better outdoor living at home spring


How to Prevent Paver Projects from Failing

What would cause areas of a beautiful dry-laid paver project to caved in or sink? We’ll give you the answer in a second. But we can’t tell you the number of homes we have seen where this occurred on the porch stoop and/or walks. Some of these porch floors had areas where the pavers were […]

Tools Can Damage Concrete Surfaces

Several years ago, I was talking with an owner/contractor of a decorative stamped concrete company  (lets call him Joe) about a callback he had regarding  a concrete walk he installed for a homeowner.  The following spring after the installation he received a call from the homeowner complaining that the stamped concrete walk did not stand […]

Cleaning Mildew & Algae on Outdoor Walking Surfaces

Mildew and algae can grow on both horizontal and vertical exterior surfaces. They can grow so slowly that you may not be aware of their presence until they become very visible by discoloring the surface, or when a walking surface becomes slippery, especially when the surface is wet.   Mildew is typically black or gray […]

Paver Trash Can Storage Area

Some homeowners keep trash cans in the garage, and others store them outdoors. A great way for a homeowner to spruce up the outdoor area where the trash cans are kept is to install a hard surface pad for their storage. This can be a more attractive solution than having to set the cans right […]

Concrete Can Be an Attractive Choice

We want to share a project of ours to show you another option in selecting a material to use for a walk or patio. This was a unique project for us in regard to the technique that was used to achieve the intricate design.     This is a residential project we did for a homeowner […]

Natural Stone: Wall Stone & Flagstone

Homeowners seem to really like the idea of using natural stone for many outdoor projects. What wall, patio or terrace, entry walk, or porch stoop wouldn’t be enhanced in some way from the intrinsic beauty of natural stone?   Limestone, sandstone, and bluestone are some popular natural stones for outdoor home improvement projects. These stones […]

Pennsylvania Bluestone

One of the most beautiful natural stones for decorative paving for your home is Pennsylvania bluestone. This bluestone is a type of sandstone characterized by a unique range of colors: blue, blue-green, blue-grey, golden brown, and violet. Stone companies can source the full range of these colors, known as full color, or if you specify, […]

Gravel Base: Driveways, Walks, Patios

Are you going to be installing any type of pavement in your yard, such as a paver driveway, patio, or walk? Even if you will be hiring a contractor to install concrete or asphalt, or a skilled mason for a mortared pavement, you’ll find it beneficial to have an understanding of the importance of a […]

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