Planning the flower bed plantings etc. is definitely the fun part. Most people skip to that step because it is the part of the landscape you see- and the most enjoyable part to think about. It's a classic mistake to do so because you will pay a long term price for all the seemingly little details you skip in the beginning. I take it that the advice of a good engineer feels out of the budget for you? Drainage issues are the boring stuff but it's already obvious you're going to have a significant drainage concern. Trenching and piping are okay but eventually trenches can fill with sediment and no longer work. You really, really need to have an engineering consult to determine if what the builder proposes will be adequate. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred bucks at most. Perhaps some other neighbors will pitch in since you'll all need the same thing? I used to be a City Planner. I've seen developers pull a lot of crap. Sometimes, they are well-intended but the data they based their information on was faulty. Other times- they're just out to make a buck as quickly and cheaply as possible. At an absolute minimum, call your City offices and see if someone from the City engineering Dept. can advise you on appropriate methods to handle the drainage. In theory, they've already required the developer to deal with this but sometimes really different to say it will work on paper and to see it once everything is going in. Building codes are the 'minium acceptable standard', they are intended to set the bottom threshold. Something can be up to 'code' but not necessarily be a great solution. Also, ask them what level of storm they design for. Sometimes they require them to design the drainage to handle the runoff from a 10, 50, or 100 year storm. You'll want to know which they planned for in your case as it will give you a better idea of what it will handle. As for your other issues- a patio will be much lower maintenance over time than a deck and will certainly last longer. I would also make sure to have a 2' high by at least 3' deep berm for flowers and shrubs against the house as sort of a 'back up' in case your drainage system clogs or is overwhelmed.

Roughly, what is the dollar figure you don't want to exceed and where do you live?

Thanks fnmroberts! It can get hot here, so artificial turf isn’t ideal but I would love it for lots of reasons! And thanks Ikloes! Yes, I think I got it.. I’ll work on that! One issue is that the back fence panels are removable bc we have a huge slope and in the spring we have to have it trimmed and raked to the bottom. For fire protection. They remove a panel or 2 to remove the grasses. We actually have large gates on both sides of our house (front) so the truck can back up right into the yard and up to the slope. So I do need to leave a bit of space for that. Im thinking we may only need that on the left side, so maybe I can figure out the right side better. Thanks!!

Hi casshax, you said you originally thought about putting in a garage on the right side, but the expense would be too much. Were you considering it for parking your vehicles, or just for storage of yard equipment? Taking up that concrete is a PITA, and paying extra to dispose of it in CO... ugh. Have you considered putting up a covered pergola in that area? It would be much cheaper than a garage, and you can keep the concrete you already have to drive on when you want to park the cars under it in the winter. Since you don't do a lot of gardening, you can put lattice on the sides of the pergola, and maybe put in some planting boxes in front of it--- you can grow tomatoes, cukes, herbs... maybe put in some morning glory plants and let them grow up the sides of the lattice. Concrete is expensive--and you need a permit to pour a concrete pad. So, instead of concrete, lay down pea gravel under the pergola. You can use the space under the pergola as an entertaining spot when you don't need to park your vehicles under it.