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Once you see their backyard,
you'll realize why they called us.
Needs a lot of help. [ Chuckles ]
CHRIS: Right now, this backyard...
is not organized well,
there's junk everywhere,
playground is not in the right spot,
and it lacks privacy.
We're gonna change all that...
...make it a much more private backyard,
bring in some color for not only the adults, but also the kids.
I cannot wait to show David and Shelley
the complete transformation of this ugly space.
Wow.
Oh, my gosh. You guys!
We love it!
All right. Let's not think too much.
Let's demo.
I'm Chris Lambton.
When it comes to yards, I'm an expert.
Pull me up.
I'm a second-generation landscaper,
along with my two brothers.
I've seen everything
from piles of junk and falling-down decks
to dirt and weeds as far as the eye can see.
It's kind of a disaster back there.
Every project is a new challenge,
but I'm always up for the job.
And with the help of my brothers and my wife, Peyton,
I find creative ways to take the worst yards
and turn them into the best.
It's time to get to work because we're "Going Yard."
We're going to see David and Shelley.
David is a wine manager at a local restaurant,
and Shelley is a real estate agent.
How's the banana bread?
CHRIS: They have two really cute daughters --
like, lovely family,
but once you see their backyard,
you'll realize why they called us.
It's kind of a disaster back there.
We working miracles here?
We're gonna need a big Dumpster for this one.
[ Chuckles ]
It's gonna be a big demo day.
There's junk piled up.
He's got piles of lumber that he just is like,
"Oh, yeah, I might use it."
Old, rusted-out wood stove, like, for no reason.
Like, some people take junk
and turn it into really cool stuff.
CHRIS: No.
Well, you just call me when demo's over with.
[ Chuckles ]
Come on. You'll see.
So, here's the space we're working with.
It's kind of small.
They have an outdoor fire pit.
For hot showers, they have a water heater.
PEYTON: Dave and Shelley have so much stuff in their yard
they've just collected over the years.
I think the idea was that they were gonna restore some pieces,
maybe re-purpose them,
but they've just turned into piles of junk,
and it's totally an eyesore.
Hey, girls, how are you?
Hi.
Shelley, good to see you.
Good to see you, Chris.
This is my wife and stylist, Peyton.
David, good to see you.
PEYTON: So, you have quite the yard.
Yeah, just showing Peyton the yard.
Yeah.
We like the size of it.
It's not too big for us, you know?
It has a natural feel that we like,
but it needs a lot of help. [ Chuckles ]
Are the girls able to play out here at all?
It's a little dangerous.
Yeah.
And the ground cover --
As you can see, it's not very conducive to running around.
At least you have privacy in the shower.
I can look right in there.
DAVID: Yeah. That's nice, isn't it?
[ Chuckles ]
Hi.
I can look right through the window
and see the neighbor's yard.
DAVID: It's very neighborly.
Tell me about the fire pit and the water heater.
DAVID: It just got moved out here
when we bought a new wood-burning stove for inside.
I just haven't brought it to the dump, to be honest.
And the coffee urn --
That's actually from years ago.
We used to own a coffee house.
And we bought that at auction.
So, where do the girls play back here? Do they play --
When they do play, they play on the swing set.
And then the backyard gravel continues back to the play set,
Yeah.
You guys still like playing on the swing set?
Yeah?
What about a more, like -- what about sand underneath it?
You like sand to play in instead?
I like it!
[ Laughter ]
Choo-choo train.
I was just noticing this tub.
DAVID: When we bought the house,
we asked them to leave it, believe it or not.
You sound very defeated. I think it's really cool.
CHRIS: I feel like when the backyard was put together,
the plan wasn't really put together.
SHELLEY: There wasn't a plan.
There was no plan.
I think this would be a great little retreat in the backyard.
This would be a great place for the girls to hang out
and, as they get older, if it's really nice back here,
they can have friends come over here,
and that way you know where they are at all times,
which is always great.
