South Bay backyard with pool, spa and patio by DECOMA Industries

Residential

Backyards & Outdoor Living

Pools, outdoor kitchens, hardscape, landscape, lighting, and ADUs — designed and built as one cohesive yard, not five separate trade contracts.

Why backyards & outdoor living

A backyard is one project pretending to be ten.

Pool builder, hardscape contractor, landscape architect, outdoor-kitchen specialist, pergola company, electrician for the lighting, plumber for the gas line, ADU contractor for the casita. Each one shows up with their own crew, their own schedule, and zero responsibility for what the other nine are doing. The grade lines don't match. The pool deck and the pergola footings fight each other. The lighting designer was never told where the planting was going. Six months later you have a beautiful yard with five seams in it that someone will have to fix.

DECOMA does backyards under one general contractor with a Class A and B license. Pool, hardscape, kitchen, landscape, lighting, irrigation, and ADU coordinated against one master plan, one permit set, and one schedule. The result is a yard that reads as one continuous design — not five separate projects bolted together.

Our backyard work is concentrated in the South Bay coastal corridor — Manhattan Beach Hill Section, Hermosa, Redondo Beach Hollywood Riviera, Palos Verdes hillside lots, Torrance's Hollywood Riviera side, and the Hill Section pockets of El Segundo. Each microclimate and code regime is different. Palos Verdes' view-corridor rules, Manhattan Beach's lot-coverage math, and Hermosa's setback geometry all change what a yard can hold.

If you're thinking about a pool, a kitchen, a deck, and "maybe an ADU later," start with a free 30-minute consultation. We'll tell you whether to do it in one push or phase it, what permits trigger when, and what your specific lot can actually fit.

Start with a free consultation → — or browse our Projects for finished work.

Written by John Notaro, President & CEO, DECOMA Industries — CSLB A/B #375508, California Real Estate Broker.

What you get

Everything we deliver.

01
Master site plan
One drawing that shows the whole yard — pool, deck, kitchen, fire feature, planting, lighting, irrigation, ADU envelope. Designed as a system, not assembled feature-by-feature.
02
Pools & spas
Gunite construction, tile and coping selection, equipment pad, automation, salt or chlorine, in-floor cleaning. Coordinated with hardscape so the bond beam and deck join the right way.
03
Outdoor kitchens & fire features
Gas BBQ islands, pizza ovens, side burners, refrigeration, sinks, fire pits, fireplaces. Stone or stucco veneer, structural footings, gas and electric routed to code.
04
Hardscape & decks
Concrete, pavers, natural stone, IPE, composite, porcelain pavers. Drainage and substrate done right the first time so the surface doesn't move in year two.
05
Landscape & irrigation
Drought-tolerant planting plans, mature tree placement, low-voltage path and accent lighting, smart-controller drip and rotor irrigation. Coordinated with hardscape and pool deck elevations.
06
ADUs & garden structures
Detached ADUs, casitas, pool houses, pergolas, shade structures, and outdoor bathrooms — permitted and built as part of the same scope, not a separate later project.

How we run it

Scope to sign-off.

01
Walk the yard
On-site visit, photograph existing conditions, identify drainage and grade issues, talk through how you actually use the space. Most yards have constraints that aren't visible in a satellite photo.
02
Master plan & design
Site plan that integrates every feature — pool, deck, kitchen, landscape, lighting, ADU envelope. We design for sun, prevailing wind, sight lines from the house, and how the yard reads from the second story.
03
Permits & coordination
Pool permits, electrical service upgrade if needed, ADU plan-check, hillside drainage if your lot has grade. We hold the schedule across all of it.
04
Build in phases or one push
Some clients build the whole yard in one season. Others phase it — pool and hardscape year one, landscape and lighting year two, ADU year three. We design the master plan so phased work doesn't undo earlier work.
05
Punch & maintenance handoff
Pool startup and chemistry handoff, irrigation programming, lighting controller training, landscape maintenance plan. We'll introduce a service company if you don't already have one.

Why DECOMA

One license, three disciplines, forty years.

Family-run South Bay general contractor since 1978. We design, build, and manage — under one license — so the team you start with is the team that hands you keys and the team that answers the phone when something needs fixing in year ten.

Years building: 48+
Projects delivered: 3,000+
Repeat clients: 300+
CSLB Class: A/B

FAQ

Common questions.

How long does a full backyard project take?

Pool only: 3–4 months from groundbreaking to first swim. Pool + hardscape: 4–6 months. Full master plan (pool, kitchen, hardscape, landscape, lighting): 6–10 months on-site, plus 2–4 months design and permits before that. Adding an ADU adds another 4–6 months because of plan-check.

Do I need permits for backyard work?

Pools and spas: always. ADUs: always. Outdoor kitchens with gas: usually. Pergolas and shade structures over 120 sq ft: usually. Pavers, planting, and irrigation: usually no. Each South Bay city has its own thresholds — we lay them out on the walk-through.

Can you coordinate with my pool builder / landscape designer?

Yes — sometimes the right answer is for DECOMA to be the GC and a specialist pool builder or landscape architect to lead the design. We've worked with most of the established South Bay pool builders and several landscape architects. We'll tell you on the call whether single-source or split makes sense for your project.

My lot is on a slope. Does that change things?

It changes a lot — drainage, retaining, deck-to-grade transitions, pool engineering, and view-corridor preservation are all driven by grade. Hillside Palos Verdes lots, Hollywood Riviera, Old Torrance hillside, and Manhattan Beach Sand-Section lots all have specific issues we've solved before. Geotech is usually worth the early spend.

Should I do the ADU at the same time as the yard?

If you're going to build one within five years, almost always yes. Doing it as part of the master plan means the pool, hardscape, and ADU pad all coordinate at grade — and you only tear up the yard once. Doing it later means a second permit cycle, a second mobilization, and usually undoing some of the first project.

Can the work happen while we're using the yard?

Mostly no — pool excavation, hardscape pours, and structural ADU work all need exclusive site access. Plan on the yard being a jobsite for the on-site duration. We can phase the project so you keep the pool deck while the back third gets landscape and lighting, but that adds schedule overall.

Service areas