Backyard Remodel in Los Angeles & Southern California

Why backyards matter so much in Southern California

In most of the country, a backyard is a three-season space. In Los Angeles and across Southern California, it’s a year-round room — and often the largest one you own. Our mission is to design outdoor living spaces suited to this climate, integrating architecture, landscape, and pool design into true “outdoor rooms” that function as an extension of your home, where you can swim, entertain, and relax.

Homeowners usually come to us when the yard has become an afterthought: a cracked patio, a tired pool, a lawn nobody uses. A thoughtful backyard remodel changes how the whole house lives — connected patios and generous openings create a natural flow between indoors and out, and you gain real space for cooking, gathering, and unwinding. It’s a sound investment, too: in Southern California’s outdoor-living market, a well-designed backyard with a pool, patio, and outdoor kitchen can add 10–20% to your home’s value and is consistently ranked among the top outdoor improvements for return.

Our design-build process for outdoor living spaces

Our design process is simple. We work closely with you to create a living environment that reflects and enhances your lifestyle, while incorporating elements that highlight your existing features and space. Here is how a project moves from idea to finished yard:

1. Free on-site consultation. Estimates are free and typically last well over an hour. A Project Manager walks the property with you, hears you out, and brings photos of our work and examples of materials.
2. Design. Our Project Managers and Designers thoughtfully integrate the indoor and outdoor space, balancing good space planning, durable and aesthetic materials, and quality craftsmanship — the ingredients of a vibrant, livable outdoor room.
3. Permits and site preparation. Pools, spas, outdoor kitchens with gas lines, electrical work, and significant grading or drainage changes all require permits, and we handle all permitting as part of our design-build service. Hillside and slope lots may need further investigation and soil reports before work begins — we manage that as well.
4. Simple staged payments. The initial deposit is never greater than $1,000, and the balance is broken into stage payments tied to completed work.
5. A dedicated Project Manager. One person oversees your project for its entire duration, stays in touch with you daily, and supervises every trade until completion.

What can your backyard remodel include?

We specialize in backyard design and remodeling, pool design and remodeling, hardscape, landscape design, patios, outdoor kitchens, outdoor BBQs, and fireplaces. Depending on your space and your goals, a project might combine:

• Pools and spas — new construction, or remodeling an existing pool with fresh coping, tile, and plaster while bringing it up to code. Traditional resurfacing materials tend to last 5–10 years, while a Pebble Tec surface can last upwards of 20 years with proper maintenance, which is why we often recommend it.
• Outdoor kitchens and BBQs — designed like an indoor kitchen, with task-specific zones: a cold area for refrigeration, a hot area for the cooktop and grill, a wet area for the sink, and a dry area for counter space and storage.
• Fire features — a fireplace or fire pit that keeps the space usable on chilly evenings.
• Patios, decks, and covered areas — including pergolas and shade structures so sun or a rain shower never sends the party inside.
• Hardscape and landscape — retaining walls, walkways, gardens, water features, and layered outdoor lighting, including LED and solar options.

As with our interior work, we favor timeless, durable materials over fads — surfaces and plantings that will still look right, and hold up to sun and use, a decade from now. You can see recent transformations in our backyard project gallery.

What does a backyard remodel cost, and how long does it take?

Backyard projects in Southern California generally fall into three tiers:

• Patio and landscaping: $20,000 – $50,000. A new patio or deck, updated landscaping, irrigation, outdoor lighting, and a fire pit — no pool or major structures. Typically 3–6 weeks.
• Pool and outdoor living: $60,000 – $120,000. A swimming pool with spa, patio, fire feature, outdoor lighting, and landscaping — a complete outdoor entertaining setup.
• Full backyard transformation: $120,000 – $200,000+. Pool, outdoor kitchen, fire pit, pergola, retaining walls, premium hardscaping, landscape design, lighting, and custom features. Typically 3–6 months, depending on permits, weather, and complexity.

Within those tiers, a new swimming pool typically costs $40,000–$100,000+ including excavation, plumbing, electrical, decking, and fencing, while remodeling an existing pool generally runs $5,000 to $20,000 — basic resurfacing at the lower end, plumbing and technology upgrades at the higher end. If you’re replacing coping, tile, and plaster, a pool remodel is typically complete within three weeks or less. An outdoor kitchen with built-in appliances runs $15,000–$50,000+. For a full component-by-component breakdown, see our backyard remodel cost guide — and if you’d like to phase the investment, ask us about financing options.

Why choose RL Remodeling for your backyard?

• We are licensed, bonded, and insured — California Contractor’s License (CSLB) #885032.
• One design-build team handles everything: design, permits, soil reports when needed, construction, and finishing.
• A dedicated Project Manager is your single point of contact for the entire project, with daily updates.
• Estimates are always free, and your Project Manager can share local references from backyard projects similar to yours.
• We have offices in Woodland Hills, Venice Beach, Costa Mesa, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, serving homeowners across Southern California.

Let’s design your outdoor room

If your backyard isn’t pulling its weight, we’d love to change that. Call us at (888) 324-1144 to schedule your free on-site consultation, and we’ll help you plan a pool, patio, or complete outdoor living space that fits your home, your lifestyle, and your budget.