c/backyard-renovations

Spent two entire weekends just trying to get my paver base level.

The ground had a slight slope I didn't account for, so I had to remove and re-tamp about 4 cubic yards of gravel. Anyone have a better method for checking grade besides a 4-foot level on a 2x4?

My 'free mulch' from a local tree service was a huge mistake

I thought I was being smart by getting a whole truckload of free wood chips, but after a month it started sprouting mushrooms and volunteer saplings everywhere. Spending $80 on clean, double-ground mulch from the garden center solved the whole mess in a weekend. Anyone else have a 'free' backyard idea that totally backfired?

Just learned how much water a new lawn really needs

I was planning a small grass area for my backyard and looked up the watering guide from my local extension office. They said new sod needs about 1.5 inches of water per week, but for the first two weeks, it needs that amount every single day. I had no idea it was that much. I found this on a PDF from the University of Georgia's agriculture site. It completely changed my irrigation plan and budget. Has anyone else had to adjust their watering setup after seeing the actual numbers?

Spent $800 on a fancy composite deck board sample kit and it was a complete waste

Remembering the time my new patio slope sent a river into my basement

I was putting in a small flagstone patio behind my house in Springfield about five years ago, and I was so focused on getting the stones level with each other that I totally messed up the overall slope. I mean, I must have been off by just a couple of degrees. The first big rainstorm hit, and instead of draining away from the house, all the water ran right down against the foundation. I went downstairs and there was a steady trickle coming in through the corner of the basement wall. I had to grab my shovel and a bag of quick-set concrete in the pouring rain to build a small emergency trench to divert the water. It was a huge mess, and I had to pull up about a third of the stones the next weekend to re-grade the whole base with more gravel. Has anyone else had a drainage plan go sideways and had to fix it in a panic?

Update: My contractor friend in Charlotte says everyone over-waters new sod for the first week, but the nursery sheet clearly says to keep it damp, not soaked.

I think drowning the roots causes more harm than letting them get a little thirsty, so what's your take on the soak vs. damp debate for new grass?

I finally chose gravel over mulch for my side path and it's a mess

Had to pick between pea gravel and cedar mulch for a 20 foot walkway next to my patio. Went with gravel because it looked nicer online, but it's constantly tracking into my house and the dog hates walking on it. My shoes are full of tiny rocks every single day. Anyone have a good fix for gravel that won't stay put?

My new paver patio started sinking after a heavy rain

I was in my yard in Raleigh and saw a corner had dropped almost two inches. I pulled up the pavers, added more compacted gravel, and it's been solid for six months now. Anyone have a better base material they'd recommend over gravel?

My neighbor told me to skip the gravel under my patio pavers...

He said the sand base would be fine for our clay soil in Ohio, but after the first winter, everything shifted and cracked. I'm looking at redoing about 200 square feet now. Has anyone else had this happen with a sand-only base?

My neighbor said my new deck looked like a pirate ship

I built a big deck with a weird railing I thought looked cool. My neighbor Frank came over, looked at it for a minute, and said, 'Looks like a pirate ship, matey.' I laughed but then I saw it. The posts were too tall and the rails were all curvy. I tore it down that weekend and rebuilt it with straight, simple lines. Anyone else get a piece of feedback that made you start a project over?

Hot take: I think everyone is wrong about how much water a new lawn really needs.

I was reading a local water district report from Sacramento last week and it said a new sod lawn needs about 30% less water in the first month than all the guides say. The guides push for daily deep watering, but the report had data from soil sensors showing the roots don't even go that deep yet, so a lot just evaporates. I tried it on my own new patch of fescue, watering every other day but for a bit longer, and it's actually greener than my neighbor's who waters every morning. I found the report online after getting a scary high water bill. It made me question all the standard advice you get at the garden center. Has anyone else cut back on new lawn water and had it work out okay?

My new paver patio started sinking after the first big rain

I put in a small paver patio myself about three weeks ago, thinking I did everything right. I dug down six inches, put in three inches of gravel, tamped it, then added an inch of sand. It looked great until we got that heavy rain last Tuesday. The whole corner by the house sank almost two inches, and now the pavers are all wobbly. My neighbor walked over and said, 'Kid, you didn't compact the base in thin enough layers, did you?' He was right, I just dumped all the gravel in at once and tamped the top. I had to pull up all the pavers in that section and redo the base, adding and tamping the gravel just two inches at a time. It took me a whole extra weekend to fix it. Has anyone else had this happen and found a good way to check your base is solid before you lay the final sand?

