Both grasses are very large and pretty aggressive. Indian grass in particulare is a beautiful plant, but it seeded itself all over my garden and overwhelmed other plants. I would only recommend either of these them for real prairie restorations. For a semi-shade setting I recommend wild rye, river oats, or bottlebrush grass -- all moderately tall, with nice-looking seed heads. They will probably spread by seed, too, but I find them easy to control.

Well sure, nobody can predict the future. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try! Our first home was intended to be short term. It was in an area with questionable schools, but we didn't have kids yet. Our plan was to be there 5-10 years and move before we had a kid in kindergarten. We were there seven years and moved when our eldest was four. Our second/current home was intended to last us "until the kids were in college" but we lacked the foresight to know we'd LOSE OUR EVER-LOVIN' MINDS and decide to have two more kids. And we realized when our dog developed a disability that it's extremely unfriendly to the mobility-impaired. (Plus side: she weighed 100 lbs so we got a LOT of exercise the last year of her life. :/) So we're moving forward and applying what we've learned over the years towards our best guess is about what will work for us. What more can you do? Important to note: I've come to love this plan (which isn't very bright, not yet knowing if the BRs will fit upstairs yet, but what can you do?) The only reason I wanted a first floor master was for eventual mobility issues (3/4 of our parents have health problems which make stairs difficult), not because I want my bedroom on the main floor now. The major drawback to the rough sketch we started with http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4345095/floorplan-feedback-very-early-stage is a lack of playroom space on the main level which means, IME, all the toys will end up in the living room. A main level master would make an excellent playroom/craft room. It's close enough to the action that it would actually get used, plus there's a door. At this point the biggest drawback I see is the possibility that both we and an elderly parent might need to avoid stairs in which case either a small guest room on the main or planning for a future elevator might be a good idea. (Could whoever has the crystal ball please pass it my way?)

The outdoor structure is attached to the house as part of the roof. Removing it will change the roof structure and incur a large expense. U can update the posts but those type are very common here in Southern California. U can paint white and add cone lights to the bottom to give more light. For your yard I believe in using space for whatever u need it. Seating areas are great u can always buy a bar if u don’t want to build one in. Matching your pavement is going to be a challenge because that pavement is from the 60s. I do see play equipment. You could do synthetic if u don’t have a dog and u can always put chairs and a bar on synthetic. Also it is unsafe to put a charcoal grill under a structure. We have to put in vent hoods if we put a grill in and our grills are gas not charcoal.

Biggest advocate? or are you feeling lazy today? Well I suppose I am an advocate, but only because I was so shocked that it worked so well. Even my wife, who thinks my lawn care ideas are a little scary at times, sees the benefit and carries a bottle of soap into the garden with her if she finds some hard soil. I had developed a method to soften hard soil, but it took weeks for just a small area unless you invested heavily in soaker hoses. I had been reading morph and others raving about using a specially formulated concoction of soap powders that morph came up with. The problem with that was I didn't want a lifetime supply of powders. So I tried doing it with shampoo, baby shampoo to be specific. It worked fantastically over a large area, quickly, and seemingly permanently. After spraying with the shampoo (3 ounces per 1,000 square feet), then every time it rained my soil became so soft it was difficult to walk on. It was like walking on fluffy beach sand. It firms up again as the soil dries out. Apply like this. Use a hose end sprayer. If you have 3,000 square feet to spray, pour 9 ounces of shampoo into the sprayer. Fill it the rest of the way with water and spray it at any setting to evenly cover the entire area. It doesn't matter if you miss spot or go heavy. You can redo it any time. Morph has tried to overdo it by applying far too much of his soap and never encountered any damage from too much soap. Give it about 3 weeks and you should see a dramatic improvement. One of the guys on that other forum he mentioned had a limb fall off a tree and embed itself 24 inches deep into his soap-softened soil. How does it work? Tons of research has been done using surfactants like Cascade Plus (not the dishwasher soap) on golf courses. Those are focusing on a slightly different aspect of the wetting issue, but it is related. My theory is that the shampoo allows water to penetrate much deeper into the soil which changes the ecosphere down there. The moisture keeps the soil at a more constant temperature and humidity. This is the perfect environment for the beneficial fungi which live in the soil. Those guys are the ones softening the soil for you. You don't have to do anything as long as you are keeping them fed (organic fertilizer) and watered. You can find that other forum by searching for his name and mine in the same search. Find the forum where they do the soil tests and read how to get started. Logan Labsis the place to get the soil tested. Get the Standard $25 test. As morph mentioned, hard soil is often not clay but an imbalance in salts. If you treat for clay, the salt problem will keep the soil hard. If you treat for salts, and it was clay, then you haven't fixed it either. Get the soil tested and read. You didn't mention timing for when you did what you did, so I'm going to give you a general calendar for lawn care. NOW: apply a preemergent herbicide to take care of weeds that are about to sprout. The preemergents last about 3 months, so the benefit should take you through awakening in late March or early April. Also now, do not feel the pressure to fertilize the lawn. It will not need fertilizer until Memorial Day in late May. You'll see all the feed stores advertising fertilizer saying "NOW IS THE TIME." Now is not the time. Memorial Day is the time. Mid April: Spot spray weeds with something like Weed-b-Gon or Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer. Those are different products. The WBG CCO is a stronger product. Late May: fertilize with your choice. My choice is organics from the feed store. I like alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) or corn meal. In your area you'll find soybean meal much cheaper than I can get it here. Soybean meal is a better fertilizer, so get that in a 50-pound bag. Apply at a rate of 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You cannot over apply soybean meal either. If you accidentally double it - fine. If you spill the bag on the ground, use a rake to spread it out or a leaf blower to keep from smothering the grass. No harm done, though. That spot would become the greenest spot in the yard in about 3 weeks. Mid August: Overseed the grasses of your choice. I would stick with normal lawn grasses like turf type tall fescue, rye, and/or Kentucky bluegrass. Labor Day: fertilize again Mid September: Spot spray the weeds only if you feel the need. Thanksgiving (or there abouts): Winterize the lawn after it stops growing but before you get a hard frost. The roots will still be working underground to absorb the nitrogen and hold it for spring 2022 when the grass awakens. Use a high N like 45-0-0 fast release. Basically urea. Also what is your watering schedule. All I've said here sort of depends on regular watering. If you don't water and rely on rain to water the grass, then you can just forget all this and accept the weeds as a result.