July 12, 2023

One of the best parts of purchasing a new home is updating that home to fit your vision. These customers had purchased their new property and were ready to update the outdoor living space to accommodate their lifestyle. Aside from design features, there were certain pieces that were in need of repair, and Twin Oaks Landscape was there to step in and give the homeowners the outdoor space they wanted.

Project Overview

These old town Ann Arbor homeowners had settled into the house and were ready to tackle their outdoor living space of their new home. The family found Twin Oaks Landscape via a web search and spoke with our experts for the best way to address the issues that needed to be repaired, including the broken cement patio and the retaining wall that had failed and was falling into the driveway. With the dense Ann Arbor soil and the failed retaining wall, our team was ready to tackle the drainage issues as well to ensure the property was functional and attractive. Our team was careful to identify and address any potential issues that could arise due to drainage issues during the project.

The Twin Oaks Landscape Solution

This project was completed in two phases. The patio was done in October of 2021 and the retaining wall piece of the project finished in September of 2022. Our team tore out both the cement patio and the retaining wall alongside the driveway, and replaced them with high quality pavers and blocks. We chose a vintage style to match the traditional style of the home. As expected, we did uncover drainage issues throughout the job and were able to correct those issues as we moved through the process, although there were no special or unique needs that provided a challenge to the process. We were pleased with the ability to create an outdoor living space suitable to the style of the home while fixing all the underlying issues.

Materials Used

Different materials were needed for the patio and retaining wall, although we used Fendt products for both hardscapes. The material used for the patio was Fendt old world vintage pavers. The retaining wall was built with Fendt stonegate blocks. The blocks were used not only for style, but for the strength needed to hold the grade of the property and prevent erosion damage. The finished wall was 40 feet long and 3 feet high. The 250 square foot patio was constructed with an interesting geometric shape that included an intricate pattern of different colored pavers. With this construction, the patio is not only functional as an outdoor living space, but will also provide its own aesthetic enhancement to the landscaping.

Results

This project progressed smoothly from beginning to end, even when suspected drainage issues were uncovered. The homeowners were very happy with the team throughout the work on the project. They are thrilled with the final outcome and are looking forward to using their outdoor living space. They are happy to finally have a space where they can entertain family and friends, as well as enjoy the outdoors themselves throughout the year.

As part of this community, we enjoy enhancing our neighbor’s properties. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can create some beautiful yet functional outdoor spaces on your property, contact Twin Oaks Landscape for an estimate.