The first thing I would recommend is you draw up your plans with materials and take it to your city zoning office. I can't speak for your area but in most you have to buy permits for most major improvements, especially outdoor ones. Most cities have different rules based on the areas. In my area I would have to have a permit for that pergola. I will say that it most likely would have to be anchored and whether it needs done in advance is going to depend on your columns because extremely high winds/tornado could lift it away and drop it on someone else's home. Don't take a chance on doing something that later your city or county comes out and tells you it needs removed. After the work is done they come out and inspect it. I ran underground pvc piping for part of my gutters. Where it came out at was flat ground so at the end we installed a popup. When the pvc gets full it does exactly that, pops up to release water. Has worked great the 2 years it's been in. I will say you really need to have gutter guard on your house gutters to prevent leaves and tree seeds from filling up and going into your underground gutters and clogging them up. I did not need any base other than dirt with the pvc and I just put the dirt and grass right back on top. This year I am making a garden bed over to the edge of it. Most people do use sand for paver filler. I did on some of mine and hated it. This is maple leaf seed area and I have to use the vacuum/blower on that area. It just blows the sand right out. Will not do that again. Will fill with dirt and any weeds that come up just requires a once or twice a year spraying. But you may not have the same problems. Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you and a lovely area planned. Hope you come back so we can see results as you go. Cher

Thanks philes21 for the information and making a "newbie" feel welcome. Sounds like it will be the KGB for the high traffic areas with Rye for the shaded areas that still have grass growing in them. I truly appreciate it! Kurt

So far it looks like you're getting advice from Yankees. Growing fescue here is a waste of time and money. It should be criminalized for wasting water. It looks like you already have St Augustine. No other grass could look that good in there. A close up photo would be nice - from 3 inches away - on an overcast day - with a clean camera lens. All you have to do is water St Aug and it will spread 15 feet per year. That might look like a lot of shade, but St Aug can handle a lot worse than that. If you want to get it started in places where it isn't already growing, buy a piece from the local nursery. They might try to sell you Floratam. That's okay but Floratam does better in full sun than in the shade. There are other varieties that do better in that much shade. If Floratam is all they have, use that. Just get a few pieces and put it down. Water those pieces by hand 3x per day until they knit into the underlying soil. You'll notice the grass growing up tall when it is knit in. Here's how to water. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. I strongly recommend an oscillator sprinkler for your rectangular lawn. Get the turbo oscillator. They don't all say turbo on them anymore. Some say gear driven. Just don't get the one with the exposed mechanical linkage. Those are bad from the factory. I've had gear/turbo driven oscillators last for years and years. $20. For St Augustine mulch mow at the mower's highest setting every week or two (or three). Taller grass develops deeper roots that get nutrients and moisture from deeper down. Fertilize 3x per year, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving (or so). Or you could fertilize with an organic fertilizer now or any time. Give that 3 weeks and the grass should look 100% better in color, density, and growing speed.

James, bluegrass varieties are now often selected for having high sod strength and wear tolerance, check your online seed sources and do a bit of reading. The mixture I had sown about eight years ago had contained a high percentage of a variety called 'Granite', which I specifically sought out for its high wear tolerance and indeed it shows no discernible wear or thinning on any of the high traffic walkways. I'm just stating 'Granite' as a suggestion, there's other excellent and likely superior varieties now available. Whatever grass mixture you select, amend your soil if necessary and keep your grass fed and watered when need be. Granite - Dark green, wear tolerant (Midnight-type), with excellent summer stress tolerance. Tolerates a low mowing height.