When Rob Nachbar bought his Portland, Oregon, home in 2015, the backyard was little more than a patch of grass with a hot tub.
asserted
backyard → buy → tub
By 2019, the grass was worn out, and an early redesign using pea gravel and flagstone made the space even less usable.
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space → wear → gravel
Then the pandemic arrived, giving Nachbar and his family both time at home and a reason to rethink how they lived outdoors.
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they → arrive → home
What followed was a five-year, hand-built transformation of an 800-square-foot yard into a covered, colourful entertainment space called Pong Springs.
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followed → follow → space
According to Realtor.com, the project cost $48,412, while Axios reported that by 2025 the backyard had generated about $85,000 through hourly rentals on Swimply.
uncertain
backyard → accord → Swimply
Nachbar turned a small 20-by-40-foot yard into four covered zones: a hot tub area, a fire deck, a pavilion with a ping-pong table and a grill deck.
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Nachbar → turn → table
The design leans into bright colours, neon lighting and a playful Palm Springs-inspired mood, making the space feel more like a private mini resort than a typical suburban backyard.
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space → lean → backyard
The backyard began as a problem
Nachbar initially tried to improve the yard with help from a landscaper friend, but the removal of all the grass and its replacement with pea gravel created a practical problem for a family with a young child.
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removal → begin → child
During the pandemic, he watched his wife’s five-year-old daughter kicking gravel around the yard and worried that a stone could break a window.
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stone → watch → window
That moment convinced him that the space needed to be completely rebuilt rather than simply redecorated, as per the reports.
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space → convince → reports
Nachbar and others removed the gravel, dug out the yard by hand and dealt with a pile of displaced soil that grew into an eight-foot mound.
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that → remove → mound
After compacting and levelling the ground, they installed artificial turf, a choice that eliminated the need to mow a very small lawn and created a cleaner base for the rest of the project.
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that → compact → project
From there, the project developed without a rigid master plan.
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project → develop → plan
Nachbar had been collecting wooden pallets to build a deck, but he soon realised those materials would not last.
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materials → collect → deck
A builder friend helped him create stronger structures using pressure-treated lumber, including a cantilevered fire deck and grill deck topped with polycarbonate roofing.
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friend → help → roofing
The hot tub structure came last, completing a backyard where nearly every area except the walkways is covered.
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area → come → walkways
Why covering the yard mattered
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covering → cover → yard
Portland’s wet climate shaped many of the design decisions.
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climate → shape → decisions
Nachbar covered most of the yard so that rain would not prevent the family from using the hot tub, fire area, grill space or ping-pong pavilion.
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rain → cover → tub
The roofs allow the backyard to be used throughout the year, except during snow, and turned a small outdoor area into a set of weather-resistant rooms.
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backyard → allow → rooms
The property is surrounded by neighbours on every side, and the rear neighbour previously had a clear view into the yard.
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neighbour → surround → yard
Nachbar added cedar privacy walls and bamboo planters, which filled in within about a year to create a more enclosed and intimate setting.
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which → add → setting
He said the space is now private on all sides, even though nearby sounds can still be heard.
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sounds → say → sides
The finishing touches gave Pong Springs its personality.
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touches → finish → personality
Nachbar added extensive lighting, including neon signs, and embraced a deliberately kitschy, colourful aesthetic.
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Nachbar → add → aesthetic
A friend coined the name after seeing the artificial turf and ping-pong table, combining the game with the Palm Springs-inspired look that Nachbar and his family enjoyed.
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Nachbar → coin → that
The $48,412 renovation budget
Realtor.com detailed the spending across the project, which Nachbar financed in cash and spread over five years rather than completing in one burst.
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Nachbar → detail → burst
The largest single expense was the hot tub at $11,900, followed by structures and carpentry at $10,990.
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expense → follow → 10,990
Other costs included hardscaping, electrical work, heating and a fireplace, outdoor furniture, gardening, accessories, artificial turf and a kegerator.
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costs → include → hardscaping
It was reported that Nachbar did much of the work himself, including running a natural gas line across the property after learning from online videos.
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Nachbar → report → videos
He hired a company to install an additional electrical subpanel, while a friend with electrical experience handled much of the remaining wiring.
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friend → hire → wiring
He acknowledged that the project involved mistakes, including choosing a grout between flagstone pavers that later became crumbly, but said doing the work personally saved a significant amount of money.
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doing → acknowledge → money
Turning a private yard into rental income
Photo credit: swimply.com
The rental idea began during the pandemic, when public pools were closed.
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pools → turn → pandemic
A neighbour told Nachbar about Swimply, a platform that lets owners rent private pools and outdoor amenities by the hour.
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owners → tell → hour
After booking a Swimply pool for his own family, he began wondering whether his backyard could work as a rental space too.
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backyard → book → space
Pong Springs is listed on Swimply and attracts guests looking for unusual places to gather, including bachelorette parties, date nights and themed watch parties.
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Springs → list → parties
Nachbar added a projector and a pull-down screen, which helped the space become popular for Love Island viewing parties, football gatherings and other social events.
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space → add → parties
Nachbar told Axios that he had generated around $85,000 over the previous couple of years, describing the rental business as a steady side income that essentially pays the household mortgage.
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that → tell → mortgage
In the Realtor.com interview, he said the backyard had earned $106,000 in total over five years, or roughly $20,000 to $21,000 annually.
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backyard → say → years
How the bookings work
Rentals are booked by the hour, with a two-hour minimum.
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Rentals → work → minimum
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
