INSTALLATION INSIDER: Private Paradise

CONTRACTOR/DESIGNER: John Stropko of New Desert Gallery, Tucson, Ariz.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The homeowners, who live on a golf course, asked New Desert Gallery to create a landscape design that would screen the patio and yard from every view of the course’s fairways and from their neighbors.
 
Although this small, odd-shaped backyard now seems to go on forever, the buildable area did not. A dry wash and golf course easement left only a 15-foot corridor along the back of the home. Access was extremely tight. It was a challenge to build a yard that was in proportion to the large contemporary home, make the yard appear to be larger than it is and provide privacy from every view.
 
To visually expand the space, Stropko created a boulder bank along the wash with iron fencing installed at its base. The native boulders weighed 900 to more than 7,500 pounds each and were placed by crane, backfilled and compacted in lifts to support the masonry walls and exposed aggregate concrete patios. He used vines to disguise the setback limits and pool safety enclosure, leaving the impression that the entire golf course easement is the backyard. Crews used tractors and cranes to install large trees (including 48-inch box native mesquites and acacias, each weighing 2,700 pounds or more) in layers between the golf course and the outdoor living areas. 
 
The yard was built in levels for additional privacy. Stropko maximized space by building a patio wall on top of the pool structure by placing it on the lot line. Circular walls and the fireplace visually connect the huge circular patio overhang. The varying textures of random-edge flagstone, colored-exposed aggregate concrete and boulders add contrast.
 
The screen of indigenous plant material was used in layers to meet the golf course’s strict requirement for a natural look, while the combination of desert and non-native plant materials was used in the yard for interest.

PROJECT/INSTALLATION SQUARE FOOTAGE: Developed area, including driveway and entry courtyard is approximately 4,000 square feet.
 
TOTAL LABOR HOURS: The job spanned over a nine-month period, though New Desert Gallery wasn’t on site every day. The firm has three crews of two to four people, depending on the project, phase and task. Crews typically work four nine-hour days with Friday as a catch-up day or prep day for the following week’s work.

SUBCONTRACTED SERVICES: 110-ton crane, large tractor/dump truck service; colored-exposed aggregate concrete; some masonry

KEY MATERIALS:

• Color-exposed aggregate
• Flagstone, existing concrete, random-cut sandstone
• Custom iron work and gates
• Exotic euphorbia, native and non-native cacti, large box mesquite, acacia and palo verde trees – some trees weighing up to 3,000 pounds.
• Native boulders weighing up to 7,500 pounds

KEY EQUIPMENT: Skid-steer loaders, backhoe, 110-ton crane, concrete pumps, concrete mixers, pneumatic and electric jackhammers

FINAL PROJECT COST: Not disclosed.

Q: Describe any special client requirements and how you fulfilled those requests.

A: For the clients, privacy and a sense of seclusion was of utmost importance. To achieve these goals, we made the yard appear larger than actual, created three levels of yard in the back and installed a small pool at the lower level that’s hidden from golfers and neighbors with a patio wall built on the pool structure to maximize usable space. We also created a fireplace, sitting area and shower that are protected from outside views. 

Q: What were the installation challenges? 

A: The small, odd-shaped yard had access limitations. The house was close to neighboring homes, which made it difficult to get large equipment into the backyard. There were restrictions on what and where the yard and amenities could be because of the golf course, flood plain and property line setbacks. The access ramp and road had to be “restored” with all large-scale plant material to look undisturbed. On-site drainage had to be able to handle daily monsoon events with rainfall of up to 2-inches in an otherwise arid climate. To combat this, we installed 9- to 12-inch box drains in the planting areas and decks with 3- to 4-inch PVC pipe to accept the “normal” monsoon rainfall including surface water and roof drains. Also, on every project we grade the yard and install the hardscapes using a “worst-case scenario” with weirs throughout the project that can handle the water generated during a severe storm.
 
Another challenge was installing plant material during months when temperatures can reach 110 degrees with no humidity. Annuals can wilt within hours, so we installed plant material in holes that have been soaked with water, and then are watered with drip irrigation up to three times per day sometimes for several weeks depending on the temperature.
 
Another concern in this area is protecting the finished pool and patio area from wildlife – snakes, javelina (wild pigs), rabbits, deer and pack rats. The javelina are most destructive on new projects and some of our succulents are catnip for them. Pack rats especially like to nibble on pool equipment and time clock controls, valve wiring and low-voltage light wires. Controlling this is different on every site; fencing works with some sites and larger animals. Hardware cloth and concrete works underground and at the fence lines. In this project, we designed all fencing to be part of design elements and not look like barriers.

Q: Did the site require any special environmental considerations?

A: Plants used had to be within the subdivision’s architectural review committee’s “approved” planting list.  Specific plants are prohibited for aesthetic reasons,  their allergy-producing characteristics or susceptibility to disease. Also, we had to revegetate all-natural and transitional areas that were disturbed or removed during construction with specific plant types and minimum densities.

Q: Since completion, has the client had you back to add to the project?

A: Our company maintains the property, refreshing the site as necessary.

Q: What was the greatest lesson learned during this project? 

A: We really didn’t learn any particular lesson during this project. We always keep in mind that each site has enormous potential.  We have to stay open to creative and physical challenges to meet the client’s needs.  PLD