Joe Tuttle, landscape designer, reviews plans with Mark Borst, president of Borst Landscape and Design.

Joe Tuttle knew he had a challenge on his hands. Tuttle, landscape designer for Borst Landscape and Design Inc. of Allendale, NJ, had been asked to transform a small, severely sloping backyard into a series of welcoming spaces that would include a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and entertainment areas.

"The first thing I noticed when viewing the property was a retaining wall that cut across the backyard," Tuttle says. Located about 18 feet from the rear property line, the wall cut off some 2,000 sq. ft. of usable space from a back yard that measured about 7,500 sq. ft. Behind this wall, Tuttle found an eight-foot drop to the level of the neighboring property. The transition in grade from the ground floor of the house to the rear property line worked out to be 15 feet.

Meeting zoning concerns

BEFORE

Working with the client, Tuttle designed a plan to eliminate the old retaining wall, extend usable property almost to the property line and create several discreet entertainment areas.

"The zoning law does not allow for retaining walls more than four feet high on the property. We could have asked for a variance, but that would have held the project up for at least a year," Tuttle says. "Instead, we had to find a way to terrace the property in such a way that we could create several different levels that did not exceed the 4-ft. limit and would flow into each other for easy access."

AFTER, The coping on the patio hides an automatic safety cover for the pool. Water runoff from impermeable surfaces is collected on site.

There was also an existing 4-ft.-high retaining wall on the property line that was not only falling down, but also needed to be raised to a height of eight feet to support the new pool and keep it from sliding into the neighboring property. This called for some creative thinking because Tuttle had to deal with the 4-foot wall height regulations as well as a requirement that any new wall on the property line be set back one foot from the property line for every foot of height. This would cut into the usable backyard area. Tuttle modified his plan and replaced the failing wall with a 2-tiered interlocking wall that conformed to the set back requirements. Once this was addressed the work began.

Surprises along the way

After removing the old retaining wall that had divided the property, Borst started the regrading process, first lowering the level just behind the house by three feet. "In doing that we discovered the footing of the house had not been constructed to code," Tuttle says. "That was a big surprise. In order to support the back of the house and the existing deck, we needed to construct new footings."

BEFORE

Using dry-laid bluestone walls, the Borst team built a 3-ft.-high retaining wall and several steps descending from the ground floor of the house to the new patio level. This level includes a fully equipped kitchen with tile countertops, counter stools, a variety of cooking elements, plus an adjacent dining area.

To add another element of outdoor entertainment, a bar area was created under the first floor of the house in a space formerly used to store outdoor furniture. Tuttle and the homeowners collaborated on creating a room in this space with French doors for direct access to the main patio area. From the inside, a flat screen TV was mounted on a swiveling bracket behind the bar so that it can be positioned for viewing from the outside while in the outdoor kitchen space.