Case Study

This Edina lot used to have an older home. The current homeowners bought the land and then built a brand new house. KG Landscape was tasked with coming in and finishing off the complete transformation. Our primary goal was to give the homeowners a landscape that matched the beautiful home they built.

The second main goal of the project was to remove the hill in the backyard to create a 2 tiered area. These two areas provide a lawn play area for their children and an outdoor entertaining patio area. The outdoor lighting on the retaining wall allows for evening use as well. The aluminum fencing provides a safe space for their young children to play.

Finally, the last goal was to control the drainage and rainfall from the property. The base of the hill in the back of the home would collect water and create basement issues in the old home. Our team designed a system of French Drains and drainage tubing that would control any amount of water with no issues.

Project Work

The project work took a substantial amount of time which we had planned for. This was one of the biggest undertakings our company had ever done.

The first step of the project was to break down the hill in the backyard. Unfortunately, the space between this home and the neighbor’s is too small for a bobcat. We had to utilize a smaller version of a bobcat called a Dingo. This slowed down the demolition process considerably because we could only remove small amounts of dirt at a time and we had A LOT of dirt to remove. Our estimates were something like 60 cubic yards of dirt and one dingo could hold about a quarter of a cubic yard. That means we took at least 240 Dingo trips back and forth from the backyard to the front.

The second step was installing the sitting wall that would separate the top tier of the backyard from the bottom tier. As you can see in the picture above, we installed drainage behind the wall that connects with the rest of the drainage system for the backyard. Installing the steps was intricate and required more skill than it appears. We installed the patio immediately after this as well. We angled the patio slightly so the water would run off of it and into the grass area where we installed a drainage system of French Drains and drainage tubing.

Next, we worked on the plantings and edging. We did some small plantings in the front of the home and surrounded the back grass area with plants as well. We installed mulch and river rock. We finished the project off by installing brand new sod over the entire property. As you can see in the pictures, the new sod looks gorgeous.

Completion

Overall, this project was a complete success. The whole look is exactly what the homeowners were looking for and it will function for them perfectly too. We had some hard rains right after we finished the project and the drainage system worked perfectly. The plants and sod will grow into the space and fill it out more. The patio and wall create a nice separation and space to entertain in the future.

More Project Information

Location: This project was completed in Edina, kind of near the 50th and France area. The small lot size hides how incredible the transformation was and how difficult it was.

Time Frame: This project took about 2 months to finish from start to finish. The demolition on this project was particularly lengthy because we could not use a bobcat in the backyard. We had to use a Dingo (smaller version of a bobcat) which made the dirt removal take much longer. Also, there were many different specialty parts (like the stone steps and aluminum fencing) that added significantly to the length of the project.

Materials: Belgard Charleston Non-Tumbled Mahogany and Tan colored patio stone from Bachmans. Belgard Brisa retaining wall stone with Rochester Limestone cap. Aluminum Fencing from Midwest Fence. Poly edging with mulch and river rock in plant beds. Plants include boxwoods, hydrangeas, hostas, salvia, russian sage, and day lilies.

Notes from construction: The amount of intricate work (steps, aluminum fencing, drainage, etc.) added to the time length.

This project was completed in August and September 2016 by KG Landscape Management.