Backyard Remodel
Your Whole San Gabriel Valley Backyard, Designed as One Space
San Gabriel Valley yards are rarely blank slates. They come with mature oaks and camphors, decades-old patios and drainage, houses with real architectural character, and summers hot enough that shade decides whether the yard gets used. A complete backyard remodel plans the pool, kitchen, shade and planting around what is worth keeping, and settles the drainage, the tree permits and any design review on the same plan.
- 25+years of experience
- 10,000+projects completed
- In-housedesign-build crews
- LIC #715731licensed & insured
- 5-star
Why do it as one project
A yard built in pieces is a yard that never quite fits together
There is nothing wrong with doing one thing at a time. The problem is that the expensive parts of a yard, the grading, the drainage and everything buried under the paving, get decided by whichever project happens to go first.
Built in pieces
- Each trade prices only its own scope, so nobody owns the parts in between
- Grading and drainage get solved once for the patio, then again for the pool
- Materials chosen years apart rarely sit right next to each other
- Conduit and gas get trenched, buried, then dug back up for the next phase
- The property is an on-and-off construction site for years
Planned as one project
- One survey, one set of finished levels, one drainage strategy for the property
- The material palette is selected as a set, in one sitting
- Conduit, gas, water and drains go in once, in order, under the hardscape
- Trades sequence behind one schedule instead of negotiating with each other
- You see the finished space in 3D before construction starts
Step 01
Decide what the yard is made of
An outdoor space is assembled from nine things. Most projects use five or six of them. What matters is deciding which ones before the ground opens, because each one leaves something buried behind it.
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Landscape & Planting
Planting plans, privacy screening, trees, lawn or turf, irrigation and drainage.
Plan for it early Planting goes in last and gets judged first. Soil preparation and irrigation zoning are decided early, because neither can be added once the hardscape is down.
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Pool & Spa
Custom pools, spas, sun shelves, coping and waterline tile, or a remodel of the pool already there.
Plan for it early The pool sets the finished level for everything around it. Excavation access, equipment location and deck grade all get resolved before the shell is dug.
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Patios & Hardscape
Paver patios, natural stone, walkways, steps and retaining walls that connect the property.
Plan for it early Paving is the floor of the whole yard. Its slope carries the drainage, and its base is where the conduit for lighting and gas is buried.
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Shade & Structures
Pergolas, patio covers, cabanas and shade structures sized to the space they cover.
Plan for it early Shade decides whether the yard is usable in July. Footings are poured with the hardscape, so the structure has to be located before the paving is set.
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Outdoor Kitchen & Dining
Grill islands, counters, bars and dining areas built around how the household actually entertains.
Plan for it early A kitchen needs gas, water, power and drainage arriving at one spot. Rough those in during hardscape and the counter can sit wherever the plan wants it.
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Fire Features
Fire pits, fire tables and outdoor fireplaces that anchor a seating area and extend the evening.
Plan for it early Gas line, clearances and seating radius are set at plan stage. Adding a fire pit to a finished patio means cutting the patio open again.
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Landscape Lighting
Path, step, tree and architectural lighting that keeps the space usable after sunset.
Plan for it early Conduit is inexpensive in an open trench and expensive under finished paving. Lighting is designed at plan stage even though it is installed near the end.
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Water Features
Fountains, ponds, waterfalls and pondless features that bring sound and movement into the garden.
Plan for it early Moving water needs a pump, power, a water source and somewhere for overflow to go. All four are plan decisions, not finishing touches.
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Driveway & Entry
Paver driveways, entry walks, walls and front-yard planting that change how the property reads from the street.
Plan for it early The front sets the tone before anyone reaches the back. It is also the route heavy equipment takes, which is why it is usually built last.
Step 02
Decide how it should look
Style is not decoration applied at the end. It decides the paving, the plant palette, the shape of the structures and how formal the planting reads, which is why it gets settled before materials do.
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Mediterranean Warm plaster, terra cotta and tile, with shade and water doing the cooling.