That sounds fantastic.
That would make me feel really good.
Yeah. I think I have all of that.
Love to see it.
Awesome.
Oh, my -- Wow.
CHRIS: Let me explain exactly what you're looking at here.
Cool!
You walk out of the back door.
We're gonna completely tear out the old deck,
build in a much larger deck with a built-in bench.
[ Laughing ] Awesome.
And this screen wall right here
will give you a private outdoor shower.
[ Gasps ] Thank you.
From there, a little boardwalk.
We're gonna push the hot tub over more,
put some nice privacy plantings around it, a fence right here,
so that way, when you're in this hot tub,
you won't be looking out at the main road
or the driveway next to you.
Privacy is a good thing.
We're gonna do a beautiful flagstone patio,
so that way, again, it's gonna be a great entertaining space
with a dining area coming off this garage.
I'm gonna get rid of that fire pit.
I don't know if that's gonna be okay with you.
No, get rid of that.
Yeah.
We're gonna get rid of that fire,
put in a circular, brick fire pit.
Wow!
A rectangular seating area
wrapped right around that tree right there.
That's amazing.
And then, on this wall right here --
I'm thinking about this wall, I'm like,
It's kind of plain.
So, we're gonna do a hanging garden
and make a little art area for the girls, as well.
This is gonna be an arbor-way going into the swing-set area.
Swing set -- We're gonna actually put some sand under it,
clean that swing set up.
Another privacy fence in this back corner
right behind us.
As you can tell,
I'm gonna bring in lots of color with plantings,
because that is what this yard is lacking right now,
is color and energy.
How would you describe your style?
Probably traditional
with a little bit of contemporary in there.
So, keep it warm -- fall colors...
Fall colors, yeah.
CHRIS: All right. This whole yard is gonna be completely different.
We're gonna bring it to life.
Absolutely.
We're very excited.
So, we're gonna give you places to sit, some color,
places for the girls to play, places for you guys to play.
We love it. Yeah. Thank you.
Are you excited by this?
Yeah, we're really excited about it.
CHRIS: We got a lot to do on this demo day --
demo the deck, demo the shower, clean out the entire backyard.
Hey, boys. What's up?
Big demo yard day.
Is it? Where do you start?
All right. So, back here.
This is where everything's going on.
We're saving the hot tub.
The entire deck goes.
Shower goes.
So, let's start demo-ing some stuff.
Hang on. Hang on. Lift it up.
Geez, it's gross under there.
Oh!
Anybody behind me?
One, two...
Huffing and puffing. You got that?
I ordered the biggest Dumpster that they carry.
I know that this demo day,
we're gonna fill this thing right to the top.
MAN: One, two, three, drop.
[ Laughs ]
MAN: Perfect.
There are a lot of stumps in this backyard.
We're gonna be bringing a patio in,
so we can't have any of these stumps sticking out.
They're gonna be a tripping hazard.
Let's do a final cleanup and just rake everything out.
Start getting the deck going.
It looks a lot bigger now that everything's gone.
This deck should be a relatively simple build.
The ground is really level and stable,
so all I have to do is put out the concrete blocks,
start framing with some 2x4s --
Should be done pretty quickly.
Yep. That's the one.
How's that looking there?
What we're doing here is we're gonna set this post in
for their outside shower enclosure.
It'll be nice --
give them a little bit of privacy in the summer
when they want to come out and take a shower.
Got to.
If you're on Cape Cod, you have to have one.
I'd say it was a very successful demo day.
We almost filled up a 50-yard Dumpster.
That is a lot of junk to get out of a backyard,
and we still found time to start framing the deck.
Very productive day.
CHRIS: Two days ago,
Dave and Shelley's backyard was practically a junkyard.
One giant Dumpster and a lot of lumber later,
and we're well on our way into transforming this backyard
into a family gathering place
that they will want for them and their young daughters.
