Any thought on converting grass backyard to hard surface(Concrete). (Dallas: house, buyers)

[Indyguy_2011]

[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]We have a backyard of size 30*50 feet in our north dallas home. I would like to convert this to hard surface(concrete slabs or some other material) which makes backyard more usable.

My plan is to leave around 5 feets of grass all around and convert the rest to hard surface. I will be using the hard surface mainly as play area(badminton court/ kids bike area ..etc).

I want to know if anyone has done this and what's the thought on this??.

Will this bring down the property value?.

Will we have to careful about the under ground utility pipes(I am leaving 5 feet all around).

Also what is the best material you suggest to use for this...

Thank You in advance for your response....
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[EDS_]

Way, way, way too hot. Not to mention it would be a resale issue for most potential buyers. I wouldn't even consider it unless the yard was huge and the hard surface was say 20% of the total and far away from the house.

Also, hard covering will often kill existing trees nearby and you will create an instant drainage problem for yourself.

[hell_storm2004]

Green > Not Green!

[skids929]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Way, way, way too hot. Not to mention it would be a resale issue most potential buyers. I wouldn't even consider it unless the yard was huge and the hard surface was say 20% of the total and far away from the house.

Also, hard covering will often kill existing trees nearby and you will create an instant drainage problem for yourself.

Beat me to it...

OP--You would be inviting the radiant heat from the Sun to get trapped in your yard and never disipate. LIke it or not, lawns cool off your home and reduce glare.

Also, remember this..Nothing is maintenance free, so if thats what you are shooting for your in for it when you have to repair or remove concrete.

I would run from any home in DFW that had a concrete backyard.

[pharpe]

This makes me cringe just thinking about. A nice green yard converted into a slab? I think it would be terrible for resale.

I think you really need to consider if this is something you really want/need. For example why do you need concrete to play badminton? Other than basketball I can't imagine an activity that would better for children to plan on concrete than grass.

Also you have to think about drainage too. With that much hardscaping you'll need to have a plan for where all the water is going to go.

[ChristieP]

When we purchased our home, the sellers had covered 2/3 of the back yard with rock to make it "low maintenance." Despite the beautifully updated and spotlessly clean interior, most potential buyers were totally turned off by the rock-filled back yard, and the house sat on the market for 90 days, and the price was reduced twice. We were able to get the sellers to agree to remove almost all of the rocks for FREE as part of the sale, and we got them to reduce the price even more!

Moral of the story: yes, having a back yard that's hard surface (unless its a pool) will absolutely kill your resale potential.

[mami2emily]

Originally Posted by pharpe

Also you have to think about drainage too. With that much hardscaping you'll need to have a plan for where all the water is going to go.

Where I live there are restrictions regarding what percentage of a backyard needs to be available for drainage. We have an oversize pool that takes up a good chunk of the backyard. We looked into extending the patio all the way to pool and were told not possible, even though we would still have grass in certain areas of the backyard and both sideyards.

If you decide to go forward make sure to check restrictions in your area. However I would heed others' advice. Most people who move to North Dallas do so in order to gain more of a backyard. If you were in the Park Cities I would say go for it because a lot of people here know they are not getting much of a yard in the first place. But elsewhere might work against you for resale.

[MurphyPl1]

1) you will likely need a city permit
2) you will have to abide by the setback requirements
3) you better make darn sure you are NOT creating drainage problems for you neighbors. That could make your backyard an extremely expensive proposition

[TurtleCreek80]

Nooooooo!!!!! Don't do it. If you want to convert part of your backyard to a sport court surface, that would be a better alternative to solid concrete. You are limiting re-sale and de-valuing your home SIGNIFICANTLY by proceeding with your plan, so unless it's your "forever" home, I'd really really re-think this decision.

[MckinneyOwnr]

I've thought about getting rid of all the grass in our backyard and going with an artificial lawn. We have a two story house, and between that and our fence, large portions of the backyard don't get much direct sunlight, so grass growth is sparse. I could also stop watering the backyard and mowing, obviously.

Resale consideration is the only reason why we haven't moved forward, but since we're about to get a new fence installed, we may go ahead with this at the same time. I definitely would not do concrete.