My neighbor's concrete patio vs my gravel fire pit area

He spent like $8k on a poured slab that gets crazy hot and cracks every winter. I spent maybe $800 on a 10x10 gravel base with a metal fire ring from Tractor Supply. Mine drains perfectly, never gets too hot to walk on, and I can change the layout anytime. Why do people still go for big concrete pads when gravel is cheaper and works better? Anyone else ditch a hard patio for something more flexible?

My attempt to fix a soggy lawn with a kiddie pool actually worked

So my backyard in Portland has this one spot that's always a muddy mess, right where the downspout empties. After three straight weekends of trying to dig a French drain and just making a bigger hole, I got desperate. I had an old plastic kiddie pool from my niece's visit, the kind with the fish print on the bottom. I cut the bottom out of it, buried it about a foot down in the soggiest part, filled it with gravel, and put the dirt and grass back on top. It sounds completely stupid, I know. But we got our first big rain since then, and that spot is bone dry. The pool acts like a little holding tank that lets the water sink in slow instead of just sitting. Has anyone else tried a weird hack like this for drainage, or did I just get lucky?

My new paver patio is already sinking in one corner

I dug down 8 inches and filled it with gravel like the guide said, but after the first heavy rain, the far corner dropped almost an inch. I found a local contractor's blog that says in our clay soil you need a full foot of base, not 8 inches. Has anyone else in a clay-heavy area had to go deeper than the standard advice?

Unpopular opinion: The 'two-day' concrete pour for my patio slab turned into a full week of rain delays and a $200 tarp bill.

I spent more time checking the weather app and moving plastic sheeting than actually working, and now I'm asking if anyone has a good method for drying out soaked gravel before you can even think about pouring.

My dad said to put down a 6-inch gravel base for my paver patio, but my contractor friend argued for 4 inches.

I went with the 4 inches to save some cash, and after one Michigan winter, the whole thing is shifting and uneven. Who actually had the right advice here, and what's the real minimum for a patio that won't move?

Overheard a landscaper say 'plant for the shade you'll have in ten years, not the sun you have today'

I was at the garden center in my town last weekend picking up some shrubs, and I heard a landscaper giving that exact advice to another customer. It really stuck with me because I'm planning a big planting bed along my new fence line. Right now, that spot gets full sun all afternoon, but the maple tree I planted three years ago is getting huge. The landscaper said if you put sun-loving plants under a young tree, they'll just fry or get leggy trying to reach light as the canopy fills in. He told the guy to look at plants that like part sun to full shade instead, even if it seems too dark right now. I went home and looked at my plan, and I realized I had a bunch of lavender and Russian sage on the list for that exact spot. Now I'm rethinking the whole thing and looking at stuff like hostas, ferns, and maybe some coral bells. Has anyone else had to switch up their plant picks because of future shade from trees?

I finally understood why my new patio kept flooding after every rain

A neighbor in Charlotte pointed out my gravel base was only 2 inches thick, not the 4 inches the pavers needed. Has anyone else messed up their base layer and had to redo it?

Just realized I wasted $400 on a 'self-watering' planter system for my raised beds

The timers clogged with sediment after two months, and now I'm back to using a hose. Has anyone found a drip system that actually lasts more than a season?

A 30-foot delivery of river rock blocked my driveway for three days

The truck driver dumped it right across my gate, and I had to move it all by hand with a wheelbarrow before I could even start my dry creek bed project. My back is still sore, and it set my whole weekend plan back. Has anyone else had a big material delivery go this wrong, and what did you do?

Vent: My $80 gravel order was a total waste

I wanted a small path from my deck to the shed, so I ordered a cubic yard of pea gravel online. It showed up and looked fine, but after a few heavy rains, it just washed away into the mud. Turns out I completely skipped putting down a proper weed barrier and base layer first. Now I have a muddy ditch and a pile of gravel in my grass. Has anyone else had to fix a washed-out gravel path, and what did you use underneath?

I thought a DIY gravel patio was a weekend project, but it took me three full weekends and about $400 in extra base material I hadn't budgeted for.

Has anyone else completely underestimated how much prep work a simple gravel area actually needs?

A neighbor in Austin put in a dry creek bed and it looks great

I was walking my dog near the greenbelt last week and saw a house with a new backyard feature. They dug a shallow trench about two feet wide and filled it with smooth river rocks. It runs along the side of their patio and has a few small native plants tucked in around the edges. It looks really natural and must help with drainage when it rains. Has anyone here tried something like that and did it work to stop water pooling?

A chat with my neighbor about his old garden changed how I see my own yard

Last week, after seeing his new patio, I realized my own plan for a simple lawn in Phoenix was ignoring 30 years of local knowledge about shade and water.