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September 9, 2021 · 14 Comments

Back Yard Renovation with Artificial Grass

Outdoor

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Get all the details on our back yard renovation that includes artificial turf and checkerboard concrete pavers!

Outdoor renovation with awning and artificial turf.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click to read my full disclosure policy.

I can finally share with you the reveal of our extensive back yard renovation! It took way longer than anticipated which is not a surprise since it’s during Covid.

I’m also sharing all my sources so I’ll leave those at the bottom of this post.

Catch up on all the outdoor renovation posts in this series:

  1. Front and Back Yard Renovation
  2. European Style Water Fountains and a Yard Update
  3. Checkerboard Concrete Pavers and a Yard Update
  4. Front Yard Reveal
  5. How to Install a Gurgler Water Fountain
  6. Back Yard Renovation Reveal with Artificial Grass (this post)

First, let take a look back and recall what it looked like in the beginning. In the photo below, you’ll see we painted stripes on the old concrete patio slab and we hadn’t painted the fence yet.

What Our Back Yard Looked like Before

Before photo of backyard with painted stripes on concrete patio slab.
before

In the photo below, you can see the freshly painted fence but the space just isn’t great for entertaining and there’s no shelter from the rain that we get a lot of here in North Vancouver.

Grey fence with shed in backyard.

Check out how we removed the old lattice from our fence and re-stained it!

Also, the back of the house looks really bland and something needed to be done to spruce it up.

Before backyard renovation.

You can’t really tell in these photos but it’s really hard to grow grass in our area. It’s mostly weeds, not grass, and it’s always wet.

There’s also a chafer beetle problem where raccoons and the like come and dig them out of the grass leaving behind a muddy mess.

It also wasn’t graded properly and it sloped toward the house which wasn’t good. We live on the mountainside and changing the grade of our back yard to slope away from the house was a top priority.

We know about 20 families in our area that have artificial grass and love it so we have been wanting it for some time. Especially since our yard is so small, it’s the perfect solution.

Grey fence and grey shed and green grass.
before

Installing the Artificial Grass/Turf

Back yard renovation with sand tampered down.

Artificial turf or grass needs a lot of prep before it gets rolled out. There are some fine details that can make it look really fake if not done correctly.

The sand on the ground needs to be extremely flat and tampered down.

Sand tampered down on ground with orange wheelbarrows.

You’ll need many hands on deck to get the massive roll of artificial turf rolled out properly so the ground underneath stays completely smooth. You definitely don’t want to feel any lumps when you are walking on the turf in your bare feet.

Also, fusing the seams together is the trickiest part of installing artificial turf. I would definitely leave this job up to professional landscapers. If it gets messed up, the entire roll has to be replaced.

Tampered sand on ground ready for artificial turf.

Our landscape crew was able to move the shed and the trampoline around to the areas that they weren’t working in which worked well!

Shed sitting on artificial turf while it's getting installed.

We waited on those large grey concrete pavers for about a month or more to arrive as everything was sold out everywhere. And these weren’t our first choice, I think they were our fourth choice! But nonetheless, we love them.

We had these evergreen shrubs forever in this area of our backyard but over the summer they didn’t make it as we had extreme high heat and there is also bamboo encroaching on their roots so they were already not the healthiest. We’ll figure out what to do back here later because now they are gone!

Artificial grass getting installed.

It looked so good once the artificial turf was installed and along with the paving stone tiles.

Artificial turf in backyard with checkerboard pavers.

You can see the different levels in our back yard now. The large retaining wall pavers act as a stair to the grass area. We saved on money by having our yard levelled this way. If we chose to have it all the same level, the paving stone slabs would have to come up to meet the grass and it would mean a dump truck more of sand and drainage rock on the patio side.

Checkerboard pavers and artificial turf.

Pros to Artificial Grass/Turf

The best part about artificial turf is that you never need to maintain it.

Dogs can do their business on it and it can be just hosed away or let the rain wash it away. (Dog poo will have to be picked up just like regular grass).

The rain just flows through the artificial turf so we never have to worry about flooding or pooling.

We made sure there is plenty of drainage with drainage pipes and drainage rock.

You can see some of that in this yard update post here.

Cons

The only con I can think of is the cost to install.

Oh and you have to pick up the leaves that fall on it but you would anyway with normal grass. Except they will never disappear.

Checkerboard paving stone slabs.

There was another long hold up after this point. Aaron was going to install a pergola himself (and some friends) but after much deliberation, we chose to have an aluminum awning installed by a local company. Here it is below!

The Big Reveal

Ta da! Isn’t it amazing?!

Once the awning was installed, Aaron could get the pavers finished.

He poured polymer sand all over the pavers which acts like concrete when wet. Then he sealed the pavers as the charcoal pavers showed quite a bit of dirt.

Black aluminum awning over checkerboard paving stone slabs.

I was really worried it would look too dark under the awning so we made sure to get a white ceiling/roof and kept the outer beams black.

We opted for two panes of clear roofing to act as skylights. A pair of them went over the seating area and another pair over the dining table and chairs. This brought in more light to the area. We didn’t want the whole ceiling to be clear as it would get too hot in the summer so this is the perfect compromise of bringing in some light as well as keeping lots of shade.

