Outdoor Retaining Wall

In September we had a slight deviation from the renovation plan. I was supposed to be working on the kitchen cabinet painting, but instead I spent time outside digging up the lawn. We had talked and talked about purchasing a hot tub for our back yard and I made the executive decision to start prepping the area. My thought was that I could prep the area while it was still warm, then over the winter we could shop for the hot tub. 

We have the perfect little niche on the walk out basement portion of our home where the yard slopes down and there is easy access from the back door. It's protected from the wind and is fairly obstructed when viewed from our neighbor's yard.  There is a pretty steep slope off the back and I have tried to improve the area by extending out the landscape from the deck because it is very difficult to mow on the large grade. Our plan was to expand on the existing retaining wall which would allow us to put the hot tub slightly under the deck overhang. 

Before we began digging

First we needed to remove the grass. Then we dug out the area around the existing retaining wall. Turns out a good portion of the wall was underground and we had no idea.

Next we purchased the retaining wall stones from Home Depot. We tried to match the existing stone but exposure to the elements had darkened the color slightly and the exact stone was no longer available in store. 

Expanding the wall 

Wall is finished. You can see the color difference between the old and new stone

After completing the retaining wall and tamping down the soil for the hot tub platform, we decided to add a slatted privacy wall, just to shield it a little bit more from the neighbor's back yard. I stained it the same color as the deck supports.  

 I added some landscaping on the back side of the retaining wall and mulched it a dark brown to match the deck.

 

Even though I thought we'd shop for a spa through the fall and get it installed later, we didn't have any delay between working on the hot tub "prep" and the actual purchase of the spa. Turns out that weekend the spa dealer had a tent sale and we ended up buying it right away. Actually that's the way we do a lot of things...think, think, think and plan...then boom!

 

 

Installation day

I'll add landscape around the edge of the hot tub this spring to give it a finished look 

Cozy little spot partially under the deck 

We also added a small Trex deck off the concrete patio in the same color boards as the deck above. This will keep us from having to mow/weed whip too close to the spa in summer, and keep us out of the snow with bare feet in the winter. 

Mini deck

We are using the spa all the time!!