Landscape & hardscape project in a backyard in Greenbrae, Marin County, California.

Artificial grass, basketball court, fence, firepit, mulching, planting, retaining walls & stairs.

This is another project where Rainbow Landscape Irrigation & Maintenance (landscape contractor) did major work in  order to change the entire backyard to fulfill the expectations of the clients. This time this hardscaping and landscaping project was done in the city of Greenbrae, next to San Rafael, in Marin County, California.

The large grass areas of the backyard had two levels already separated by a deteriorated wood retaining wall, but both levels were uneven and irregular. We had to do grading and leveling in order to have these surfaces completely flat and even. A large palm tree was removed from the upper level and relocated to the lower level, close to the back corner.

Lower level: we took off the existing grass and graded the surface. Gold color decomposed granite was spread in the surface. Almost in the middle close to the retaining wall separating both levels, a custom-made firepit with gas line, natural veneer stone finish in the body and natural stones in the top was built and outdoor furniture was placed around it. Also next to the house, we created a garden bed where we planted maple trees, bushes and shrubs of different colors to create a colorful landscape. Also 1/4" redwood mulch was applied in this garden bed. Square-shaped bluestones were placed to create a pathway to connect the stone stairs in the upper level and the large bluestone patio next to the house.

Backpatio area: There was long a concrete patio right next to the backside of the house and a wooden deck by the back door with wooden stairs leading to the lower level of the lawn areas. Also on the concrete patio there was a wooden bench and a concrete retaining wall separating the patio from the upper level of the grass areas. All of these were removed to make room for the following improvements:  the concrete retaining wall was replaced with a veneer stone retaining wall and also a few side walls of the same type were built on the sides, but in order to do so, the concrete retaining wall was demolished, some excavation and dirt removal was done on the upper level, and an extra concrete foundation was laid out to expand the patio area to increase the size of the new bluestone patio up to approximately 1,200 sqft, and also to make extra space for a veneer stone garden bed with stone caps on top.  The wooden stairs connecting the patio with the lower level in the grass areas were replaced with bluestone stairs with garden lights built in.

Upper level: after grading the surface and hauling away a lot of dirt, a basketball court and hoop were installed on the corner side. A space of 4-ft was left on two sides of the basketball court were privets were planted and also redwood mulch was applied. On the west side of the property we built a new redwood fence to divide this property from the neighbor's. We installed approximately 1,300 sqft of artificial grass in the remaining space on this level. The type of artificial grass installed is PP-80 Fescue Blend from Better Than Real Artificial Grass (www.BetterThanRealGrass.com). Also the existing wood retaining wall was removed and a new veneer bluestone retaining wall with stone caps was built. Along this wall on the lower level, a space of 4-ft wide was left where we later planted shrubs and applied redwood mulch. Also we built bluestone stairs with stone caps on top and garden lights built-in to connect both upper and lower levels.

Gallery:

Related services:

• Landscape Architecture Services
• Garden Maintenance
• Artificial Grass
• BBQ Islands
• Decks & Patios
• Fireplaces & Firepits
• Garden Lighting
• Drip & Irrigation Systems
• Masonry
• Planting
• Retaining Walls
• Fences
• Drainage systems
• Resurfacing
• Stairs & Landing Steps
• Mulching

Related regions:

• Greenbrae

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