See the style
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English Garden Brick, clipped structure and deep borders that change through the year.
See the style
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Traditional Symmetry, classic materials and planting that suits an established home.
See the style
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Modern Clean lines, large-format paving and planting used as architecture.
See the style
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Drought-Tolerant Low-water planting and gravel ground planes that still read as full.
See the style
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Japanese Zen Restraint, stone, water and a small number of plants placed deliberately.
See the style
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Small Spaces Compact yards and side returns where every square foot has to earn its place.
See the style
Not sure which one is yours?
A short set of questions about how you want to use the space, and what you want it to feel like.
Step 03
Decide what it is built from
Materials get selected as a set at the conceptual meeting, not one at a time as each phase comes up. That is the difference between a yard that reads as one place and a yard that reads as four projects.
Paving and decking
The largest surface in the yard, and the one that carries the drainage.
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Travertine Honed or tumbled natural stone that stays cooler underfoot than most paving. -
Large-Format Pavers Fewer joints and a calmer surface, which makes a compact yard read larger. -
Interlocking Pavers Individual stones that lift and reset, so a repair is never a full replacement. -
Flagstone Irregular natural stone with planted or mortared joints, informal by nature. -
Poured Concrete Clean slabs, often with turf or gravel joints to break up the mass. -
Brick Small unit paving that suits older architecture and reads warm rather than modern.
Walls, steps and stone
What holds the grade and moves you between levels.
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Natural Stone Veneer and dry-stack walls, the most forgiving material on an uneven grade. -
Slate A darker, tighter stone often used for treads and coping details. -
Cobblestone Banding and edging that ties separate paved areas together. -
Garden Walls Raised planters and seat walls that add seating without adding furniture.
Ground and planting
The part that changes most between a wet winter and a dry September.
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Decomposed Granite A warm, permeable surface for paths and courtyards that needs no irrigation. -
Gravel A looser ground treatment for edges, side yards and under mature trees. -
Artificial Turf Green year-round with no irrigation, and it takes traffic a lawn will not. -
Lawn Still the right answer where children and dogs are the main users of the yard. -
Succulents Structure and color at almost no water cost, and they hold their form. -
Native Plants California-adapted planting that fits the climate and supports a lower-water garden.
Structures, water and detail
The smaller choices that decide whether a yard looks designed or assembled.
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Wood Pergolas, cabanas and screens, usually the warmest material in a modern yard. -
Rustic Timber Heavier, weathered sections for a garden that should look long established. -
Iron Gates, rails and hardware, where one handcrafted detail carries the character. -
Tile Risers, fountains and accent walls, color and craft at a small scale. -
Wall Fountains Moving water and sound without adding a body of water to maintain. -
Natural Ponds A planted body of water that brings reflection, habitat and a softer garden feeling. -
Water Features Spillways, fountains and waterfalls that add movement, sound and a focal point. -
Plunge Pools & Spas Where a full pool will not fit, or will not get used enough to earn the space.
Lighting
The circuits, fixtures and aiming that let the finished yard work after sunset.
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Path Lights Low fixtures that guide movement through walks, planting beds and transitions. -
Step Lights Integrated fixtures that make level changes visible without flooding the whole space. -
Tree Uplighting Focused light aimed into trunks and canopies so mature planting carries the evening view. -
Pool & Water Lighting Underwater and feature lighting that gives pools, spas and moving water depth after dark. -
Accent Lighting Small washes of light on walls, paths and planting that shape the mood from indoors and out.
How the decisions get made
The order everything happens in
The three decisions above do not get made in a vacuum. They happen inside a five-step process that exists so a project this size still lands on schedule and on budget.
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01
Site Analysis
We measure the property before we design anything.
Many San Gabriel Valley yards carry patios, irrigation and drainage added over decades rather than designed as one plan, so the team documents existing conditions with a LiDAR scanner alongside field measurements: elevations, drainage, root zones, utilities, access and what is already in the ground.
Why it matters Knowing what is worth keeping, and what is quietly failing, is what keeps a new yard from inheriting an old problem.
