Just adding some more photos.

As for prepping soil, you don't need to import top soil for sake of plants,do not add sand to that black clay. All you need is compost tilled in. If you are located North of U S Hi-way 380,East of US 75 and West of Hi-Way 34 I can deliver bulk compost for $150= 1 cubic yard ( that's 27 cubic feet ,most retail bags hold 1 cu ft ) $250= 2 cubic yard and $350=3 cubic yard. Absolutely no animal waste or weed seeds in material.

Free advice about importing unknown weeds in potting soil,top soil or compost. Put some in a pot and water as if germinating veggies or flowers. You might be amazed or should I say outraged at what springs from materials you buy.

Regarding moving the hot tub, as a hot tub owner I can say that having it close to a back door for access is nice and having something beautiful to look at while bathing is nice (like your pool). I think moving it to the back corner would make it harder to get to and gives you less of a view. What I can’t tell from your photos is if you would feel more screened from other houses in one over the other location.

@ginatay124

One thing is, we have 8 ft fences no houses around us have 2 stories that can see into our pool area. So privacy isn’t a main concern.

It’s a small area. Roughly 25’ deep and 20’ ish wide.

That back corner gets no sun so we are fighting grass growing there.

We have a prime viewing of the pool, but my husband really hates we gave up so much of our lounge chair area for the hot tub.

We staked out a hot tub pad… but now we think we need to pull up the walkway so we can have a straight line… it seems dumb to put grass back there… but tuff also seems crazy.

Here is a mock up. The tan square is our 7ft hot tub but we staked up 10ft pad.

@klem1

I did a basic solid test and I swear I’m 100 silt. This sample was from another spot in the yard.. ask I haven’t tested the hot tub area- but it’s similar situation with a lot water.

Can we hand tool in compost and then resod? We have sprinklers, drains and electrical running all over this area. It’s a mess.

Im east of 635 between 20/80. So not exactly your area.

We staked it to move the hot tub.

It doesn’t leave much room for grass.. I don’t want turf but it doesn’t seem that crazy. Also looking at pulling up that walkway(which I don’t like) and putting down pavers. It’s just such a weird area.

OK, well it does seem that moving the hot tub to the back corner would clean up your pool deck and utilize formerly unused space. Artificial turf might be a good solution to the lawn area you struggle to maintain. I consider artificial turf to be like outdoor carpet - also very clean. You might keep a couple sprinklers in it since they are already there, then you could run them occasionally to rinse the dust off. You could still keep a planting bed against the house if you like. Plants would need to go in first before turf installation. I’m no help with planting suggestions as I have no knowledge of plants for your climate. But a good local nursery should have someone on staff who would create a planting plan for you for a small fee.

@ginatay124 I'm also thinking of putting in a different type of grass that would work in that area. It's just really shaded because of the fence.

Thanks for comments and helping me work through it!

Houzz may one day kick me out over my low opinion of the site and people using it but I give my honest opinion and refrain from pretending I know things I actually don't. I only hang out because I enjoy visiting with a handful of wonderful folks and picking knowledge up from some that have expertise in various aspects of gardening. I realize you are asking for a roadmap but it requires alot of time and effort for savy gardeners to work out a plan for their own situation and less than 1 in a thousand can do it from a thousand miles away having never walked through your yard,much less doing some experiments. The ONLY PLACE you can get you road map is hiring a professional landscaper or read books written for homeowners. Yards you see that aren't lacking got that way and stay that way because homeowner loves working in the dirt or they hired professionals to install and/or maintain their yard. You stated you don't want to work in dirt any more than necessary so that points to spending money for someone doing it for you. Professional landscaper does not include 80% of trucks towing trailers with mowers and blowers on them.

From what I've gathered here's what I can tell you. Buy the book written by Neil Sperry that is specifically about Texas soils, weather and adapted plants. Other than a few plants adapted to heavy clay all plants will benefit form large additions of compost. Yes,compost can be worked in with shovel,hoe and rake where tiller risks damaging utilities. Other than a few annuals,you need to wait until fall to plant trees,shrubs and most other perrinials and late winter/early Spring for turf. Use the time to prepare soil rather than waiting and trying to do it all at once. If you haven't already figured it out, your soil is impossible to work unless moisture is just right,which is seldom. Revise your vocabulary to say "artificial turf" when referring to non-living ground covers and "sod" for grass blankets for establishing turf/lawn grass. St Augustine is the only grass adapted to shade and your other conditions,,,,,,,sometimes. I say sometimes because there's various degrees of shade and there comes a point where St Augustine struggles. There are a few well adapted ground covers (some very low maintenance) where shade is too deep for St Augustine. I recommend Coventon's Nursery located 5518 President George Bush Freeway,Rowlett. They have trained staff to help choose plants,reccomend soil amendments and recommend reliable landscapers. In case you aren't aware , your soil is horrible for building homes on. The problem is exacerbated by swings in moisture content causing soil to swell and shrink. You can help by making sure water doesn't pond near foundation, irrigating during dry periods to prevent soil shrinking.