We've just started building our new home, and given the slab is due to go in next week, I've started doing my research and planning on how we can layout the backyard and the alfresco. Having a closer look at the site plans and how the block is shaping up IRL, I've got two main concerns/questions that I'm looking to get resolved.
Firstly, it when looking at the alfresco and how it connects to the backyard, it appears as though there is first a 160mm drop from the slab to the backyard, followed by a 310mm jump to the rest of the backyard. I'm wondering what the best thing to do here is to remove this annoying 'gap'. I'm thinking doing a gradual leveling of the backyard starting at where the 310mm jump occurs may help give the illusion of a 'leveled' backyard, but not sure if there's anything easier we could do here to solve this problem. I'm certainly open to suggestions here, but I'm keen to not extend our alfresco into our already smallish backyard (7.5m x 14m).
Secondly, at the back of our yard is a 'ramp' that rises to meet the base of the fence behind our property. We were thinking about cutting into some of this, putting in a retaining wall, then having a raised garden bed. However, we're wondering if it's possible (legally and technically) to instead 'carve' all of this out so that the ramp is removed and the backyard is level, and install a retaining wall at the back of the backyard (potentially under the fence line). Again, the goal here is to avoid making the backyard any smaller than it already is.
Obviously our house won't be completed for a few months yet, but I'm hoping in that time we can get a good idea of how we're going to tackle these problems, and what the best way about solving them is.
Thank you in advance for your help!