If we can get the flagstones put down today
get the deck done, get the shower wrapped,
that would mean that tomorrow we just do all the planting --
we'll be like 95% done.
Morning, boys.
The guys nearly finished the deck yesterday.
All we have left to do is trim out the edges
and then start building the bench.
Now, with a bigger deck that fits the actual backyard,
not only can you fit more stuff on the deck,
but walk right out of the backdoor,
walk right along the new pathway --
not have to worry about getting your feet dirty.
These stones are about 40, 50 pounds.
I like the color of the stone. It's nice.
That's a lot of stone.
This is a quarried quartzite stone from Upstate New York.
These stones are really hard to move.
They're three inches thick, they're heavy,
but they give you a very stable patio
and they brighten up the backyard.
Let's get a big one right here for, like, the entrance.
Yeah.
Then, right here
is where the dining-room table's gonna be, off the bench,
so definitely, like, two big ones here.
Give it even a little bit more space.
Okay.
We're gonna sweep sand into these.
This is really going quickly today.
We're using stone dust as a base for the pavers.
It's actually a crushed-up granite.
It gives you a very solid base -- almost like concrete --
and once you put those pavers on there,
they're not gonna go anywhere.
Once we get these stones all laid out and leveled,
the only thing left to do -- sweep sand in between the cracks
to finish off the look.
This will now block the propane tanks
so when you're on the deck entertaining,
you will not see any of this ugliness back here,
and, most importantly, when you're in here showering...
no one from this area can see you at all.
Stop looking at me! I'm in the shower, Pat.
Wow.
Hello.
MAN: Hey.
Hey, how are you?
This is a big change.
A lot has gone on.
Holy moly. Oh, my goodness.
Wow.
What can't you see anymore?
Uh, me taking a shower.
That and the propane tanks.
Oh, yeah!
Yeah. Jump on in there.
Wow.
It's so nice.
That was such an eyesore.
So nice that that's hidden.
Wow. This looks fantastic.
It's a lot bigger.
This is awesome.
So, we have the little planter right there.
Wow. The swing set --
It's turned around now,
so now we have a straight shot to the girls.
CHRIS: Yeah. It just made more sense.
When they were sliding off the other day, they were sliding off
and kind of going into the other side of the yard,
so you couldn't even see them.
Yeah.
So now when they're back there playing --
Keep better track of them.
Yeah, I can see them right out the back door.
'Cause they have to be kept track of, I've noticed.
They like to run around.
The flagstone looks great.
It looks beautiful.
Yeah, the color really does lighten it up.
Your yard got a lot bigger
once we ripped everything out of here.
Nice work so far, man.
I love it.
All right. Well, we have a lot left to do,
and it's supposed to rain in the afternoon, so I'd like to...
We don't want to hold you up.
...make hay while the sun is, well, sort of shining.
Thanks a lot.
No problem.
CHRIS: The hardscape in this backyard was definitely the toughest.
Took a lot of time,
but now that we're nearly complete
with the two biggest projects in the backyard --
the stone patio and the deck --
tomorrow, it's time to move on to the fire pit
and all the plantings.
Morning, boys.
MAN: Hey. Morning, sunshine.
You got pea stone?
Good.
All right. So, pea stone along the wall over here.
MAN: Yeah.
Wrap around the corner.
Let's mix up some mortar.
Fire pit?
Yeah, actually, start working on the fire pit.
The plant order will get here in probably about an hour.
The fence is getting here this morning sometime.
I'm not sure yet.
ERIK: Yeah.
We're recycling some old bricks
we found in the yard for the fire pit.
Rustic fire pits like this -- they're pretty simple to make.
This is the inside ring of brick right here,
and then just do an outside ring.
That's all it takes.
The double layers of brick not only look good,
but they'll also keep the heat in
and reduce the chance of the outside layer cracking.
CHRIS: We'll go right around the outside like this, Erik...
and then stack them vertically.
