Case study
Front-and-Back Paver Driveway, Walkway and Turf Yard in San Carlos
A San Carlos front-and-back yard rebuilt around a new paver driveway and walkway, a 577 sq ft TD So Natural 95 artificial turf area in the back, drainage tied into two existing downspouts, low-voltage path and up lighting, and refreshed planting beds across roughly 1,011 sq ft of fresh bark mulch.
- Location
- San Carlos
- Scope
- Artificial Turf
- Investment
- $70,000–$80,000
Full project details
- Timeline
- Pre-construction sub-selection and final light-fixture decisions ran in the weeks before mobilization, the install crew was on site for about nine working days of active install, and the final walkthrough closed out the main build with no callbacks.
The challenge
The front yard mixed an aging paver field with patchy turf and tired planting beds, with no clean visual line from the public sidewalk to the front entry.
The back yard was a worn natural-grass lawn with a low wood deck, dry-stacked landscape edges, and a kids' playset zone, usable but high-maintenance and visually mismatched.
Two existing downspouts discharged onto the surface with no organized path into the yard drainage, leaving planting beds and patio edges exposed to runoff.
Twelve small trees and fifteen bushes in the existing planting beds were past their prime or in the way of the new layout, and the existing front-yard pavers needed pressure-washing and polymeric-sand re-jointing rather than a full rebuild.
The existing low-voltage lighting was a partial system, some fixtures still worked and were worth keeping, but the front-and-back layout needed a coordinated lighting plan to read as one design at night.
Our approach
The homeowners wanted the front entry and backyard to feel connected instead of being repaired in separate phases. Sequoia Outdoor rebuilt the visible hardscape with new paver driveway and walkway areas, carried the same material through the transitions, and refreshed the backyard with artificial turf, steel edging, planting beds, bark mulch, drainage tie-ins, drip irrigation, and low-voltage lighting. The team also pressure-washed and re-jointed the existing front-yard pavers so the budget stayed focused on the surfaces and systems that needed real work.The outcome
The front and back yards now read as one connected refresh: a paver driveway and entry walkway in the front, an artificial turf area in the back framed by clean steel edging, drainage tied into the existing downspouts, refreshed planting beds across roughly 1,011 sq ft of fresh mulch, and a low-voltage lighting plan that connects the front and back at night. The existing front-yard pavers were pressure-washed and re-jointed rather than replaced, keeping the spend focused on the elements that needed real work.The plan
A coordinated front-and-back footprint, with about 614 sq ft of concrete pavers as the new driveway and entry walkway and another 168 sq ft of paving carrying the same material into the back yard.
A 577 sq ft TD So Natural 95 artificial turf area in the back, edged with 76 linear feet of black steel landscape edging for clean lines against the planting beds.
A layered planting package, 168 one-gallon, 14 five-gallon, and 20 fifteen-gallon plants alongside 8 four-inch potted installs, across roughly 1,011 sq ft of fresh bark mulch beds, sized to read full at handoff without over-investing in mature stock.
Drainage tied into two existing downspouts via NDS 2x3x4 offset adapters and 25 linear feet of 3-inch SDR-35 PVC, with irrigation refreshed on a one-valve drip layout for the new beds.
30 linear feet of bullnose paver step caps to finish the grade transitions, with the existing front-yard pavers pressure-washed and re-jointed in new polymeric sand rather than rebuilt.
Low-voltage landscape lighting on a 12/2 run with Pro-Trade BUL1 up lights (3W 2700K MR1 LED) and PTH1 path lights (180-lumen 2700K LED), tying into seven reused front-yard fixtures so the front and back read as one lighting plan at night.
Build highlights
Demo and site prep
The crew demolished a low wood deck (about 130 sq ft) and removed 12 small trees and 15 bushes across the front and back, then stripped the existing surfaces down to subgrade where the new pavers and turf would land. Demo material was hauled off.
