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Infinity pool, covered patio, and outdoor kitchen overlooking the ocean in Rolling Hills Estates, built by DECOMA Industries

Outdoor living · Since 1978

Outdoor living, built like a resort.

More than 1,000 pools built. Spas, saunas, cold plunges, outdoor kitchens, pergolas, landscape, and pool houses, designed in 3D and built by one licensed contractor.

Pools built
1,000+
Years building
40+
CSLB licensed
A + B
Designed before dirt
3D

What we build

Everything a backyard can hold.

Usually this takes a general contractor plus a landscape company plus a pool builder. We do all of it under one license.

Beyond the pool

The things nobody else quotes.

If you can picture it and the lot allows it, we can build it. Here are a few we’ve done or regularly scope.

  • 01

    In-ground trampolines

    Set flush with the lawn, so there's no frame to fall from.

  • 02

    Bocce courts

    Level, drained, and edged to play true.

  • 03

    Putting greens & a par-3

    From a single practice green to a small backyard golf course.

  • 04

    Backyard vineyards

    We source the vines and connect you with the people who harvest and bottle the wine.

  • 05

    Kitchen gardens

    Raised beds and a small farm plot, with irrigation to match.

  • 06

    Water slides & lazy rivers

    Engineered into the pool, not bolted on.

  • 07

    Fire & water features

    For example, a walkway across the pool with fire on either side.

  • 08

    Custom stainless & imported stone

    Fabricated stainless kitchens and imported Italian stone.

Design before dirt

Most bad backyards are designed badly.

A kitchen in the far corner, a spa nobody walks to, a lounge in the wrong sun. None of that can be fixed later without building it twice. A good layout costs the same to build as a bad one, so we model the whole yard in 3D, with your house in it, before anything is priced.

“I’d say 80% of the bad projects are in pre-development, the design portion. You’ve got to design a flowing layout, and it’s got to be in the right sun and the right location. Here’s my dining area, here’s my kitchen, here’s my pool. I have this dead space, so I can hide the sauna behind there.”
John Notaro, President & CEO, DECOMA Industries

How a backyard gets built

From first walk to first swim.

  1. 01

    Walk the property

    We start on site: access, grade, sun, wind, views, and how your family actually uses the yard. Then we write down everything you want it to hold.

  2. 02

    Survey & soils

    If there's no current survey, we order one, because setbacks decide what fits where. Most pools and structures also need a soils report before anything is designed.

  3. 03

    Design in 3D

    We model the whole yard together with the house: dining, kitchen, pool, lounge, the sauna tucked into dead space. You walk through the layout before anyone digs.

  4. 04

    Engineering & permits

    Structural and drainage engineering where the design needs it, then we submit to the city and handle the back-and-forth with plan check until the permit issues.

  5. 05

    Finishes with a designer

    A designer works with you on every finish, down to the light fixtures, tile, grout color, and furniture layout, so the yard is decided before it's built.

  6. 06

    Build & hand off

    One crew, one schedule, one contract across every trade. At the end you get equipment startup, irrigation and lighting programming, and a walkthrough of how it all runs.

From the field

Backyards in progress.

Recent photos from current DECOMA outdoor jobs across the South Bay. They're our crews, not stock.

  • New clear redwood pergola with infrared patio heaters over a backyard dining patio
    Rancho Palos Verdes: clear redwood pergola with built-in infrared heaters.
  • Freshly installed drought-tolerant planting and new lawn in front of a Rancho Palos Verdes home
    Rancho Palos Verdes: landscape plan, custom irrigation, and low-voltage lighting.
  • Redwood pergola rafters with a mounted infrared heater above a lounge area
    Rancho Palos Verdes: heater wiring routed inside the frame, with no surface cords.
  • Covered flagstone patio with a hot tub and a new spa disconnect on the wall in Torrance
    Torrance: hot tub wired on a new subpanel with its own spa disconnect.
  • Curving lawn edged with drought-tolerant planting beds and path lights beside a Spanish-style home
    Rancho Palos Verdes: softscape and hardscape drawn on one plan.
  • Custom stainless steel handrail on new concrete steps beside a wood privacy screen
    Redondo Beach: custom stainless handrail on new concrete steps.
  • DECOMA Industries work truck parked at a newly landscaped Rancho Palos Verdes home
    Rancho Palos Verdes: finished front yard.

Finished yards

Built by DECOMA.
Lived in every day.

All projects

Where we build

Every lot holds a different backyard.

