mybackyardpatio.com

What is a concrete paving slab/patio stone?

A concrete paving slab is a square block of concrete between one foot and two and a half feet in diameter, and about an inch and a half thick. Stones made out of both clay and concrete fall into this category. The most commonly used colors are shades of white, grey and red.

I recommend you use concrete patio stones instead of poured concrete or interlocking brick

 

1) Patio stones are require less skill than interlocking bricks to lay

I have laid many patios and driveways using interlocking brick; I have also removed interlocking brick that others have done incorrectly. Even professional landscapers mess it up so I don’t recommend that the average person tries it without prior experience. The ground has to be perfectly flat and compacted before you begin or else the ground will sink in certain spots and leave your patio looking uneven and ugly.

2) Nicer looking than poured concrete and easier to remove if you change your mind later

Once you put down poured concrete it is very difficult to remove. Bricks and patio stones can be pried up but solid concrete involves a lot of hacking, smashing, and taking the debris away in wheelbarrows.

3) You can lay the concrete slabs by yourself to save money

Depending on where you shop you can probably find paving slabs for between $5 and $12. This is much cheaper than interlocking bricks; slabs are also much easier to lay yourself. As long as the ground is relatively flat then and you are strong enough to lift them then there is no need to pay big bucks for a professional landscaper- as the most junior person on the landscaping crew I cost each client $40 per hour myself!

 

We decided to use concrete paving slabs on our own property, as did my Grandma

We used concrete paving slabs to build a walkway from this the stairs off of out deck to the gate of the dog pen. This project only took a few hours. We dug up some grass, levelled the ground and then placed the concrete slabs onto the ground. Had we instead used interlocking bricks it would have taken at least a day and we would have had to do a lot more measuring as well as use a higher level of caution.

My Grandma also used paving slabs in her backyard. She used them to create a patio outside of her backdoor. This was a simple project and cost substantially less than it would have cost if bricks were used. Posts were then installed at the corners of the patio and some wooden railings above it. This structure is now used to grow grapes for jam and wine.

I have also seen people use these stones to build a walkway from their driveway to their front door. Walkways and patios seem to be the most common use for paving stones.

 

What to consider when laying patio stones?

If you want the area to look nice once you have laid all of the stones then you should make sure that the ground is flat to begin with and that you are laying the stones on dirt, not rocks or uneven clay. The slabs are very strong so as long as there is nothing really hard underneath it is not going to break; this suggestion is merely to maximize the ending appearance.

 

 

I always tell customers to be careful if they plan on transporting the paving stones in their own vehicle

If customers required a large number of concrete paving stone then I would always suggest that we deliver the stones to their home in our store’s dump truck. I would recommend against them putting too many into their own car or truck as the stones can quickly add hundreds of pounds. Putting too much additional weight on the suspension of a small car can cause problems that may later need professional repairs; you can actually see a car sink down lower to the ground on its suspension as stones are added to the car’s trunk. For this reason I recommend you be very careful when transporting stones yourself. If the place you are buying from offers free delivery then you should always go with that option.

 

My experience with concrete paving slabs

While going to college I spent my summers working for a company that owned a garden center and did landscaping for both middle class and affluent individuals.

While working in a garden center I sold concrete paving slabs of different sizes and colors to people on a regular basis. I also gave people tips and advice regarding how to use them.

I a landscaping/delivery boy I transported slabs to the homes of people who had purchased them as well as laid them according to the landscaping plans we were following. Then when I got home my Dad made me lay them at home and at my grandma’s house for free ><.  This is to say that I have quite a bit of experience dealing with patio stones.

 

A quality patio is not just a bunch of stones to walk on; it includes flowers and plants, preferably more than less but it depends on what kind of look you are going for. In order to keep all these plants hydrated, green, and growing you are going to need some way to water them; this is where a watering system comes into play. An often over looked aspect of a watering system is the garden hose fitting.

 

About

Garden hose fittings are the components that connect your hose to the water gun or to another hose. They are typically brass garden hose fittings though they can also be found as plastic garden hose fittings or stainless steel garden hose fittings. Most are built with the inside about one inch in diameter because that is the standard width on the end of a hose.

