Landscaping/Gardening Thread.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium

You can get a big bag of Sheep Fescue at Bow Pointe Nursery. I bought some a couple of years ago to see if it would take in my front yard that is dominated by a large spruce tree. No dice. I think the bag of seed was close to $50.00, so not exactly cheap.

About 12 years ago I (pro landscapers, actually) installed pavers in my backyard for the patio. Two years ago, I ripped them up and put concrete in. Our winters are hell on pavers. Some of them sank several inches and I also gave up on the drudgery of picking weeds that would come up through the cracks.

That's too bad. The pavers I put in for my parents patio is still looking good (nothing to trip on) twelve years later. However you need a really good base of crush rock, and only use an inch of sand on top. Afterwards I recommend a concrete sand application for between the pavers.

Good stone / paver work is really hard to come by though. Proximity to poplar trees will also cause problems.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by calumniate

That's too bad. The pavers I put in for my parents patio is still looking good (nothing to trip on) twelve years later. However you need a really good base of crush rock, and only use an inch of sand on top. Afterwards I recommend a concrete sand application for between the pavers.



Good stone / paver work is really hard to come by though. Proximity to poplar trees will also cause problems.

Any suggestions on fixing a bad paver install? Ours were put in, with what I suspect is playground sand that oozes out after every rain and is just a mess and the stones are lose. I think the crushed rock base is okay. Just the sand.. I presume.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Any suggestions on fixing a bad paver install? Ours were put in, with what I suspect is playground sand that oozes out after every rain and is just a mess and the stones are lose. I think the crushed rock base is okay. Just the sand.. I presume.

Sounds like way too much sand... It is liquefying and ending up on top of the pavers. Not sure there is any way to fix that, except hauling up all the pavers, and removing the loads of sand that must be under them.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Sounds like way too much sand... It is liquefying and ending up on top of the pavers. Not sure there is any way to fix that, except hauling up all the pavers, and removing the loads of sand that must be under them.

Would that mean excavating the whole thing then? I am trying to imagine how you would get all the sand out otherwise. It's a small patio. It wouldn't take long to remove the pavers. Though I wonder at this point if it would be a better idea to just re sod the area. It's not really something we use that often, and not even because of the paver situation. I guess, how would you re sod? Can you just remove the pavers and put sod over the sand and rock or do you need to be concerned with drainage and stuff?

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Would that mean excavating the whole thing then? I am trying to imagine how you would get all the sand out otherwise. It's a small patio. It wouldn't take long to remove the pavers. Though I wonder at this point if it would be a better idea to just re sod the area. It's not really something we use that often, and not even because of the paver situation. I guess, how would you re sod? Can you just remove the pavers and put sod over the sand and rock or do you need to be concerned with drainage and stuff?

No easy fix for a screwed up foundation. To do it right, all the pavers would have to be lifted. If the sand pools up, the drainage isn't very good. If you do go the sodding route, make sure you grade everything away from the house. Suggest spreading some good top soil/loam if you are laying sod.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Flacker

No easy fix for a screwed up foundation. To do it right, all the pavers would have to be lifted. If the sand pools up, the drainage isn't very good. If you do go the sodding route, make sure you grade everything away from the house. Suggest spreading some good top soil/loam if you are laying sod.

Yeah. The way the pavers sit now, water is pooling around the center of the patio and doesn't drain off. Then it is pretty much like a beach. Should water be draining through the crush rock layer?

Which layer should be graded to slope away from the house?

[Knut]

We Just had this installed in our Backyard along the side that we barely use and is a bitch to cut/weed whip. It is a big section of fake turf with a 3 hole putting green.

[rbochan]

Originally Posted by Hesla

We Just had this installed in our Backyard along the side that we barely use and is a bitch to cut/weed whip. It is a big section of fake turf with a 3 hole putting green.

Do you have a sister?

[Knut]

Originally Posted by rbochan

Do you have a sister?

No

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Sounds like way too much sand... It is liquefying and ending up on top of the pavers. Not sure there is any way to fix that, except hauling up all the pavers, and removing the loads of sand that must be under them.

Yep, I'd check how much sand is underneath. Even an inch is considered lots / too much. You also may want to examine the depth of the crush rock. If the base is ok I'd pull off the pavers, scrape the sand off and redo it. Then brush in polymer sand to seal it

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Hesla

We Just had this installed in our Backyard along the side that we barely use and is a bitch to cut/weed whip. It is a big section of fake turf with a 3 hole putting green.

Sweet. Who did the installation for you?

We have a huge pine tree in our side yard that is coming down today and once it is out we will be able to utilize that part of the yard. I've been thinking about doing a putting green as well because I don't expect grass will grow there. The soil is probably really acidic due to dozens of years of pine needles and it is also a shady area.

[Kybosh]

Does anyone know where I can get fill dirt to adjust the grading in my back yard? I bought a older home and it's currently sloping towards the rear (exposing a crack in the foundation which leaked into my basement during the melt). My current master plan is to grade away from the foundation and into a french drain.

[Knut]

http://www.evergreenturf.ca/

Very professional.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Sweet. Who did the installation for you?

We have a huge pine tree in our side yard that is coming down today and once it is out we will be able to utilize that part of the yard. I've been thinking about doing a putting green as well because I don't expect grass will grow there. The soil is probably really acidic due to dozens of years of pine needles and it is also a shady area.

I took out 3 spruce trees that dumped loads of needles. I removed the majority of them, turned over the dirt and spread seed and fertilizer. I was amazed at how well the grass grew. Mine is a full sun area though.

[Engine09]

What are my options for disposing of 12 cubic yards (1 dumpster bin) of rock, dirt and cement blocks?

Just spent $820 on hauling away 2 bins of renovation material, wondering if there is a better option besides the city landfill.

[Darby]

Has anyone used Sarritor to control dandelions? Any success? My organic lawncare routine for our weedy lawn seems limited to setting it ablaze and watching from afar.

[VladtheImpaler]

Hesla, what did that cost you?

[Knut]

About 18/sq ft for the putting green and $15 for the fake turf.

[Schraderbrau]

I have read that round up only lasts in soil for about 2 weeks after application. Would it be safe to apply round up now if I plant to lay top soil and sod in a couple of months?

[Table 5]

I have a couple of question I'm hoping someone here can shed a little light on.

When they built our house (new infill), the yard was dug out into what I think is City property (Im assuming its City property, because the fence line down the entire block is further back than where we meet the sidewalk).





So we are about to do the landscaping and fencing, but I assume we need to keep it to the left of the yellow line so it matches the rest of the street. However if we did this, there would be gap between the fence and the sidewalk, and I assume there would need to be concrete poured to fill the gap.

Considering this is City property, is that something we can ask the City to do (i.e., have them pour concrete on their dime). Or is that something that typically the home owner has to fix? Keep in mind my developer went AWOL and left us in the lurch, so I have no idea what his intention was with this.