From the Field

Project Stories & Straight Answers

Real projects and the thinking behind them — written by the team that designs and builds across Arvada, Denver, and the Front Range.

Outdoor LivingNovember 12, 2026

Fire Pit or Outdoor Fireplace? Designing Gathering Places You’ll Use in January

Fire pit or outdoor fireplace? How Colorado wind, winter use, seating, and siting decide the question — and how a gathering place earns its January evenings.

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Design IdeasNovember 12, 2026

Designed Together: What the First Visit With a Design-Build Studio Looks Like

No tape-measure-and-a-number routine: what a design-build first visit really covers — reading the site, the conversation about how you live outside, and why pricing comes after discovery.

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Water-Wise ColoradoNovember 3, 2026

The Front Lawn Water Budget: What Turf Really Drinks on the Front Range — and the Alternatives That Don’t

A bluegrass front lawn in the Denver area drinks tens of thousands of gallons a season. How we think about the front lawn’s water budget — and the designed, water-wise…

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Building & BudgetingNovember 3, 2026

Why Retaining Walls Fail in Colorado — and What an Engineered Rebuild Involves

Leaning, bulging, or shedding soil? Why Colorado’s water, soils, and freeze-thaw take retaining walls down — and what a properly engineered rebuild involves, from drainage to permits.

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Real ProjectsNovember 1, 2026

Case Study: A Front-Entry Renovation in Arvada

Arvada, Colorado. A family with a handsome stucco-and-stone home backing to open space asked us a simple question: why does it feel so hard to get to our own front…

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Building & BudgetingOctober 23, 2026

What a $50K, $100K, and $200K Backyard Actually Looks Like in Colorado

Honest, representative scopes from our design-build work across Arvada, Lone Tree, Centennial, and Greenwood Village — what each investment level typically includes, and what moves a project from one tier…

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Real ProjectsOctober 23, 2026

Case Study: Replacing a Failing Timber Retaining Wall in Arvada

A failing timber wall on its way down, and what replaced it: an engineered segmental block retaining wall with compacted structural base, drainage, and a cap course — built to…

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