Hardscape

How To Dry Pour A Concrete Slab For A Backyard Patio Or Shed

If you are a homeowner or maybe you live on a small farm and you need a concrete pad but you feel limited in your ability and can’t hire the work out because of the cost or other reason then you are likely to look at alternative methods of getting what you need done. You might need a concrete slab to go under a shed for its floor, maybe for a patio sitting area …

How To Patch A Hole In Stucco Skirting On A Porch

Spring is here so everyone is looking for jobs to do around the house. As a friend of ours was working on their front porch doing some landscaping they found a hole in the stucco that was applied to the wrap around skirting. Its not really big but its something that they want to take care of before pests get in there and cause them problems.

The surrounding stucco does have some cracking but …

How To Repairing A Brick Border Fence

A friend unfortunately just had the rear brick fence to their property collapse and they are wondering what they should do now. With a little bit of background the fence separates their property from a golf course and along the fence line is a concrete pathway used by the golf course.

After a little discussion it seems that they are not living in a HOA situation where the fence might have been installed by the …

How To Clean Up A Crumbled Concrete Pathway In Your Backyard

A Friend asks us how can they clean up the pathway in their backyard to make it look better and to improve its condition. Its a 3 foot wide concrete pathway that was placed on the back of the home to help with diverting rain away from the home. There is actually a pretty big grate in the path on the side of the home which diverts water out into the street and their …

How To Planning Your Backyard Patio Before You Get In Too Deep

Many people love sitting in their backyard after work or playing with the kids and they want to improve what they have but sometimes they get these grand ideas before really considering what fits with their property.

Before you begin any job it is important to plan it out and understand not only how it will look but how it will function for many years to come.

A friend is starting a new backyard project that …

How To Know If Bulk Wood Mulch Is Ok For Your Garden

If your garden uses a large amount of Mulch around trees and near vegetables you probably have thought about having a bulk delivery of Mulch to reduce costs and to ease with the install but there are some things you should know before you jump right in and cover your garden with mulch.

In our gardens there are two primary areas: The vegetable garden and the rest of the yard.

Vegetable gardens must have extreme care when …

How To Fix A Brick Paver Patio that has Sinking Problems

One of our friends just had their brick patio repaired by a contractor and after about a week and some hard rain it seems that there is some out of level and sinking problems in the center of the patio.

He says that the patio is made from brick pavers laid in a basket weave pattern. The workers laid them on top tamped and leveled sand, and then filled sand in around them. After a …

How To Clean Up a Backyard Walkway and Concrete Steps

One of our friends asks about their backyard. Its spring and they recently purchased their home and they want to clean up the backyard and make it more usable. One of the projects they have in mind is an area around some concrete steps that are in disrepair and they want to connect the area between the steps and the patio so they aren’t walking on dirt to get into the backyard.

This is a …

How To Setting Fence posts

One of our readers asks about installing a new fence in their backyard. They are at the point of setting the posts and want to know how deep they should be and how much concrete to use when installing them.

When you are setting fence posts you only need to set the first one and any corner in concrete. The rest you can set in dirt but if you want to be nice when you …

How To Paint Concrete Surfaces in and around your Home

Although Concrete is acceptable without a surface coating there are many times that you can benefit from applying paint or other coatings to increase its performance and appearance.

In basements you may want to apply concrete paint as a sealer if you would like to reduce humidity levels. On Garage floors you can apply an epoxy paint to protect the floor from oils and other products that can discolor the floor. Outside you …