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A homeowner in the Riley Park neighborhood of Vancouver wanted to upgrade their entire backyard perimeter — the existing fence was a basic horizontal board design with rotting posts, the path from the deck to the back gate was bare dirt worn into a trench, and there was no outdoor lighting beyond a single porch bulb. They envisioned a cohesive outdoor space with a proper interlocking paver pathway, a modern vertical fence with aluminum posts, stained to a rich dark tone, and LED perimeter lighting that made the yard usable after sunset.
The yard had three different grade levels — the deck was 8 inches above the lawn, the lawn sloped 6 inches from front to back, and the gate area dropped another 4 inches to the alley. The paver pathway had to navigate all three levels with clean transitions and no trip hazards. The old fence posts were spaced irregularly and set too shallow — every other post was loose in the ground. The electrical for lighting had to be low-voltage, run under the pavers without future access issues, and connect to an existing outdoor outlet.
We removed the old fence entirely, pulled every post, and set new aluminum posts in concrete footings at consistent 8-foot spacing. The vertical cedar boards were stained before installation with a semi-transparent oil-based stain in dark walnut. For the pathway, we excavated to 8 inches, laid compacted road crush and levelling sand, and installed interlocking pavers with soldier-course borders. Grade transitions are handled with subtle 2-inch risers built into the path. Low-voltage LED strip lighting runs along the fence base and under the pathway risers — the wiring is in conduit beneath the gravel base so it's accessible without tearing up pavers.
Timeline: 7 days
The yard went from patchy and dark to a finished outdoor space with clean lines and warm lighting. The paver pathway handles the grade changes invisibly — guests walk from the deck to the gate without noticing the slope. The fence is the centerpiece: the dark stain against the aluminum posts gives it a modern industrial look that fits the Riley Park neighborhood perfectly.