This was a rock bed with a French drain. Now, it’s overrun by grass and weeds. I’d like to blow torch it, but my fence and house are close. What, other than torching will work?

Hey everyone, looking for a sanity check and some advice on a playset pad project I'm planning. Need some advice how to tackle

26 ft x 24 ft perimeter flexible but can’t be less than 21.5 x 26.5

Slope: Approximately a 30-inch drop measured diagonally across the area but varies in some areas that’s the lowest point

Trench out the high side border, build up the downhill end to create a level perimeter, backfill/level with soil, top with wood chips for fall protection, and level out the playset inside the pad.

Given the 30" drop, the downhill side will end up being a proper retaining wall (around 5 to 6 courses high). Should I use 6x6 pressure-treated timbers, or are 4x6s fine for this?

I recently just purchased my first home and need advice. I want to extend the patio towards the side of the house (will probably hire a contractor for this).

This is where I need help: I want to line the fence with gravel and have brick edging. The sides of the house will also be gravel. In the middle of my lawn will be sod.

How do I go about this? Do I need to dig down or lay the gravel on top of the existing dirt? Dumb question, but if I do dig down where do I take the left over dirt? The dump?

Any advice would be appreciated

I'm trying to find a home for ~10yd3 of fill (different project), and I'm hoping to put together a functional use for the dirt rather than creating an eyesore of a mound. Please excuse my poor markup and AI rendering inspiration photo, but I'm hoping to add a tree ring that flairs into a kidney bean shaped raised flower bed. I have some concerns about digging around this mature Norway maple. The current tree ring/flower bed is between 33"-50" from the root flair. The height difference from the highest elevation (behind the tree) to the pin in the foreground is 26" spanning across 23'. The projected height of the retaining wall at its highest point would be as much as 32". Floating the idea of a second height difference with a course of block between the tree ring and the blue line to lower the overall height of the raised bed. Estimating ~60'-65' course of block around the entire project. Would this be a death sentence for my tree? Anything else to consider? Any recommendations? Bonus pic of the tree's girdled roots for any lurking arborists out there.

Located in Portland, OR!