Patio, Deck, or something else?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

We have this spot that's been a sore since we bought the house -- the previous owners threw some big, sharp, uncomfortable marble chips (I think) on it and we've never found a good use for it. We want this to be a nice seating area but I'm not sure what to do.

- Put in a floating deck? We'd have to keep it 12 inches or lower, and I don't know how to level out some areas. There is a concrete slab at the house that uneven and angled away from the house. I'd want to use deck blocks but how would you level them if you can't level the ground?

- Put in a pea gravel patio? Would I have to dig out the crappy marble chips and get right to the ground and start over? Is there a world in which I could lay landscape fabric right over the marble chips and pea gravel over that?

(disregard the mulch pile, we're moving that ...

- The rest of our yard is fake turf, do we just go with more of that? again, do we have to get up all the rock? :(

- Something else?? Help!!

- Also what is that drain and whatever is sticking up next to it? Do I need to keep those uncovered?

A few other notes that might be helpful -

- Cost is somewhat of a factor, mostly in that we'd want to be able to do the work ourselves. I priced out materials for a floating deck and with composite boards, it came to about 1500. Pea gravel would obviously be way less. If there is a necessary solution that's way more we'll consider it but don't want to spend many thousands.

- We don't have kids or dogs, and it's not a pathway to anything else, it's a nook, so I'm not worried about some of the issues of pea gravel like pets kicking it up or it being hard to haul things over.

- We're in Colorado so we do get some rain and snow, but no trees on that side of the house/yard so not a lot of leaves to deal with in the fall.

This was my general deck plan, with the blocks being deck blocks, 2x6 joists 16" oc and trex composite boards and one step up from some pavers at the edge of existing yard. Is this remotely feasible?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

PRO
Yardvaark
4 years ago
There is a yard drain. You need to dig down and see if the cleanout is connected to it. If these are functioning items (not intentionally abandoned) they need to remain clear to the surface.

The concrete is in bad shape, plus being multiple slabs that are mismatched. I would bust it out with a heavy sledge hammer and get rid of it. Very low cost if you do the work and the hauling. Next, I would add a new slab that is either concrete or pavers. Either option is a DIY possible project, as this is small and simple. Explore YouTube videos on the subjects to familiarize yourself with the basics of each method.

You probably need to get rid of a bunch of rocks. Someone on Craigs or FB Marketplace might be interested in taking them off your hands for the work of hauling.
Caitlin Kleiboer thanked Yardvaark
Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you Yardvaark. With those slabs being right up to the house, do I need to worry about the house there? There is no basement under this area -- that window you see is to an unfinished storage room in the basement. We'll definitely call and get utilities marked as I'm certain there is electricity running under there somewhere.
Related Discussions
Extreme Heat or something else?
Q
Comments (5)
Sorry, don't know, but keep on trying! This is my first year of container gardening, too. I have about 20 pots in my yard. Right before the 100+ temperatures hit, I got up a 50% white shadecloth. It really works well! The plants that are shaded all day do very well, the ones that are in front are yellowing and suffering a bit. I think the sun weakens plants and lets the buggies really go to town. I just caught 4 tomato hornworms that ate 80% of my tomato plants :(. And my sunflowers are infested with some weird brown patches that are making the leaves limp.
...See More
Home style- Walk out basement or something else?
Q
Comments (8)
A walk out basement means one side (usually the back) is completely above ground and usually walks out to a patio....but the opposite side is built into the ground. The sides are usually sloped earth outside, so maybe a few shorter/higher windows on the side walls. It's like a solar home with an upstairs :) There's often a deck or porch (sometimes screened) above the lower patio, so you have entertaining space on both levels. The split level is the same idea, but half is walk out basement, half is higher windows (but full sized) and then a deck on the upper level(s). They are very common in our area.
...See More
Sliding door dilemma, barn or something else?
Q
Comments (18)
@greendesigns Spammer? @Mark hmm.... I'm a female btw from our design team, and the poster asked specifically about barn door sizing and options in her post for her space. I think our comment was quite helpful and relevant to guide her in a direction if she felt barn doors to be a good option for her space. We work 1:1 with clients directly, and this platform allows homeowners around the US to have access to such an awesome pool of suggestions and ideas for everyone's space. Did you have a recommendation for the poster? Versatility of options and contrasting ideas are great. We always appreciate feedback. Was there something with our comment you felt didn't met her request? Feel free to email us as well HERE. We have a process for all comments we leave on all platforms for consistency for those who want further clarity on ideas we leave in case we miss their reply. We help clients all over the US, even if they aren't OUR client. That's why we leave our number....they can call us for a quick response! :) CUSTOMER SERVICE - (720) 500-3985 www.customslidingbarndoors.com
...See More
Columnar European Hornbeam or Columnar Oak or something else?
Q
Comments (10)
Even one of those sweetgums (post immediately preceding this one) would not fit in the space discussed and still allow room to walk by. Otherwise there's a pyramidal European hornbeam in the county east of mine that could be 40' across, nearby the USDA station had a 'Frans Fontaine' hornbeam that was about 20' wide and so on. ("Had" because they cut it down recently, maybe because it was thought to have overwhelmed the planting site because it didn't stay skinny). Instead of columnar with branches coming low look for dwarf on a long single stem - from the perspective of your second picture all you need is a comparatively small bushy top at the level of the window. Dwarf hornbeam, dwarf crabapple, naturally small growing maple species - whatever you kind find. In either case (tall and narrow or lollipop/mushroom shaped) it's going to grow sideways over the neighbor's lot - so you need to be prepared for that. As in discussing it with them beforehand, so that you don't have an unpleasant surprise later - just as you are finally getting the coverage out of it you want (tree plantings take years to size up). A surprise as in one day you look at it and all of their side has been cut back to the fence - or even a couple feet back into your lot. (At my previous house a neighbor reached over a fence, cut a screening planting I had put in - that I thought they would appreciate being between them on their patio and my back windows - off at fence height apparently as far as they could reach into my lot. When I had occasion to discuss this unauthorized action with them later the complaint was the living screen was dropping dead leaves on their bark mulch).
...See More
Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author
4 years ago
The plot thickens -- the yard drain is connected, i dug out the rocks for the first 4 feet or so of it's run. It must run all the way under the yard, I found the cleanout out by the alley end of our garage directly opposite the images above. I'm guessing one should not put a concrete slab over a yard drain?
PRO
Yardvaark
4 years ago
Right, you would not put a slab over the drain or clean out, as in cover over. But you could extend the slab over them by bringing them both flush to the slab surface. It wouldn't make sense to have a yard drain in the slab, though, unless the slab was draining to it ... like a shower would do. But one wouldn't do that unless it was necessary. Typically, a slab would sheet drain away from the building and drainage would be picked up by the surrounding yard. Assess the piping in this area and figure if it would make sense to reroute it, getting it from under the slab, if in fact it would end up that way. Find out all what is draining though these pipes.

Is the clean-out in the picture for house sanitary sewer plumbing -- or for yard drain plumbing?

Patio, Deck, or something else?

Comments (4)

Yardvaark

Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author

Related Discussions

Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author

Yardvaark

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Patio, Deck, or something else?

Comments (4)

Yardvaark

Caitlin KleiboerOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Caitlin KleiboerOriginal Author

Yardvaark

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author

Caitlin Kleiboer
Original Author