DIY Network

Landscaping: Decks, Hardscaping and Planning From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-112

Installing boulders is not for the weak or timid, as some of our do-it-yourselfers found out.

In this segment of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, the do-it-yourselfers talk about landscape planning and also about decks and hardscaping with stone walkways, boulders, etc.

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• Alan and Sharon Sain integrated a deck into their landscaping for outdoor entertaining, dining and relaxing (figure A). Since they wanted to preserve as many of the large trees on the property as possible, Alan and Sharon were faced with a very physical obstacle when planning their deck -- specifically a very tall tree. Their solution: build the deck around the tree (figure B), as well as a trellis above with the tree growing right up through it.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  

  Figure C

• Terry And Stanton Saucier (figure C) devoted considerable thought to planning their landscaping when they undertook a major renovation and expansion project on their home in Tarzana, California.

• In fact, these brave do-it-yourselfers gutted their house, raised and replaced their roof, and basically lived out of their garage and patio for a portion of the period while the construction project was underway.
  
• As for the lawn and landscaping portion of their redesign, (figures D and E), the Sauciers incorporated sprinkler systems, fountains, stone walkways (figure F) and easy access to fruit trees.

  Figure D

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  

  Figure G

• Terry also discovered some large boulders that nearby home-builders were wanting to discard. The only factor that she overlooked in acquiring her "free rocks" was that each of the boulders weighed several hundred pounds.

  Though moving the boulders to their property required an engine hoist, and resulted in a damaged taigate on a friend's pickup truck, the Sauciers did ultimately succeed in incorporating these attractive, natural elements in their landscape (figure G).
  

  	Figure H
  	Figure I

• A landscape plan is essential for assured success at achieving the your overall landscaping goals. According to home-builder Jody Cukier Siegler, "A landscape plan requires just as much attention [as] any set of rooms in your house. The landscape part of your design really is a series of 'outdoor rooms.'"

• You may want to consider using computer-aided design (CAD) software (figure H) for planning your landscape, particularly if your desired approach to landscaping is a more formal one. The Sauciers used this approach, and stated that they wouldn't have done it any other way. The software helps visualize the space and layout of your property and provides a visual perspective that's helpful in placing landscape elements such as trees, beds and outdoor structures.

• CAD programs for landscaping (figure I) are widely available and relatively easy to use as long as you have some very basic knowledge of computers.