A Mountain Retreat in Omaha

By Jolynn Bennett, Pavestone LLC

Contractor Jake Foutch and his team spent eight weeks and 1,600 man-hours on the award-winning, $130,000 backyard renovation at the Pitz residence in Barrington Park, Nebraska.

Landscape contractor Jake Foutch of Foutch Enterprises made creative use of segmental retaining walls, concrete pavers and natural granite boulders to redefine the backyard of the Ken and Marian Pitz residence in Barrington Park, Neb. The waterfall, fire features and lighting elements add ''wow'' appeal, bringing a Colorado-esque backdrop to southeast Nebraska.

The sunken fire pit area is a 20-foot diameter circle occupying more than 285 square feet. Custom-cut blocks stacked 3½-feet high form the segmental retaining walls, which accommodated the sloping elevation and served as the back support for the seating area. The seat wall measures 2½-feet high and 12-13 inches deep.

The Plan The Pitz family wanted a variety of unique spaces for entertaining guests on large and intimate scales: Separate ''destinations'' for outdoor grilling, conversation areas and quiet spots to enjoy the beauty of the setting. A flow from the house to the backyard area turned a backyard slope into an asset, rather than a liability. ''One of their wishes was to not have to mow that severe slope anymore,'' Foutch said.?????EUR??,,?EUR ''With such a dramatic slope, it was the perfect place to put in a waterfall and make it look like it?EUR??,,????'???s been there for years.''?????EUR??,,?EUR Installation ''Since we started in early spring we had a hard time fighting the rain,'' Foutch said, adding that 10 days of the 8-week project were rained out. ''The slope made access into the backyard very difficult, but we were able to dig and make a temporary road in and out of the backyard.''

More than 60 large granite boulders and 15 Black Hills limestone steps support a tumbling waterfall that incorporates the sloping terrain. 6x4-foot random edge stones form a bridge and landing area for walking over one of the falls.

Some of the boulders for the waterfall weighed more than three tons, requiring a large excavator and special straps to move them into place. Scott Carson of Carson Enterprises assisted with the installation of the waterfall, and Burton Kilgore of Nature's Intent helped install 32 accent lights for the trees, sunken fire pit, waterfall, and path lights for guest safety. Large spruce trees along the property and around the fire pit created a more intimate environment for the 15-guest sunken fire pit area.

''We had to use the Pitz' entire front yard for staging all the plants, pavers, and stone,'' Foutch said. ''We couldn?EUR??,,????'???t have everything delivered at once due to little staging space, so lining [the materials] up and having them there right when we needed them was very important.''

The original concrete slab was replaced with a limestone and crushed concrete base, and more than 1,600 square feet of tumbled, textured concrete pavers.

T-190 and MT52 Bobcat loaders were used to dig out and move the dirt from the waterfall area. Workers took a day to install the steps, and a week and a half to prep and install the waterfall.

Everybody Wins

Foutch Enterprises was the big winner in the Large Backyard Category of the 2011 Ultimate Backyard Challenge, sponsored by Watkins Concrete Block in Omaha.

''This is outdoor living at its best,'' said Lisa Lackovic, creator of the Ultimate Backyard Challenge. ''[There is a] good sense of entry for guests, and the lighting made the yard magical.''

It was the homeowners, however, that walked away happiest. ''We have had many people who walk the trail behind our home come up to our property to tell us how beautiful and awesome our entire backyard looks,'' said homeowners Ken and Marion Pitz.?????EUR??,,?EUR ''We are very appreciative to Jake and his crew for making our backyard a special and enjoyable one.''

Retaining walls and benches were created with Anchor™ Highland Stone® Freestanding Wall. Workers used Pavestone?EUR??,,????'???s tumbled Vintage Stone?EUR??,,????<