PEYTON: I'm coming by to check in with Chris today.
I want to show him the planting pockets
that I got for the side of the shed,
figure out where those are gonna go,
and I also want to save the sign that the family had on the shed
when we first arrived in the yard.
So. My gosh, it looks awesome.
Yeah.
It's brightened it up quite a bit.
Yeah.
So, I brought the hanging planter pockets.
So, we have a long one.
And then I have three shorter ones.
Yeah.
If we can figure out how to, in some way,
symmetrically hang these along the wall...
These are huge.
I didn't even know they came this big.
I know, right?
I mean, I even thought this one was big,
'cause we have one that's just like a single --
like, this size, right?
I love ours. It's nice.
But I like these, 'cause then,
I mean, it'll fill up the entire wall space over here.
We still want to use this sign,
Right.
So, where do you want the sign? Like, here?
No. I think, like, it should go at the top.
Yeah.
'Cause then when we fill the pockets with flowers,
it'll all just, like, cascade down the wall.
Oh, okay.
For the girls, I have a bunch of stuff
that's gonna go on the open part of the wall right here.
So, I've got a magnet board, planting tools,
and I've got some galvanized buckets that we can put --
that they can, like, put all their stuff in.
So, they can keep all their stuff here, but then they can also --
It'll be like a little art center, as well.
They're gonna love it.
PEYTON: The bathtub is the one vintage item from this yard
I want to hold onto.
I think it could be a really great art piece
for the middle of Chris' planting area,
so I want to clean it up, paint it a nice, bright color,
and then figure out where it's gonna go
so that it's not overpowering the planting area.
It's gonna blend in.
Just tell me where you want it.
Okay. Put it right there for now.
Some good mortar here.
Throw some on the cracks.
Throw on the sides.
CHRIS: We're using mortar to hold the bricks together.
This way, it's a safe and secure fire pit.
Then one like this.
All right, then...
So, what I'm thinking is...
Got to put a lot of mortar on those bricks.
That way, once it sets up, these bricks are going nowhere.
We got a lot of plants here.
Fantastic.
[ Grunts ]
PAUL: Thank you, sir.
That would have hurt my foot.
Nice ornamental grasses.
Switchgrass.
Aw, what's up, red flower?
April Tryst.
See all the buds?
See, these are all about to pop.
Some nice hot peppers.
Great for the hanging garden.
Look at that.
It's like we've done this before, Paul.
[ Whistles ]
Ornamental grasses give a little height behind the fire-pit area.
Add a couple different colors of camellia.
I got white and red.
They'll get nice and big,
block this entire area right here and really fill out,
give you beautiful color in the late fall.
Usually rebar -- it's used for footings,
it's used for holding cement together.
This case, it's an archway into the girls' play area.
So, once we get this top bar put in place, we're gonna...
Then I'm gonna stop...
CHRIS: And then I start welding the corners? Okay, good.
We're gonna weld it together
so it will be safe for the girls to still run underneath,
and it's gonna be very unique.
[ Chuckling ] The last one.
So, what do these actually do?
Uh...they don't really do anything.
It's the plants that do most of the work.
Oh, it's actually for plants?
Yeah.
Yeah, put some dirt in there, put the plants in there
so they'll kind of hang out
and give you a vertical garden, Mark.
Dresses up an ugly wall like this pretty good.
All that's left now is planting those things.
And that's you and Peyton, not me.
Oh, yeah. We'll plant the pockets.
Perfect.
We got the deck and the patio finished.
We got to let the fire pit dry overnight.
Tomorrow, it's just finishing touches,
then we can show the homeowners their brand-new backyard.
CHRIS: What looked like a junkyard four days ago
was really a diamond in the rough
for Dave, Shelley, and their young daughters,
who want a beautiful and safe place to play.
It's the final day.
We got a few more trees and plants to get in the ground,
about 1,000 square-feet of sod to lay,
then it's just finishing touches.
