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Campsite: Evaluating the Situation

From "Grounds for Improvement"
episode DGFI-201

Figure A

Leslie and Erin O'Toole love being outdoors with their children, but their sloping, rocky, rutted backyard presents an entertainment challenge. The solution is to invite family and friends -- along with Grounds for Improvement landscape design gurus Jackie Taylor and Dean Hill -- over for a yard reconstruction party (figure A).

To create the play space, a section of the sloped yard has a retaining wall constructed from pressure-treated timbers (figure B), and the soil in the area is leveled and mulched. And since the family likes to camp, a campground complete with teepee, bench and firepit completes the new outdoor environment (figure C).

Figure B

Figure C

This new play space is constructed over one weekend at a cost of $1,050. By enlisting the help of family and friend, this do-it-yourself project saved the O'Toole's approximately $1,000.

Tools
Toro Dingo with bucket and fork attachment (can be rented at equipment-rental stores)
Shovels
Rakes
Wheelbarrow
Hammer
Tape measure
Mallet
Chainsaw
Screwdriver
Circular saw

Materials
72 6"x6"x8' composite timbers
5 tons of boulders
6 cubic yards mulch
12' Teepee kit
30 2' sections of rebar
2 #40 boxes of timber spikes
2 2"x12"x10' pressure-treated grating for the firepit
Tarp
Landscape marking paint

Figure D

For a sloping yard, a retaining wall is the perfect choice to create a more leveled area. Use a tape measure and landscape marking paint to determine and outline the area where you'll be building the retaining wall (figure D). This wall will sit in a trench and have four courses, or layers of timbers, along with three corners where the timbers will meet; the paint shows where the digging will start.