Backyard ideas?
We’ve got a Bed-Stuy brownstone with a totally unfinished backyard – currently just bare dirt, which is full of lead and hence annoyingly off-limits to our kid. Even if we remediated the soil, the yard is almost totally shaded by a gigantic, beautiful sycamore maple, so I’m imagining that grass won’t easily grow there. Any ideas of what we can do to make the yard useable without spending $$$ for an extensive reno? Our next door neighbors are doing the full megabucks bluestone and cedar and decking shebang, but we just want a place for the occasional kicking of a soccer ball and/or drinking of a cocktail…. help?
mrreedent
in General Discussion 5 years and 5 months ago
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13 replies
NewOwner | 5 years and 5 months ago
We had lead (and cadmium!) but decided that we didn’t want to track leaded dirt through the house, so we just had about 6 inches of clean dirt brought in by a landscaper on top of the old dirt. It’s been a while, but I think it cost around $2k? (He also did a wee bit of landscaping). I haven’t retested it but I have two small kids and neither tested high for lead exposure.
Guest User | 5 years and 5 months ago
We didn’t use an installer last time or do much prep work at all. It was a rental so we weren’t too fussed about perfection. Even with no prep work or professional install, it still looked pretty great after four years! We plan to take a much more careful approach this time around with our forever home…although I honestly will still probably install it myself with some friends. SynLawn has detailed DIY instructions on their website. It’s not rocket-science, particularly if you’re just thinking about this as a medium-term solution. I would suggest to invest in the higher quality, kid- and dog-friendly stuff, and in my view you really can’t go wrong. You can get samples from them for free or maybe a few dollars. https://www.synlawn.com/
hkapstein | 5 years and 5 months ago
I’d figure 5-10k for this job. Depends on how you do it and how big the yard is and how far you go down. Could be less, maybe. But you gotta figure out how to get the dirt out without getting it all over the house. Going through cellar might work, but you would still want to protect the floor from getting dirt all over it. Kind of defeats the purpose if the lead ends up in the house. With access to the street, would be cheaper obviously. Still would need some kind of landscaping or hardscape unless you want a dirt yard.
slopefarm | 5 years and 5 months ago
This was about 13 years ago. We were doing a whole house reno and our GC pulled in a sub with wheelbarrows and he bought dirt and rented a big bin for disposal. We have an alley on one side, so we did not need to have dirt trucked through the house.
the astroturf neighbor seems to have just set it down like an enormous rug. But I never really checked it out. The neighbor with the pavers had them neatly set by a contractor. So I think some work went into preparing the backyard — flattening, smoothing, leveling the dirt, then placing the pavers. It is a neat-looking job, just without the cement, I believe.
mrreedent
in General Discussion 5 years and 5 months ago
Thanks all! This is super helpful! @slopefarm, how did you do the soil removal/replacement, and how much did it cost? And did your neighbors really just throw that stuff down over dirt, or did they do a proper installation? (similarly, @ElleHouse, did you use an installer for the SynLawn?) I’m in theory very interested in the fake grass thing, but I’ve heard that it requires you to do lots of prep for drainage, etc…
slopefarm | 5 years and 5 months ago
I second what urbandad said about the lead. We had about a vertical foot of the backyard dirt removed and a new vertical foot added. We had (almost_ enough sun to attempt a lawn. But if what you want is a playspace, there are a few options. A neighbor of ours just threw down a big piece of astroturf. Another neighbor got cheaper large rectangular pavers and had them placed (without cement) to cover a good deal of the backyard. Both options would leave you the flexibility to revisit for aesthetics when the kids are older and don’t need a playspace so much. Both options would also let you plant perennials around the perimeter; these will grow as your kids age.
Guest User | 5 years and 5 months ago
Synthetic lawn has come a looooooong way from the horrid, fake astroturf days of old. We installed high quality SynLawn (I think that’s the brand) in our back yard. Many years and lots of doggos later, it still looks fantastic! We’re taking the same approach in our new project. As @anotherposter said, the quality of the lawn and time/effort spent on installation will impact how realistic it looks, but if you do it right, it’s a brilliant option for BK backyards!
anotherposter | 5 years and 5 months ago
I think there are some DIY faux lawn options at places like Lowes you might like. Depending on how much work/$ you are willing to put into will determine how good it is.
hkapstein | 5 years and 5 months ago
If the soil is not backfill, you might find the lead contamination goes down only about 1 foot or so. Lead apparently doesn’t migrate that far in this type of situation. This is based on research I have read. However you can test the soil at different depths and check. You could possibly remove that soil layer.
Just something to factor in.
JohnHancock | 5 years and 5 months ago
You can get free mulch, as much as you want from Green-wood Cemetery.
I would turn the soil, throw the mulch on and let it break down while planting some perennials in the border to get something started. The Norway Maple will take all the water needed for a lawn.
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 5 years and 5 months ago
After many years of growing grass, with decreasing success as the trees in and around our yard grew larger, I put down landscape cloth and cedar chips several years ago. I’m quitw happy with that. Every other year or so I have to add a dozen bags of cedar, as the old chips break down, but it’s no big deal.
mrreedent
in General Discussion 5 years and 5 months ago
looks level to the eye, but perhaps not to a landscaper… laying paving bricks seems like something that requires a professional, no?
xchx | 5 years and 5 months ago
how level is the yard? and how high are your standards? could you lay paving bricks on top of what’s there?