For sure.
Oh, yeah.
You like it?
We put the privacy fence in back here
to block it from the main road,
also cuts down on noise,
but we want to bring some more color back here.
This yard was really lacking in color.
We brought in these nice golden cypress trees.
This arborvitae right here will get nice and big,
block out the street some more.
Just kind of brighten up this dull corner.
These keep going right around.
Let's take all of this and put it on the deck area.
Okay.
The sand makes the swing set look so much brighter.
Yeah.
Through the arbor gateway.
[ Chuckles ]
Finish the planting yet.
Big impatiens right here in the middle.
PEYTON: Oh, yeah. That'll be nice for color.
I know. Break it up a little bit.
This looks really cool.
Yeah.
So, it'll be like a coffee table.
Oh, yeah? Oh. Cool.
So, now you have a seating area.
These are...heavy.
Chris decided to preserve
the tree that was already beside the shed
by building a bench all the way around it.
I thought we might as well double that
as a seat for the dining table and extend it off
to have a dining nook right next to the bench.
CHRIS: Right now, the yard is perfect.
I cannot wait to show David and Shelley
the complete transformation of this ugly space.
One more towel.
Looks awesome!
Hi.
[ Gasps ]
Check it out.
DAVID: Wow.
Oh, my gosh. You guys.
We love it.
SHELLEY: I'm shocked at the transformation of the backyard.
Let me check out my shower.
[ Gasps ] Oh, wow.
CHRIS: And then, the great part about this
is not only private shower,
but also you can't see all that stuff back there.
Oh, Shelley, you even got your storage.
Wow!
It's also for storage, which is great.
So, it's dual-purpose.
And before in your yard, you had no seating,
so I wanted to get as much seating into this yard
as possible.
And the deck -- Do you remember how small the deck was before?
So, it's got a lot bigger.
Now it's extended all the way over to the hot tub.
It wraps around the hot tub, even.
Yeah. And now you have privacy back here
with the fence that wraps around,
so you don't have to look out at the busy road.
Actual color back here.
Those are lilacs.
They actually bloom in the spring.
Yeah, those are a different variety of lilacs.
Unbelievable. Gorgeous.
Dining area.
Libby, what do you think of your bench here?
You're standing on it.
[ Laughs ]
SHELLEY: Oh, my God, that's awesome!
Wow. Is that pretty or what?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, these pockets are great, 'cause you can water in them,
and it'll absorb water,
but also allow it to flow out naturally.
And the fire pit. You had that rusty...
DAVID: [ Laughs ]
That was pre-kids, mind you.
But now, an actual, beautiful brick fire pit.
This is awesome!
We can roast some marshmallows out here.
Hey. Look at the bath tub, Libby.
Oh, the bath tub.
With flowers in it.
That came out great!
It's completely transformed.
So, we got rebar,
which is usually used for reinforcing cement,
and we turned it into an art piece in your backyard.
DAVID: Yeah, but that's right up our alley.
Did you go through the arbor?
Look. Wait! Wait for your sister.
She's excited. It's cool.
You got new swings!
Switched out the old swings with some nice Douglas fir.
Oh!
How much better?!
It's sand now, see?
Sand. You can roll around in it for all I care.
SHELLEY: They do love to run around without shoes on,
so this is really, really, really...
Sand angels.
[ Laughter ]
This is awesome!
CHRIS: Before, the swing set was off to the side,
so we wanted to open it up for the rest of the yard.
Go!
[ Laughs ]
And obviously, they love it now,
'cause their shoes are off and they're playing in the sand.
Not afraid to fall down.
Exactly. Yes.
This was a ton of fun.
It really was.
Thank you so much.
Really appreciate it.
It's awesome.
Yeah.
They did a great job with taking the ideas
and putting them into reality.
I mean, in a very short amount of time,
came out beautifully.
And we're really, really happy about it.
Couldn't be happier. Absolutely.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.