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02
Designer Meeting
We shape the plan around how you want to live outside.
Your designer lays out the whole yard around how your family uses it, and the house, the trees and the budget all get talked through here. If the property is a landmark, sits in a historic district or carries a Mills Act contract, that shapes the plan from this first conversation.
Why it matters Talking budget and review early prevents designing a yard that looks good and cannot be approved.
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03
Conceptual Design
Layout, materials and features get specific.
Pool, terraces, kitchen, shade, planting and drainage are drawn together and modeled in 3D, with materials chosen to suit a Craftsman, Spanish Colonial or traditional house rather than compete with it.
Why it matters Seeing the yard against the house in 3D is what keeps a remodel from looking added on.
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04
Design Refinement
The plan gets checked against the budget and the site before anything is built.
The concept is refined into dimensioned plans: wall heights on the slope, drainage routes, materials and every plant on the specification sheet, drawn to what design review, cultural heritage review or a tree permit will ask for.
Why it matters It is far less expensive to move a wall, or save a tree, on paper than after construction has started.
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05
Construction
One team builds from one plan.
Our in-house crews build from the approved plan, with the designer, job coordinator and site supervisor aligned on scope, materials and schedule from demolition to the last plant.
Why it matters A clear build plan is what removes the confusion, rework and delay that comes from coordinating strangers.
What "designed together" actually means
One property, drawn and then built
The same Pasadena backyard, from the measured existing yard to the concept plan to the finished terraces. The pool, spa, deck, fire pit and planting were placed together on paper, which is why they built out as one yard.
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01 The existing yard, measured The lawn, concrete, pavers, deck and driveway recorded before anything was designed. -
02 The concept plan Pool, spa, deck, fire pit and the planting legend, drawn to the measured grades. -
03 The finished yard The pool and spa lit at night, with the deck, the fire-pit lounge and the planting around them.
Real properties
Three yards that started where yours is
Drag each image to see the property as we found it. Photographed before construction began and again after the final walkthrough.
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Before After Dry lawn, an old brick patio and pergola and a utility shed, with a cypress hedge along the fence
Terraced Poolside Retreat
Pasadena
A pool and spa with a spillway, a composite deck and built-in kitchen, terraced concrete steps with inset lighting, a lawn fire-pit lounge and succulent beds along new retaining walls.
View this project -
Before After
A Spanish Colonial estate with an original pool in red brick coping and aggregate concrete, among mature trees
Rose Garden Estate
Altadena
The pool rebuilt with cream coping, a patterned tile band and a raised spillway wall, a white stucco outdoor fireplace, a paver driveway, flagstone garden paths, a pickleball court and rose gardens around the mature trees.
View this project -
Before After
A sloping yard of gravel, dirt and a dry creek bed under olives and pines
Boulder Creek Pool
La Crescenta
A freeform pool with boulder coping and in-pool loungers, a fire bowl patio, a boulder waterfall and stream, and a cedar hot tub and sauna, set into the slope.
View this project
Investment and schedule
What actually drives the number
A complete transformation is priced off the property, not off a menu. These are the things that move it, and the honest answer if the whole yard is not in this year's budget.
What shapes the investment
- How much of the property is in scope, and how much of it stays
- Excavation, grading and retaining, which slope drives more than size does
- Pool or spa scope, and whether existing structures are kept or replaced
- Material selections across paving, walls, structures and planting
- Permitting and any engineering the site or the city requires
What shapes the schedule
- Design and material selection, which moves at the pace decisions get made
- Permit review, which varies considerably between cities
- Site access for equipment, and how material gets in and spoil gets out
- Complex grading, retaining or drainage work
- Sequencing between trades, and weather through the wet months
If the whole yard is not in this year
- Design the entire property once, then build it in phases
- Trenching for gas, water, conduit and drains all happens in phase one
- Finished levels are set for the whole yard, so phase two still lines up
- The material palette is locked, so year three still matches year one
- You are never paying twice to open the same ground
From homeowners who did the whole yard
What it was like on the other side
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I learned about Pacific Outdoor Living while visiting a Pasadena Showcase House. They handled every phase with their in-house crew, and my backyard has been completely transformed.