One contractor for the whole yard

A full backyard can involve ten trades: a pool builder, hardscape, a landscape designer, an outdoor-kitchen fabricator, a pergola company, an electrician for the spa and lighting, a plumber for gas, and an ADU contractor for the pool house. Hired separately, each one works only to their own edge. Grades don't line up, footings collide, and the lighting is designed before anyone knows where the plants go.

DECOMA builds the whole yard under one California Class A and B license, and we've built more than 1,000 pools. That covers pools and spas, saunas and cold plunges, kitchens and fire features, pergolas, hardscape, landscape and irrigation, drainage, low-voltage lighting, and pool houses, all from one plan, one permit set, and one schedule. Most homeowners would otherwise need a general contractor for the structures and a landscaper for everything else. We do both.

What a backyard really costs

The most common question in every consultation is the price, and we can't answer it honestly until we know what you want to build. Two identical pools on two South Bay lots can cost very different amounts. The differences come from:

  • Site access. Whether an excavator can get in through a side yard, or equipment has to come over the house by crane.
  • Soils and slope. Peninsula hillside lots often need engineered retaining walls and deeper foundations.
  • Engineering. Structures, retaining walls, and pool shells on grade each need their own calculations.
  • Complexity. A clean rectangle with simple coping is a different job from a vanishing edge with a fire feature.

For scale, a new pool starts at roughly $100,000, and that's the pool alone with coping and nothing around it. Once the design is drawn, you get a real budget range, phased if that makes sense.

Built for how the South Bay lives outside

The weather here makes the backyard the best room in the house. The requests we hear most are for that outdoor resort feeling at home: hardscape for gathering, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, play areas for the kids, pools, cold plunges, and saunas.

Lots vary a lot across the region. Across the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in South Redondo, and in South and West Torrance, yards are big enough for a pool, a spa, a kitchen, and still a lawn. East Manhattan Beach has room for a full program on many lots. In the Sand Section and on Hermosa's walk streets, outdoor living usually means a plunge, a fire feature, and a pergola-covered lounge, designed for every square foot.

Start with a free consultation → or see a finished yard at South Shores Home.

Written with John Notaro, President & CEO, DECOMA Industries. CSLB A/B #375508.

FAQ

Backyard questions, answered.

How much does a backyard project cost in the South Bay?
There's no honest number until we know what you want to build, because site access, soils, engineering, and complexity move the cost more than square footage does. For scale: a new in-ground pool starts at roughly $100,000, and that's the pool alone with coping and no decking around it. Once the design is drawn, we give you a real budget range.
Do I need permits for a pool, outdoor kitchen, or pergola?
Pools and spas: always. ADUs and pool houses: always. Outdoor kitchens with gas, water, or new circuits: almost always. Larger pergolas and patio covers attached to the house: usually. Setbacks, surveys, soils reports, and engineering all feed the permit set. We prepare and submit it and work with the city until it's approved.
Why does design matter so much?
Most bad backyards fail in design, not in construction. A kitchen in the far corner, a spa nobody walks to, a lounge in the wrong sun: none of it can be fixed without rebuilding. A good layout costs the same to build as a bad one, so we model the yard in 3D with your house in it before anything is priced.
Can we keep living at home during construction?
Yes. That's one of the best things about outdoor projects. The crew works outside, your furniture stays put, and nobody has to move out. Expect noise and a fenced-off yard while the work is underway, plus short interior visits for things like the electrical panel.
Does a new backyard add resale value?
For an exact figure, ask a local real estate agent about your house. In our experience, landscaping gives the best return because plants grow in and look better every year. A pool alone isn't a big return on paper, but finished outdoor living space helps sell homes. Most families who build one aren't thinking about resale anyway. They're building it for the time they'll spend in it.
My lot is small. Is outdoor living still worth it?
Yes, it just looks different. On tight Manhattan Beach and Hermosa lots, the usual program is a cold plunge, a compact spa, a fire feature, a pergola, and a lounge that feels like an outdoor room. Big pools and sport courts fit best on the larger lots in Palos Verdes, South Redondo, and South and West Torrance.
What's the most unusual thing you can build in a backyard?
We've built in-ground trampolines, bocce courts, putting greens, and a small par-3 course. We can plant a working backyard vineyard, sourcing the vines and introducing you to the people who harvest and bottle the wine. We also build kitchen gardens with their own irrigation, plus water slides, lazy rivers, and walkways across the pool lined with fire. If you can picture it and the site allows it, we can build it.

Talk to a contractor

Tell us about your project.

One business day for a scope, timeline, and budget range. CSLB #375508 A/B.

Request consultation(310) 418-0258