 

Inside of the hose fitting you will find a rubber washer; this plays an essential part in performing what a fitting is intended to do, allow you to connect the hose to something else while minimizing water leakage; the rubber washer creates a leak proof seal.

 

Leaking garden hose fittings

If your hose is leaking at the point where it screws into something else then the cause is likely a faulty or damaged fitting. There are generally two different ways that this component can stop working. One is for the rubber washer to become damaged; this is inevitable after a decent amount of use from the hose; the rubber will simply wear down until it can no longer create a water-tight seal.

 

The other reason your fitting may stop working is because it is no longer round. While working at a garden center I saw fittings that had been run over by trucks on more than a few occasions. If it was not screwed into anything at the time then it would be essentially useless in the future unless it could be carefully bent back into place. If the fitting got run over while attached to another hose then the two hoses were essentially stuck together indefinitely.

 

Repairing a garden hose fitting

If the fitting is just leaking you may have to do nothing more than replacing the rubber washer. You can pick up a new one at any local hardware store.

 

If the fitting has been run over then you can attempt to bend it back to normal though there is no guarantee that it is ever going to work well again. If the fitting is made of something soft like aluminum you can try turning it on its side and stepping on it or squeezing it together with two rocks. If the material is something more durable then you can try banging it back to normal with a hammer.

 

Ideally you will prevent damage in the first place. Good luck and happy gardening.

What is a preformed pond liner?

Preformed pond liners are made out of either thick plastic or fibre glass. While a preformed kidney shape pond seems to be the most common they can be found in nearly any shape. They are designed so that anyone can easily and cheaply install a pond in their own backyard without having to hire landscapers.

 

You should install a preformed pond liner instead of using a flexible liner to build a pond

We saved money by using a preformed liner for the pond in my own backyard

We saved money in my own home by using a preformed liner. We purchased the liner for under one thousand dollars. We put it into the ground and decorated around it; it looks pretty darn good. If you want to build a custom pond with a flexible liner you are going to need to hire landscapers; this can easily cost you a few thousand dollars for something nice but small.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve seen many ponds with flexible liners become damaged and lose water

The garden center I worked at experienced punctured flexible liners on several occasions. Some of the ponds liners that became punctured were many years old and simple tore due to wear and tear over time from the weather. Others were torn by large birds try to catch fish. In contrast to this I have never seen a preformed liner experience damage from any un-extraordinary circumstance; they are pretty much indestructible.

 

 

 

How we went from wanting a pond in our backyard to having one

Day 1 – Saturday (installing the preformed pond liner)

1. We drove to a garden center in our local community and found a kidney shaped pond that we liked
2. We put the pond into the back of our pickup truck, strapped it down and drove home
3. We set the pond onto the ground where we wanted to eventually install it and marked the shape of the pond on the ground
4. We then moved the pond and began digging out the grass in this area except that we dug out a couple inches more around the entire circumference
5. We measured the depth of the pond and then attempted to dig that was a couple inches less than the depth of the pond
6. We placed the pond into the hole we had dug
7. We then used some of the dirt we removed and used it to fill in the gaps between the outside of the pond and the edge of the hole we had dug
8. We then dug up a few feet of grass around the pond so that we could eventually create a garden
9. We had some beer and relaxed for the rest of the day. Note: Using the term “we” is a little bit misleading. It is equivalent to “me and my female supervisor” =)

Day 2 – Sunday (hiding the fact that we used a preformed pond liner)

1. We measured the circumference of the rigid pond liner we put into the ground the day before and wrote these numbers down
2. We drove back the garden center so that we could get some flagstone (flagstones are flat pieces of rock about 2 inches thick. No two are the same shape)
3. We showed one of the salespeople the measurements of our pond
4. The sales person helped us load the appropriate amount of flagstone into our truck
5. We also purchased bags of topsoil, bags of mulch, shrubs, some random rocks and a water pump
6. We drove home and carried everything to the location of our pond
7. The topsoil was dumped into the earth we had removed around the pond to create a better environment for plants
8. We placed the flagstone around the edge of the pond so that about 1/3 of the each stone is hanging over the side of the pond (this will prevent people from seeing the pond’s plastic rim)

 

Day 3 – Monday (an excuse to take a day off work)

1. We planted the shrubs and placed the rocks we had purchased in the garden around the pond
2. We poured the red much and raked it evenly on top of the garden to add color
3. We filled the pond with water and plugged in the pump and set it into the pond… voila.