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We used Pacific Outdoor to do paver work along with hardscaping, landscaping, and a pond installation. The results are gorgeous, and the teams worked together to solve problems as they came up.
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Several years before the Eaton Fire, Pacific Outdoor Living completed our front and backyard landscaping. Their pavers and retaining walls held up so well that the quality became clear even after tragedy. When everything was tested by nature's worst, their work proved itself. That's the kind of craftsmanship and durability you can count on.
Questions we get asked first
Before you book anything
Do you do complete backyard remodels across the San Gabriel Valley?
Yes. We have worked in Pasadena for more than two decades, including with the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, and our in-house team designs and builds whole-yard projects in Altadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia and Alhambra, and east through Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Claremont.
Our house is historic. What does that change?
Usually the review and the materials. San Marino sends most visible exterior work, landscaping included, through its Design Review Committee; South Pasadena has five historic districts and a Cultural Heritage Commission; and Pasadena has landmark and historic districts of its own. Where a property carries a Mills Act contract, the work is planned to stay consistent with it. We identify what applies during the site analysis and choose materials that read as original to the house.
We have a large oak. Can the remodel work around it?
In almost every case, and the oak usually makes the design better. San Marino requires City Council approval to remove an oak even from a rear yard, and other cities protect established trees too, so we map root zones first and keep the pool, paving and trenching outside them.
How do you plan a foothill lot for fire and runoff?
Foothill streets in Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia and Glendora sit in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and the Eaton, Bobcat and Colby fires all burned close. We keep the zone around the house non-combustible, plant low and irrigated nearby, and engineer grading and drainage for slopes below a burned watershed. If your property was affected by the Eaton Fire, call us at (818) 275-8271 to ask about the special rates we are offering.
What does a complete backyard remodel cost in the San Gabriel Valley, and how long does it take?
It depends on scope: a pool and patio is a different investment than a full remodel with a kitchen, shade structures, lighting and planting, and foothill lots add retaining and drainage. Design review or a tree permit can add steps to the schedule. A Site Analysis and design plan are the fastest way to a figure for your property, and our five-step process is built to keep confirmed projects on schedule and on budget.
The first step
Start with the Site Analysis
Before anything is designed, we measure the property: elevations, drainage, access, utilities and what is already there worth keeping. Every decision on this page gets easier once that exists.
Your shortlist
Mention these when you get in touch and we will plan the consultation around them.
Pacific Outdoor Living
Complete Backyard Plan
The elements I want in the project The elements to consider, ticked by hand
- 01. Landscape & Planting Planting goes in last and gets judged first. Soil preparation and irrigation zoning are decided early, because neither can be added once the hardscape is down.
- 02. Pool & Spa The pool sets the finished level for everything around it. Excavation access, equipment location and deck grade all get resolved before the shell is dug.
- 03. Patios & Hardscape Paving is the floor of the whole yard. Its slope carries the drainage, and its base is where the conduit for lighting and gas is buried.
- 04. Shade & Structures Shade decides whether the yard is usable in July. Footings are poured with the hardscape, so the structure has to be located before the paving is set.
- 05. Outdoor Kitchen & Dining A kitchen needs gas, water, power and drainage arriving at one spot. Rough those in during hardscape and the counter can sit wherever the plan wants it.
- 06. Fire Features Gas line, clearances and seating radius are set at plan stage. Adding a fire pit to a finished patio means cutting the patio open again.
- 07. Landscape Lighting Conduit is inexpensive in an open trench and expensive under finished paving. Lighting is designed at plan stage even though it is installed near the end.
- 08. Water Features Moving water needs a pump, power, a water source and somewhere for overflow to go. All four are plan decisions, not finishing touches.
- 09. Driveway & Entry The front sets the tone before anyone reaches the back. It is also the route heavy equipment takes, which is why it is usually built last.