First off, given the tight timeline I wanted to share some pictures of stone that we like for the patio and firepit. I know that we want to stick with stone that has a grey undertone (vs. brown) to play off of the green/white/purple and also to mirror the colors we have in our house, so while I like the SugarHill Flagstone you proposed for the patio, I want to make sure we can stick with grey toned stones and a grout with grey undertones. For the fire pit – and the retaining wall – I would prefer to go with more of a brick style stone vs. the thinner stack style stone in the picture you provided. I am emailing you a few pictures that show you more specific details.

Would it be possible to get pricing for the patio with similar selection of the stone which I send in pictures, but including the layout you have?

Also, on the patio – for both the lighting and the gas line – I have an uncle who is a part-time general contractor who we think (we are confirming) could actually do both of these pieces of work, but the question is on timing. I assume that the gas line would need to be run before the patio goes down and the firepit is built. If that is the case, when would it need to be completed in order for you to begin the work? And if we can’t make the timeline work for him, what would the cost be to run the line? Is the same true for the wiring for the lighting or could that be done after/in tandem with the patio?

Thanks,
Emily

So glad you guys like the general concept of the drawing! To provide some answers to your questions, in no specific order:

We could absolutely incorporate some lighting. Low voltage lighting will not require 110 power to be run out to the bench – there are other, less expensive options with the low voltage lights/ transformer. I would consider both uplights (spot lights) in the far back yard, at the base of some larger plants, as well as a few other lights. We definitely lean towards “subtle” as opposed to “landing strip”. With a space your size, it would be fairly inexpensive to add some lighting. Ballpark, depending of course on what fixtures you select, would be $2000-$3000. This would include the fixtures, wiring, and transformer.

I’m not sure I fully understand the ledge to help make the retaining wall more dog proof.

Figs are extremely shade tolerant.

Yes, we are thinking the walls should connect to the patio/firepit. Natural stackstone with a flagstone cap.

No problem on adding some purple to the plant pallette.

If you’d like for me to price the plan as it is currently designed, I’d be happy to do so. If you find a photo of a patio that you really like, or a specific stone that you really like, please forward it to me so that I can provide pricing.

I know we’re a little under the gun with a deadline, so the sooner we select a material, the better. We can still commit to the early June completion for the patio area, as discussed, but we really need to figure out our materials. I can tell you that the patio material, as it’s currently designed with Sugarhill flagstone and buff grout, would cost somewhere around $26-$28 square foot. Pavers, generally, cost in between $16-$19 square foot, depending on what type you select.

Hope this helps. Just let me know what you’d like for me to do.

Thank you,

Pam

This looks fantastic – really captures the look we were going for (yet couldn’t quite articulate), and I completely love the shape/hardscaping elements! We are still digesting and don’t have any specific elements we want to change just yet, although we do have a few questions:

1) On the area under the deck where you have the Helleborus, are those plantings outside of the fence we wanted to put around the underside fo the deck or were you thinking the plantings could create a visual border? If it’s the former, we’ll likely need to incorporate space for a door or entrance – ideally right next to the gate into the yard – so that the space is usable.
2) Are there any areas where you would recommend incorporating lighting? We were thinking something around the border of the yard, and particularly the patio, would be nice. It may also be good to have lighting by the bench area, although not sure if it’s feasible to run power out that far without making it really expensive.
3) On the area where you have the retaining wall – which we love by the way! – would it be possible to incorporate some sort of ledge so that it’s dog-proof (e.g. doesn’t become Poppy’s new favorite spot!)
4) Do you think the fig tree will get enough light in the current position to do ok?
5) What material were you thinking about for the retaining wall? The same stone as the fire pit?
6) At what point in the process would pricing be available as that will likely influence some of the areas we may need to change or prioritize for the future?
7) Less of a question, but we will likely get back to you with more thoughts on other/additional plan selections – particularly in thinking more about our color scheme we do want to incorporate purple into the green/white scheme.
8) We do want to give some more thought to paving options for the patio and fire pit. When do we need to get back to you on material selection to get started on this area?

Thanks again – we really like how this is coming together!

Emily

We like everything but the Hydrangea. For me – it reminds me of a “grandma” plant. Now some of my friends are grandmas – but I hope I am far from being one.

Denise wants to pay you today if possible, and wants to know if you will come pick up the money, or how that will work. Will your crew be done today? Denise will be home around 4:30pm.

Also, the front wall looks great. Your guys did a bang up job!!!

With all that said, as the front finishes, Denise wants a 2nd section for the backyard install.
1. How soon can you do the final of the back yard quote and begin that. (you must have impressed Denise as she rarely said that).
2. We want an additional thing to the back quote. You know our side wall in the front yard, with the cement from the driveway being the foundation, had a spot in it where the level is off. The top caps have mortar holding them on, but the tops are not on there that good looking. So, Denise wants to know if you can quote your guys pulling down the front half of that side wall, and putting in the stuff that leveled it, and re-stack that font half of that side wall. Then put back on the top caps. They might need to be hit with a deadblow and they’d come off.
3. Carry the same stone wall a little further down where the old wall stone is in the back. What to do with the old stones? We don’t know.

Ok, that’s it for now.
The sod is going in now and it looks beautiful.
–Heather Miller

Nice seeing you as well. Thanks for taking a break from your study schedule to walk through the front yard. I have a list of plants that we will definitely find a home for. I am uploading our Landscape Installation Agreement. Please review it and let me know if you have any questions. If it is acceptable, I would appreciate one of you signing it and either emailing or faxing it back to us. Thank you. Pam