the water moves around and where it goes. Lots of images. Then you can work with someone on some surface drain and French drain strategies to get that water out as efficiently as possible
Build bigger skate ramps.
I wish I had a back yard cliff!
Pic 2 is a private spot to dine with Tony hawk
Open a climbing gym and get people to do traverse routes 🤣
Add a slide
Neighbors got to be pleased there is a new owner who doesn’t skate.
That cliff is awesome.
I’d build a pool at the base of that with a waterfall and natural stone stairs around it.
Regarding the water, looks like you have a lower yard ponding issue. I’d build drainage from the lower yard into the natural water flow off the property. Trench drain / yard drain the low spot on the lower yard might be good – Pipe it to the front, or wherever the water meets the stormwater system in the front yard.
[https://www.kglandscape.com/outdoor-drainage/drain-tile-installation](https://www.kglandscape.com/outdoor-drainage/drain-tile-installation)
This link has a good overview of what I’m talking about
Really cool setup.
https://preview.redd.it/211dx12f970h1.png?width=1438&format=png&auto=webp&s=e1eeb1eb42fb48c913c4655e46a51a299ad7826d
Add a slide for your kids! When it rains it can become a water slide. Win win.
Bro you need a fuckin slide.