The order a backyard gets built — and why it matters

Almost every backyard disaster we get called into is a sequencing problem, not a craftsmanship problem.

1. Demolition and excavation

Everything that is coming out, comes out first — old deck, old patio, dead sod, construction debris left by the builder. Machines need access while there is still room to move.

2. Grade and drainage

Levels, slope and any drainage go in before anything is built on top. This is the stage nobody photographs and the one that decides whether the yard works.

3. Structure

Retaining walls, then patio base and stone, then steps. Heights are tied together — a patio laid before the wall beside it is a patio that will not meet the wall cleanly.

4. Utilities

Low-voltage lighting runs, irrigation lines and gas for a fire feature go in while trenches are open and before sod. Adding them later means cutting into finished work.

5. Planting, sod and finishes

Last, because everything before it involves machines, mud and material stacked on the ground.

If a pool is part of the plan, the shell goes in before the deck, and the deck contractor should be in the conversation before the pool contractor breaks ground.

How we run a build