Check out this Houzz site for ideas http://www.houzz.com/outdoor-basketball-court

Do you have a budget? This would be the first question I would ask which also relates to your potential. You are looking at 15-20k typically.

Then are you looking at concrete or a rubber base?

Hi John, where are you located? It sounds like an expensive endevor to go artificial. How large is the grass area that we are talking about. This could help with the cost estimation.

The best way to remove the poison ivy would be to get a goat or two. A pair of goats would have the poison ivy in about a day without leaving any chemicals left behind. Keep in mind though that goats will also eat landscaping if you have it. There are different chemicals and techniques to revmoving the poison ivy if you don't want to go the goat route. Keep in mind that if you choose to use chemicals be very careful and be sure to chang clothes frequently through this process and wash your skin a lot. 

I would recommend a nursery that sells locally grow products. You have a much better chance of it surviving if it's grown in local conditions & soil. Who knows where that big boxes got that last train load of plants from!

Hi John, 

Turn on your sprinklers for the zone your leak is on and let it run. The area where the leak is will cause the ground around it to be soaked and water logged more so than any other area. There is your leak.

Good luck!

Tree removal is not normally a part of what we do at Blackdog Builders, but I thought I would look up some information for you and offer some advise. First of all, if the tree is too close to your house where the branches are reaching over your roof, you may need to replace your roof more often due to debris or branches. This is a bigger problem of course with pine and it's sap, but an oak tree will produce acorns and will also shed leaves every fall. This may damage your roof, and if you have a gutter system, it will need to be regularly cleaned. 

After some research, it seems that oak is one of the more expensive species of trees to remove because it is a hardwood and usually grows very tall. The following is provided by treeremoval.com:

"Oak is one of the strongest, toughest woods out there. For that reason, tree removal services often charge a premium to tackle them. Oak trees are also very tall. The average height of a healthy oak tree is 60 feet. You can refer to the price guide above to see that you will pay between $200 and $1,000 to have an oak tree removed. Due to the fact that oak is such a solid, thick wood, your total price will probably fall on the higher end of the scale. Make sure you have a really good reason to have it removed before spending that kind of money!"