Deck/Landscape Ideas for a hilly, forested backyard?

seopee

5 years ago

We moved in a year ago and love the "natural" feel and view of our backyard, but actually being in it is a bit treacherous (poison oak, burs, our 3-year-old can't be back there on his own).

We are thinking of adding a multi-level deck off the back of our home (smaller landing off the living room that walks down to the lower family room level deck; these are the right side windows in the back of house photos) but are debating:

1. Whether to connect the deck to the ground-level of the backyard (the family room deck would still be 1-story off the ground)

2. Whether to do more than just a once a year "cleanup" of the backyard, i.e. actually do additional landscaping to make the lower half of the backyard more usable, less treacherous ... and if so, what to do instead?

3. We've also been advised to remove the smaller oak and redwood trees as they'll grow huge and block any views we might have.

____

Also, apologies for the random order of photos, was hard to select/sort through on my phone.

- The drier looking photo is from today.

- The more lush/cleaned up photos are either from when the home was listed or over this past spring when the clover was everywhere; which actually was a nice and pretty period for the backyard.

Thanks for any/all ideas (including deck design)!

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Comments (5)

User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
you are going to need licensed professional help to make sure the construction is secure and who will bring in the heavy equipment needed. Some and maybe all of this will need to be completes by winter. Ask around locally to get the most reliable professionals for your area. You need solid honest pros to do this work on your home. it is a tricky location and you dont want toundermine the stability of the slope your house needs for supprt
seopee thanked User
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago
I totally agree unless you have the skills to do this you need a pro. I love multi level decks I find them much more useable space that grass or patios . I have deck all around my house that is butlt on a steep slope we still have an area that is awkward to get to to do nay real landscaping but we planted some stuff that hopefully over the next 2 years will fill in nicely , We divided our deck into spaces like a home so we have a pool with deck al around then an outdoor kitchen and dining space and then a really large area for casula seating that can sit 16 in a pinch .
seopee thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
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apple_pie_order
5 years ago
A 3-year old is not likely to be safe alone on a multistory deck. I'd get the poison oak removed first and foremost, then hire a landscape architect.
seopee thanked apple_pie_order
seopee
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for everyone's thoughts. Does anyone know a ballpark range for a project of this size (focusing on the multi-level deck) and/or any deck design tools out there? Not that I plan to design this in my own, but just want something more concrete to share with an architect when the time comes.
User
5 years ago
Your hillside neighbors have probably gone through similar processes figuring out what was doable and affordable in your location.

They might also have some interesting ideas about how to create a safe play space for a small child. It doesn’t need to consume your whole landscape project, and your toddler is going to grow up fast, but having some outdoor space that doesn’t mean a trip to the park to swing, slide, dig or climb (safely) might be good to include.