Make a Splash in Backyard Design!

In order to complete the design, you will be assigned to groups of three students. Once you are in your groups, you will need to quickly choose jobs. This task requires a Project Manager, a Finance Manager, and a Landscape Architect. The Project Manager's job is to make sure that all the information required for the presentation is complete. The Finance Manager is responsible for verifying all of the costs that will be presented to the customer and checking all numbers. The Landscape Architect will be responsible making sure all elements are in the blueprint/sketch. All group members will contribute to design and calculations! Before you begin, print out the Process Worksheet found in the links at the bottom of this page. Fill this worksheet out as you go through the process and show all of your work.

1. Before you can begin designing the backyard, you must find out exactly how big it is. Unfortunately, the Smith's home is several hours away so you have not been able to the visit the site to take measurements. The customer gave you the following information:

The backyard they would like fenced is exactly 1/3 of an acre. The property extends 100 feet from the back of the house. See the Homeowner's Sketch link at the bottom of this page for the drawing they sent with the measurements. As you can see, they sent the width of the yard but not the length. In order to calculate the length, you need to know how many square feet are in 1/3 of an acre. Follow this link to find out:

Square Feet to Acre

2. To review finding the area and perimeter of a rectangle, go to the following sites. Each member of your group should read the fact sheet and take the quiz in each link:

Area of Rectangle

Perimeter of Rectangle

Now that you are experts on Area and Perimeter, find the missing length and calculate the perimeter of the backyard.

3. Next, you need to decide what type of fence you would like to suggest for the Smith Family how much they will need to purchase. Make sure that you do not quote fence for the entire perimeter of the backyard - the section where the house sits does not need fencing. You can find different types of fencing and prices at the following links:

Your Fence Store

Lowes

At the Lowe's site, use the zip code 63010 to see prices.

4. Now that you know exactly how much area you have, you need to decide how big to make the pool. You may choose any length, width, and depths. The Smith's want an inground, rectangular pool with both a shallow and a deep end. To find how much water the pool will hold, you need to practice finding the volume of prisms. Go to these sites to become experts at finding volume:

Volume of Rectangles

Volume of Prisms

There must be a slope between the shallow and deep sections of the pool. If you still aren't sure how to find the volume of the pool your group has designed, see the Pool Cross Section attachment below for a hint. There must be a slope between the shallow and deep ends.

5. Now that you know the volume of the pool in cubic feet, you need to find out how many gallons of water it will hold. Go to this site to find out!

Converting Cubic Feet to Gallons

6. Now you can complete your estimate and sketch for the Smith Family. At the cost estimator site, enter the dimensions of your pool. the decking is the area around the pool that will be concrete. The estimator will prompt you if your decking is too small. Make a list for the Smiths showing all of the options that you have included in their estimate. Go to this site and decide what extras you should include in your presentation:

Pool Cost Estimator

7. You have all of the information that you need to put your presentation together! Each group member should contribute to the presentation. It must include a detailed blueprint (on a poster, or incorporated into your PowerPoint presentation), the dimensions of the pool, how many gallons of water the pool will hold, the type and cost of fencing, and an estimate slide showing all of the options. Remember, this presentation will sell your idea to the customer, so be creative and make it exciting!

8.  After your presentation, turn in your Process Worksheet and email your presentation to the teacher.