The Great Transformation

Story & Photos by Jennifer Deemer, Eisler Landscapes

Eisler Landscapes transformed a steep slope liability into a safe garden walk complemented with a curving stream and waterfall. The planting area features roses and daylilies; the area is irrigated through 2,000 linear feet of drip line.

Eisler Landscapes designed and built a waterfall, pool and outdoor living space to replace a barren yard in this Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania project. Challenged with a steep grade, the contractor had much to deliver in a relatively tight timeframe.

Chief among the clients' mandates was that the design should create space for their teenagers to enjoy and use with their friends. When the project was complete, Eisler Landscapes had accomplished a major transformation of the area.

The planting areas include daylilies, roses, Japanese Maples, and Kousa Dogwoods. It is irrigated with both drip and overhead irrigation. The waterfall feature is 80 feet in length, dumping into a small pool near an outdoor spa.

After excavating the area with a Cat D4 Dozer and a Cat 312 excavator, the company built the custom pool shell rebar cage and then finished it by spraying in Shotcrete.

Gone was the barren hill and unusable space, replaced with no less than an 80-foot long stream and waterfall, a custom-made pool, a hot tub, a fire pit sitting area, and an outdoor living space complete with a fireplace and barbeque kitchen. In addition, the project features more than 40 outdoor lights and hundreds of new landscape plants. Taking just four months to complete, the project utilized more than 30 crewmembers and additional trades, including: Masons, excavation operators, plumbers, electricians, landscapers,
and carpenters.

The Project

The project can be viewed as three main elements all integrated together to form a cohesive whole: The river/waterfall feature; the pool; and, the outdoor living area.

For the fire pit area, the contractor laid more than 50 square feet of exposed aggregate concrete. They built the wood burning fire pit, and installed a gas log starter. To make the area more useful, they added cut-sandstone benches to encircle the pit, and then surrounded the area with ornamental grasses.

Workers lined the waterfall with an EPDM liner and finished it off with sandstone and concrete. The waterfall is re-circulated with a submersible electric pump.

River And Waterfall

The river/waterfall runs from the residence all the way to the spa area.
The 80-feet length of the river was fitted its entire length with EPDM liner, and then finished off with sandstone and concrete. Surrounding the river is a host of plant material and more than 200 boulders and rocks. In fact, five tri-axles of boulders we used in this area alone.

The company planted a wide variety of plant material here as well. Among the many variants were: Japanese Maples, Kousa Dogwoods daylilies, and roses. The entire area is fed through both drip and overhead irrigation.

Outdoor Living

The outdoor living area was built to be useful in different weather conditions. For summer fun, a Firemagic Gas BBQ was installed along with lounging furniture. The wood-burning masonry fireplace with brick-veneer creates a usable area for the colder months of the year. The exposed aggregate concrete base makes for an elegant and low-maintenance surface, and the arbor adds a sense of symmetry.

To enhance the look and usefulness into the evening and nighttime, the contractor installed more than 40 Cast 20-watt directional lighting fixtures. The lights were located not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to make it safer for the homeowners to navigate down the long walkway from the house to the pool, spa or outdoor living area.

In the outdoor kitchen/living area, the crew installed a Firemagic Gas BBQ. The masonry fireplace was veneered with brick; like the fire pit, the wood-burning fireplace was fitted a gas log-starter. Workers poured exposed aggregate concrete for the hardscape, and crafted the arbor using rough-cut western red cedar.

Challenges Faced

This massive transformation did not come easily. The first challenge was overcoming the access problems associated with steep grade. To deal with the access issues, the contractor had to build a heavy-duty ''haul road'' from the front street to the project site. Workers used a tractor and dozer to accomplish this.

In addition to the steep-grade issue, the contractor also faced the dual challenge of bad spring weather, and a tight 4-month timeframe. In Western Pennsylvania, wet springs are not uncommon, which made working on the steep indigenous terrain even more challenging.

The Plant Palette

The contractor added more than 300 plants, including groundcovers, ornamental grasses, daylilies, groundcover roses, Serbian spruce, blue spruce, hydrangea, zelkova, Japanese garden juniper, and arborvitae.

With a blindingly-fast efficiency, Eisler Landscapes managed to completely transform the area into area completely unrecognizable a mere four months earlier.

Plant list

Bed Prep (1)
Peat Moss Bales (10)
Tilia cordata 'Greenspire'(2)
Zelkova serr. 'Village Green' (2)
Cercis canadensis (2)
Cornus kousa (1)
Amelanchier canadensis (1)
Picea abies (3)
Picea omorika (3)
Picea pungens 'Glauca' (3)
Thuja occ. 'Techny' (3)
Azalea 'Boudoir' (3)
Azalea 'Stewartsonian' (9)
Berberis thun. 'Rosy Glow' (12)
Buddleia 'Lochinch' (3)
Clethra alnifolia (9)
Euonymus alatus 'Compacta' (3)
Hydrangea 'Forever Pink' (2)
Ilex glabra 'Compacta' (13)
Ilex vert. 'Sparkleberry' (3)
Ilex x mes. 'Blue Girl/Boy' (3)
Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' (3)
Juniperus sab. 'Tamariscifolia' (105)
Juniperus procumbens 'Nana' (78)
Leucothoe axillaris (7)
Pieris japonica (8)
Rhododendron 'Nova Zembla' (5)
Rosa 'Bonica' (1)
Calamagrostis 'Karl Forester' (3)
Chamaecyparis nootk. 'Pendula' (1)
Pennisetum alop. 'Hameln' (7)
Miscanthus sin. 'Gracillimus' (3)
Euonymus fort. 'Coloratus' (3)
Hemerocallis spp.-Rebloom Mix (52)
Double Shredded Bark Mulch C.Y. (80)
Mushroom Compost C.Y. (20)