It also defines both areas of the patio.

Black aluminum awning with artificial turf in backyard.

Aaron also strung up some beautiful outdoor lights.

And of course he put it on a digital switch that he could operate from his phone.

Skylights in aluminum awning in outdoor seating area.

I bought three large white ceramic planters to put in front of each post to add some color and life to the area.

Black aluminum awning with white ceiling and checkerboard pavers.

We now have lots of room for outdoor entertaining which seems to be a must now post-Covid.

Artificial turf with black aluminum awning in backyard of grey house.

The pavers that the shed sat on previously are now under the artificial turf so it’s fully supported.

We also had some pavers added for a walkway to the shed.

Shad in backyard with artificial turf.

We love sitting out here no matter what the weather is like now!

String lights in outdoor patio under covered awning.

Aren’t those skylights nice?

String lights in aluminum awning in backyard area.

I think my favorite part is the checkerboard pavers.

We just used the same paving stones in two different colors and alternated them.

Dining table and chairs outside on checkerboard patio.
Checkerboard paving stones in backyard patio.
Outdoor seating area under covered awning with string lights.

We have a firepit tucked away behind our sofa. It’s the one we take camping but in a pinch we can bring it out to warm up or make some s’mores!

Apple basket with blankets in outdoor seating area.
Potting bench with plants in outdoor sitting area under aluminum awning.
Potting bench under covered patio.

The potting bench was a recent find that I love. It’s the perfect place for potting plants, of course, but the wood tones really warm up this space as there’s a lot of grey.

Pots and plants on a vintage looking potting bench.
Potting bench outside with plants and pots.
Cabbage plant on outdoor patio table.

Some vintage touches and linen pillows really warm the space up too!

Vintage pillows on outdoor sofa.

It was fun to get out my French yogurt jars to use as candles again.

Baguette basket with candles and cabbage plant.

It’s a huge transformation and I can’t wait to entertain more back here.

What do you think? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sources:

  • artificial turf – Synthetic Turf International – Soft Lawn Fescue
  • awning – BC Awning and Railing
  • retaining wall pavers and outdoor stair (to artificial grass) – SiennaEdge retaining wall in coping
  • checkerboard pavers – Newstone Group Manhattan natural grey and charcoal in 18×18
  • dining table and chairs – from Canadian Tire years ago, Canvas collection
  • seating sofa and chairs – Canadian Tire – Canvas Jensen sofa, Canvas Jensen 2 chair set
  • tall white ceramic planters – Cedar Rim Nursery
  • potting bench – Wayfair – Westwood potting bench
  • coffee table – Wayfair – Macklin eucalyptus outdoor coffee table
  • mustard linen pillow covers
  • vintage hemp pillows – Cloth and Main on Etsy
  • vintage apple basket – Circa Vintage Finds
  • baguette basket – antique

Make sure to pin it for later!

Back Yard Renovation.

click in case you missed:

Front Yard Reveal

How to Install a Gurgler Water Fountain

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Previous Post: « How to Install a Gurgler Water Fountain
Next Post: Create an Outdoor Entertaining Area for Fall »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tracy says

    September 9, 2021 at 11:21 am

    Absolutely beautiful!!!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      September 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks Tracy!
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply
  2. Suzanne Carrier says

    September 9, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    very nice!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      September 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks Suzanne!
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply
  3. Debbie says

    September 9, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    Artificial grass looks great…we have artificial turf also front and back. I live in
    Chandler , Az….we purchased a special rake from Amazon for the leaves, also a soft bristle broom works great too….but what else works great for us is an old fashion carpet sweeper, picks up the DRY leaves perfectly….Enjoy your great looking backyard!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      September 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks Debbie! I’ll let my husband know, I’m sure he’ll buy those tools right away!
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply
  4. Martha B. Higgins says

    September 9, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    Thought you might like to know: Tamp down, tamped down, tamping down.
    Tamper, tampered, tampering are something else entirely.

    Reply
  5. Martha B. Higgins says

    September 9, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    The yard looks terrific!

    Reply
  6. Arla says

    September 10, 2021 at 6:47 am

    Your yard looks so beautiful! I love how neat everything looks but it’s also very practical & cozy.😊 Hope you get to enjoy your space often!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      September 10, 2021 at 11:52 am

      Thanks Aria! We’re so enjoying our backyard now!
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply
  7. Muriel says

    September 12, 2021 at 2:07 pm

    We had ours done by Fieldmaster and after 2 years we have weeds coming through, a definite part down the middle and tips curling. Easy to maintain but the smell of dog urine is overwhelming even though we wash it down immediately. I diffuse it regularly with vinegar and diluted essential oils. 😞

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      September 15, 2021 at 11:35 am

      Oh that’s disheartening! It must not have been installed correctly. Where you were talking about the middle is probably where the seams are and that’s the trickiest part to install as it has to be fused together correctly. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with it.
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply
  8. Jeanine says

    September 25, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    This looks amazing! I know that you and your family are enjoying your yard so much now. There’s nothing like having somewhere to sit outside when it’s raining or for that matter, when the weather is nice!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      October 3, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      Thanks Jeanine! We have been enjoying it a lot now. It’s so nice since it rains a lot here.
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply

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