Base prep and grading
Subgrade was rough graded, geotextile fabric was rolled out, and a compacted crushed-stone base was spread across the new driveway, walkway, and back-yard hardscape. Drainage rough-ins were set in place, including the NDS offset downspout adapters and 25 linear feet of 3-inch SDR-35 PVC, before any pavers went down so the downspout tie-ins were locked in early.
Pavers, steps and turf
About 614 sq ft of concrete pavers were laid as the new front driveway and walkway with another 168 sq ft of paving carrying the same material through transition zones, and 30 linear feet of bullnose paver step caps were set at the grade changes. In the back, 577 sq ft of TD So Natural 95 artificial turf was installed over Envirofill 30/50 infill, seamed with 12-inch tape and turf glue and pinned with 5-inch and 6-inch common nails, then edged in 76 linear feet of black steel landscape edging.
Lighting, drainage finish and existing-paver refresh
Low-voltage lighting was wired on a 12/2 run with Pro-Trade BUL1 up lights and PTH1 path lights, with seven existing front-yard fixtures reused. The downspout tie-ins were finished off, and the existing 733 sq ft front-yard paver field was pressure-washed and re-jointed in new polymeric sand, with a localized repair to a small area of the field.
Planting, bark mulch and walkthrough
Planting beds were prepped with topsoil, 168 one-gallon, 14 five-gallon, and 20 fifteen-gallon plants plus 8 four-inch potted installs were set across the layered palette, and roughly 1,011 sq ft of fresh bark mulch was laid across the front and back beds. The one-valve drip irrigation system was set, the final lighting was checked, and Alonzo and the crew walked the finished yard with the homeowners on the day of handoff.
Before and after
Project gallery
Frequently asked questions
How much does a front-and-back yard refresh like this cost in San Carlos?
A coordinated front-and-back yard refresh like this one falls in the $70,000 to $80,000 range in San Mateo County. The scope here covered roughly 614 sq ft of paver driveway and walkway, another 168 sq ft of paving, 577 sq ft of artificial turf, downspout drainage tie-ins, irrigation, low-voltage lighting, and a layered planting package across about 1,011 sq ft of mulch beds. Where a project lands inside that range depends on access, drainage scope, and how much of the existing hardscape can be kept and refreshed rather than rebuilt.How long does a front-and-back yard paver-and-turf refresh take?
Most San Mateo County front-and-back yard refreshes of this scale, with around 800 sq ft of pavers, a turf area, drainage, lighting, and planting, run several weeks of active install. On this project, the install crew was on site for about nine working days of active install before the final walkthrough closed out the main build with no callbacks.How is drainage handled when downspouts already exist on the house?
On this project the new drainage tied into two existing downspouts via NDS 2x3x4 offset downspout adapters and 25 linear feet of 3-inch SDR-35 PVC, instead of re-routing the gutter system. Tying into the existing downspouts is faster than rebuilding the gutter run, but only if the downspout outlets are accessible and the new line can be graded cleanly into the yard drainage path.Why pressure-wash and re-joint existing pavers instead of replacing them?
On this project about 733 sq ft of existing front-yard pavers were in good structural shape but had tired joints and surface grime. We pressure-washed the field and re-jointed it with new polymeric sand, with a small localized repair to one area. That approach kept the spend on the new driveway, walkway, and turf rather than on rebuilding hardscape that did not need it.What is included in the lighting and irrigation systems?
Lighting is a low-voltage system on a 12/2 run with Pro-Trade BUL1 up lights (3W 2700K MR1 LED) and Pro-Trade PTH1 path lights (180-lumen 2700K LED), and seven existing front-yard fixtures were reused where they still worked. Irrigation is a one-valve drip system serving the new beds, sized for roughly 300 sq ft of planted area with piping, heads and emitters. Low-voltage and drip systems keep ongoing maintenance simple and easy to extend if the planting changes later.Project topics
Project location
Approximate neighborhood near San Carlos. The pin is displaced by approximately 150 metres to protect client privacy.