Living at home while your backyard is built

Backyard work happens outside, so the house itself stays usable. Still, expect:

• Noise. Breaking out old concrete, digging and cutting pavers or block are the loudest days. Planting and finish work are quieter.
• Dust. Cutting and digging raise dust. Keep windows and doors on that side of the house closed on those days.
• Deliveries. Gravel, block, pavers and plants arrive by truck, often in front of the house.
• People coming and going. The crew usually reaches the backyard through a side yard or a gate.

Ask your contractor for a rough order of the work, so you know which weeks will be loudest.

In the City of LA, the noise rules don't allow construction work between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Near homes, work on Saturdays and federal holidays is limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday work isn't allowed. Other cities set their own hours.

Within those limits, ask what time the crew usually starts and finishes, so you can plan your mornings.

An open trench, a pool dig or a pile of block isn't a place to play.

• Keep kids and pets inside, or in a part of the yard that's closed off from the work.
• Agree on which gate stays shut, and check it before you let the dog out.
• Ask how open digs and trenches are closed off at the end of each day.
• If you're getting a pool, ask how the dig is fenced off while it's open, and which safety features the finished pool will have. Our article on a pool remodel or a new pool covers them.

• Pick the door you'll use. The back door may open onto the work for a while. Use a front or side door instead.
• Clear the side yard. Bikes, trash bins and pots in the path will need a new spot. In the City of LA's R1 zone, the minimum side yard is 5 feet, and as little as 3 feet on narrow lots, so space gets tight once meters and AC units are in.
• Mark what stays. Show the crew the trees, plants, walls and sprinkler heads you want kept, and anything buried that you know about.

Connecting a new gas line, a sprinkler system or outdoor lights to the house can mean the water, gas or power is off for part of a day. Ask your contractor how much notice you'll get, so it doesn't land on a day you're working from home or hosting.

• Trucks may need the space in front of your house on delivery days.
• Materials or a bin set on the street or sidewalk, rather than your driveway, can need a city permit. In the City of LA, StreetsLA issues Building Materials Permits when a project on private property needs to use public space.
• Let your neighbors know when the work starts and which days will be loudest. It goes a long way.

Tell us about any date that matters before the work starts: a graduation, a party, family staying over or a stretch of work from home. The order of the work can sometimes be planned around it.

If the whole yard can't be torn up at once, it can be built in phases, with part of the yard usable the whole time. Our article on planning a backyard in phases explains how.

• Which weeks will be the loudest?
• What time does the crew usually start and finish?
• Which door and which path will we lose, and for how long?
• How is the work area closed off at the end of the day?
• When will water, gas or power be off, and how will we know?
• Where will deliveries and any dumpster go?
• Who do we call with a question during the work?