Doing a new deck / patio this year. Looking for any and all suggestions. My space is about 15 feet by 20-25 feet depending on how far I'd like to take it. Have considered concrete but the cost is deterring me. Anybody know much and pricing and lifespan of rubber pebbles and I guess there is always doing wood again but I'd rather not because it may not again. The deck is only raised a foot or two off the ground.
If you put pilings in and use PT joists you shouldn't have a problem with wood rot. Being 15 feet you can use 16 foot boards and not have to worry about joints. Mine is a foot off the ground, built it 10 years ago and no sign of rot.
If you put pilings in and use PT joists you shouldn't have a problem with wood rot. Being 15 feet you can use 16 foot boards and not have to worry about joints. Mine is a foot off the ground, built it 10 years ago and no sign of rot.
I'll second that. Mine is built the same way and is still solid with no signs of rot. I built it the year of the Flames last cup run (2004?).
I have some gargantuan front steps that are concrete. About 7 steps 8 ft wide. The first 5 or so steps were lined with awful hedges that were garbage magnets. So I dug them up yesterday with the intention of replanting something fancy and putting down some mulch.
Well, now that I have dug them up I have exposed a pretty large gap under one of the concrete steps. I'm not concerned about structural issues. I think it's just how they were designed and poured. I'll probably fill in the gap a bit with the dirt I dug out.
What I want to do is cover the god awful ugly concrete steps. Sides and top.
Any ideas on covering material? I'd like to do wood on the sides, but wood touching concrete is never a good idea. I considered composite decking, but that seems a tad overkill. The last thing I considered is covering it with stones or brick on the side then pavers on top. Massive slate slabs are super expensive and i'd like to keep this cost controlled.
Any ideas, or has anybody seen anything that they think looks good? I seem to have writers block, or landscapers block (hah) on this.
I've got a crab apple in my front yard that hasn't got any buds on it yet, but the branches aren't brittle or anything. Squirrels and rabbits have done a number on it's bark over the winter. Is this tree dead or almost dead? I'll be annoyed because it'll be the second time replacing that tree. The first one was planted by Blue Grass and they didn't dig far enough down through a layer of clay. I planted this one and it's been okay the past 3 years.
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So where is my best bet for buying one of those "Alberta" hybrid apple trees, and some columnar aspen type trees (I want to place them along the fence for shade / privacy).
Just seems too damned easy... Could do the whole front side of my house in a couple of hours for about $140 in edging, blocks, mulch and lanscaping paper.
Related question: I'm planning to do this around the egress recesses for basement bedroom windows. Obviously the bed itself is no different from having my lawn there, but can I plant things near them? If so, does it matter what? Could I plant a hedge or shrubs in front of the egress point, or just flowers?
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Last edited by CorsiHockeyLeague; 05-17-2018 at 01:28 PM.
Just seems too damned easy... Could do the whole front side of my house in a couple of hours for about $140 in edging, blocks, mulch and lanscaping paper.
Hell might as well try it out. One thing that the guy in the video totally failed at: you're actually not supposed to be able to see the plastic edging like that.
Related question: I'm planning to do this around the egress recesses for basement bedroom windows. Obviously the bed itself is no different from having my lawn there, but can I plant things near them? If so, does it matter what? Could I plant a hedge or shrubs in front of the egress point, or just flowers?
Don't see why not, but be aware of the final mature height of the shrub.
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Just seems too damned easy... Could do the whole front side of my house in a couple of hours for about $140 in edging, blocks, mulch and lanscaping paper.
Related question: I'm planning to do this around the egress recesses for basement bedroom windows. Obviously the bed itself is no different from having my lawn there, but can I plant things near them? If so, does it matter what? Could I plant a hedge or shrubs in front of the egress point, or just flowers?
Plant some shrubs or something that doesn't require additional watering. I've previously been told by a couple folks in the home industry that putting in flower beds along side your foundation is a bad idea. It increases the possibility of water getting through your foundation and into your basement if you are constantly watering plants that are right up against your house.
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I've got a crab apple in my front yard that hasn't got any buds on it yet, but the branches aren't brittle or anything. Squirrels and rabbits have done a number on it's bark over the winter. Is this tree dead or almost dead? I'll be annoyed because it'll be the second time replacing that tree. The first one was planted by Blue Grass and they didn't dig far enough down through a layer of clay. I planted this one and it's been okay the past 3 years.
You should protect the bottom trunk about 2 feet up from the ground. Wrap a piece of tin or some hard plastic around the base (a little loose for tree growth) and this will prevent any rabbits from eating the bark.
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Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
Just seems too damned easy... Could do the whole front side of my house in a couple of hours for about $140 in edging, blocks, mulch and lanscaping paper.
The truth would be in how it looks in year 2-3. Landscaping- especially with rocks tends to look great when newly installed.
I also noticed that their "before" picture wasn't even in the same place as the "after."
Does anyone have any experience with planting a large, mature tree?
We've begun looking at houses, mostly new(er) inner-city builds, but a lot of them seem to have lost trees during the redevelopment.
We're having a difficult time embracing some of the homes, but if we know there is potential to add a large tree (or two) it could really change our perspective.
Are there some types that transplant better than others? Is there a specific time of year that's best? Any ideas on cost?
I realize there will be limitations (practical and cost-wise), but at this time, we're thinking the bigger, the better.
Large deciduous trees are sorted by the width of their trunk, whereas evergreens are by height. The height will vary depending on the species and variety. Checking out 5 Star Trees' catalogue here in town, it looks like 5m is the tallest they sell, so around 16 feet.
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The lawn in our house was neglected last year. The house was an estate sale and essentially didn't get watered all last year and we took possession in the fall. There are some pine trees that haven't done the lawn any favours either. So far I have dethatched the lawn and removed all the pine needles I can. Next I was going to aerate, fertilize, compost and seed. Parts of the lawn are decent, some have sparse grass (where there was lots of needles) and a couple parts have no grass. I think there were a couple pavers and a tree removed.
Do I get the whole thing aerated? I am worried about damaging the existing grass in the sparse areas. But at the same time the ground in the sparse and dead areas is quite hard.
