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Sellwood – August 2014

This is a backyard renovation project in the Sellwood District of SE Portland that we completed in early September.  Normally, we post pictures of the finished project, with maybe a picture from before we started work, but we decided to do things a little bit differently this time.  A lot of details are involved in putting together a quality landscape project, so we took pictures of this project as it went through the different stages leading to completion.

This project involved transforming a boring backyard into am inviting and functional outdoor living area.  When we started, the highlights of the yard included wood chips and old concrete.  There really wasn’t much to write home about when we began, but over the course of a month, we transformed this dull area into a beautiful outdoor living space.  The wood chips are gone, the concrete has been removed, and in their place we have installed a large paver patio with raised planting areas and a water feature.

The highlights of this project include:

  • A textured concrete paver patio:  We used two paver sizes to create a patterned patio area.  The pavers are concrete, but are textured to resemble slate.  We used a color blend that has some slightly warmer tones in it to soften the area and add some color contrast.  Runoff from the patio is diverted into a series of pre-manufactured dry wells (flo-wells) to manage the water on site.
  • A stacked stone wall:  The edge of the patio blends into a stacked stone wall that contains a large planting area.
  • A water feature:  A waterfall cascades from the stone wall, complete with blue LED lighting effects.  The water feature includes an autofill valve and an overflow drain to make it as easy to manage as possible.
  • A privacy screen:  A large wooden screen provides privacy for the hot tub area and outdoor shower.  The screen was built with 6×6 pressure treated posts and stained 2×6 cedar boards.
  • A dog run area:  The fence was extended along the side of the house, and a new gate added for access.  The dog run area is contained with pressure treated lumber and filled with pea gravel so it can be hosed out more easily.
  • Irrigation:  The plantings are watered by a Rain Bird drip irrigation system for maximum efficiency.  We installed an easy-to-use Rain Bird ESP-RZX irrigation controller.  We also installed a new double check backflow device for the current and future irrigation needs.

We have included two photo galleries – On that shows the finished project, and one that shows the project in varying stages of completion.

Here are the final pictures of the project:

 

Here is a gallery showing the project as it progressed from the beginning to just before completion:

 

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