Mystic at Lake Pleasant Heights is a newer master-planned community in North Peoria, near Lake Pleasant Parkway, with homes from builders including Lennar. Owners of newly built homes are often planning a first backyard, which can start as bare, graded dirt.
Starting from builder dirt
A new-build backyard is a blank slate, which makes turf simpler than replacing an old lawn. There's no sod to remove and often no old sprinklers to deal with. The main thing to protect is the builder's grading, which is designed to carry water away from the foundation. The turf base should keep that fall, not flatten it.
Ask the installer to show where water will drain once the turf and any patio extensions are in. The drainage and base guide covers what a proper base looks like.
Plan the whole yard first
Turf is usually one piece of a bigger plan: maybe a patio extension, a few trees, a shade structure, a dog area. Decide where those go before the turf goes down, because running a gas line or irrigation under finished turf means pulling it up. Trees and shrubs need their own drip lines, and the irrigation guide explains how to keep them watered around turf.
First-time HOA approval
Mystic's design review has rules aimed at new owners, from yard deadlines after closing to a fee on each request, and the questions below quote them. The HOA approval guide explains what to include in the request.
No trees yet means full sun
New yards have no mature trees, so turf there gets full sun for years. Plan a patio cover or shade sail over any turf you want to use in summer, and put desert plants on the hottest side. The heat guide covers what to expect.
Budgeting a blank yard
HomeGuide's national cost guide lists installed turf at $10 to $25 per square foot, so 400 square feet works out to roughly $4,000 to $10,000. A new yard often needs less removal than an old lawn, but the base still has to be built to the right height against the patio and walls. Our turf cost estimator works through other sizes, and the installation overview explains what each line of an estimate covers.
Questions to ask for a new-build yard
New yards are a blank slate, so the best questions are about order and timing as much as turf.
- Does the plan keep the builder's drainage grade?
- What has to go in before the turf: gas, electric, irrigation or a patio extension?
- Can my backyard be seen from neighboring property, so the plan needs approval?
- Where will shade come from in a yard with no mature trees?
- How will trees and shrubs be watered around the turf?
Nearby and next steps
Nearby, see our pages on Vistancia and WestWing Mountain. Send us your yard size and plans and we'll set up an estimate for your Mystic yard.