Hardscape Hero, Ted Tidmore: Transforming the Unusable into the Unforgettable
When Ted Tidmore of Holloway Company first walked the backyard of his winning project in Round Hill, Virginia, he looked straight down at what most contractors would immediately consider an unruly challenge. Although the elevated view of the golf course below was serene, the terrain between the home and tee box was incredibly steep and rugged. The homeowners saw a seemingly unusable backyard. Tidmore saw an opportunity to build something extraordinary.
A Business Built on Taking Chances
Tidmore’s father started the business over 30 years ago with little more than a lawnmower and a small crew. He recalls a particular experience as a young boy watching his father navigate a sales call that had a huge impact on him. “A homeowner asked if my father could build a deck, and he said ‘yes,’ despite having no clue how to do it. But, he got the job and learned how to do it. That’s how you grow and push yourself.”
That same entrepreneurial spirit drives Tidmore as project manager for all masonry projects for Holloway Company. Having worked there since age fourteen, Tidmore brings both deep hands-on experience and a fresh perspective to every project.
One Sale Leads to Another
This project came to Holloway Company through very uncommon yet familiar circumstances. The homeowners sold their previous home to Tidmore’s parents and were building a new home in a local golf community. As they began development, they knew their vision of creating an outdoor living space on the steep backyard would be quite the undertaking. However, they knew just who to call.
“They said they would love to do something with the backyard, but didn’t know where to start. They said, ‘You guys are builders. You guys are the professionals. Make us something beautiful.’ ”
Tidmore cherishes the trust placed on Holloway Company and the relationships they’ve built over the years in their community. It’s what fuels their passion to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
From iPad Sketches to Hillside Retreat
Holloway Company’s design process combines on-site creativity with cutting-edge technology. Tidmore brings an iPad to job sites for real-time sketching, helping clients who “aren’t very visual in their thinking. It helps clients quickly understand what I’m envisioning.”
These initial concepts are then refined by Holloway’s design team, which has over 10 years of experience with the company. The game-changer, according to Tidmore, is Lumion software, which transforms 3D designs into photorealistic renderings.
“You can add people into it, live fire, elements like that,” Tidmore explains. For a project of this scale and price point, these visualizations were crucial for bringing his ideas to life.
Much of the design evolution happened organically during construction. “It really was step-by-step. We started off with the bones, and throughout the process of having meetings on site, we put the ideas together.”
Conquering the Grade
As Tidmore envisioned it, the foundation of success was in the structural fortitude and tiering of the construction.
“My favorite part on most projects, especially ones like this where you’re dealing with significant grade, is the initial layout of the retaining walls. Just figuring out how we’re going to make this work,” Tidmore says. “You walk out to a backyard that has a 45-degree slope, and a lot of homeowners sit there and think, ‘we can’t really do anything with this.’ That’s my favorite part. Being able to turn a somewhat useless piece of land into a place where they’re going to spend most of their time.”
The solution required extensive retaining walls, including one measuring approximately 110 linear feet. The team also installed an impressive, large boulder retaining wall built into the hillside.
Managing water flow from the dramatic slope required extensive planning and infrastructure. “We have a million drain boxes on that project, feeding water underneath the walkway and out the low side of the yard.” The team also installed French drains behind and in front of retaining walls, ensuring water could flow freely without compromising structural integrity.
“Water is everything,” he says. “That’s the number one thing I normally look at day one. You need to know where you’re putting that water, how it’s going to get there and how you’re gonna do it in the most efficient way.”
The project showcases approximately 2,500 square feet of Belgard’s Origins pavers in the Mountain Mist color in a mix of 12-inch and 18-inch sizes. For the border, Tidmore selected Marina coping 6×9 in the Charcoal color.
“I’m a big fan of the light gray to the darker border aspect. I think it just gives a very clean look,” Tidmore explains. When discussing the selection with the homeowners, his team emphasized choosing materials that would stand the test of time. “We pushed them in this direction just because we think it’s a great look, and it will hold up to the elements.”
Orchestrating Complexity: Managing Multiple Trades
One of the project’s most challenging aspects had nothing to do with pavers or grading—it was coordinating the numerous trades required for such a comprehensive build that included:
- Pool deck and putting green
- Under-deck entertainment space and full outdoor kitchen
- Circular fire pit area perched to overlook the golf course putting green
- Prism fire table with surrounding seating
- Large staircase with multiple landings to navigate the grade changes
- Winding walkways connecting different spaces
- Multiple retaining wall systems and a large boulder wall
Tidmore and his team managed electricians, plumbers, landscaping and tree removal companies, gas contractors and a pool company during the project. And all of this was done while managing eight other active Holloway Company projects.
“A project like this can definitely get you a little bit turned around at times,” Tidmore admits. The coordination required careful scheduling for rough-ins, inspections and final installations, all while keeping the homeowners informed and the project moving forward.
Fortunately, the golf community board proved accommodating once they experienced Holloway’s quality of work and professionalism. “When they saw everything getting done in a timely fashion, they gained a lot of trust in us. They even let us pull our trucks down onto the golf court pathway during construction.”
For Tidmore, what makes this project truly successful isn’t just its technical achievement or aesthetic beauty. It’s the joy he gets from knowing the family spends most of their time in these spaces.
“It really is great,” Tidmore reflects on the finished project. “The amount of different things that are going on in that yard, like the fire table, the fire pit, the pool, the putting green, the area under the deck, the porch area…just so many different things to enjoy all in the same backyard.”
The following Belgard Hardscapes products were used in this project:
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