 

My experience selling and installing pond liners

I made money during college by working over the summer for a business that ran a garden center and performed landscaping. I have experience selling the materials required to build a pond as well as install one. In this position I dealt with both preformed garden ponds and flexible liners.

The only reason you may not want to use preformed liners for your pond

Rigid pond liners are great if you want to install a small but nice looking pond on your own and save money. But if you want a large custom pond then you have no choice but to go with the flexible liner; this will also necessitate the help of some expensive professional landscapers. The preformed liner is the best choice for most people.

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in adding some water to your backyard but are not interested in getting a smelly pond then you could always just get a pool. All joking aside, a well taken care of pool can add quite a bit of utility to your backyard. On the other hand, a poorly taken care of pool will seriously detract from the same backyard. So it goes a little like this; if you have a swimming pool then you need a swimming pool pump.

 

About

The purpose of the pump is to suck water through it and then blast it back out into a different part of your pool; this induces circulation which prevents the growth of algae and the breeding of other unwanted organisms. During this process the water is flowed through a filter which helps clean dirt and other debris out of the water. You really have no choice but to get one or you mine as well be swimming in a pond.

 

Energy efficient models are ideal

Pools are not necessarily good for the environment with their electricity usage and the chemicals they require to keep the water sanitary. Although they are not necessary good you can make your pool a little less of a burden on the earth by getting an energy efficient pump. These pumps typically have at least two different speeds. The normal speed is used most of the time while the second speed is used for more advanced cleaning activities. The two speed pump will lower your electricity usage.

 

Another way to reduce energy use is to get a model with a timer. The added benefit of running a pump for more than eight hours per day is minimal. So why not turn the pump off at the eight hour mark?

 

Consider

Most pumps now days prime themselves. This means that they fill up with water when they are turned on. Just make sure that you get a self priming version when picking up a pump because having to fill one up with water yourself can be a pretty big hassle. It also makes it much more difficult to incorporate a timer into the process.

 

You may also want to consider connecting your pump to a solar battery. Pumps require a great deal of energy so the solar power you can collect from a few small panels may not completely support the pump, but it can definitely have a positive effect on your electricity bill. Consider putting the panels on the roof of your pool shed.

About the umbrellas in my backyard
Both round and rectangular patio umbrellas have their place in my backyard. The large rectangular patio umbrella covers a portion of the patio while the circular umbrella is part of a table set that sits close to the garden near the back of the lot.

My umbrella offers protection from UV rays
The main reason we got an umbrella was to give us a break from the sun when sitting on the patio and having drinks. Our square umbrella is made from a thick dark green material.

We realized that a thin or light colored umbrella would not give us adequate protection from UV; the thickness of the material and darkness of the color are directly correlated with how much UV it absorbs. The dark green helps the umbrella blend into the surrounding vegetation and not look too out of place, a problem with dark colors.

Although it protects us from direct rays it does not offer protection form reflected light coming off other surfaces. But since my dermatologist forces me to wear sun screen every time I go outside, this is not that big of an issue.

My umbrella helps keep me cool in the hot of summer
Even beyond the UV protection, it is nice to have a place where I can relax in the shade, keep my drink cool and not feel like I am melting; that place is right under my umbrella =)

How I stop my rectangular patio umbrella from turning
Someone asked me the other day how I prevent my umbrella from turning in the wind; I actually don’t have this problem at all. The stand on my umbrella goes through the centre of patio table and then attaches onto a super heavy duty stone base, which it locks into. There is no way that the umbrella could possibly turn in the wind due to the weight of the base. If your umbrella is turning then you need a heavier and more secure umbrella base.

How I stop my umbrella from blowing away
When I was younger I remember heavy winds picking up the umbrella on our backyard deck and lifting it over the railing and onto the grass; this occurred when it got too windy and we forgot to close the umbrella. To prevent this now days I keep my umbrella closed when we are not sitting under it. Our extremely heavy umbrella base also provides some protection against the umbrella blowing away.

 

I chose a rectangular umbrella instead of a round umbrella when looking for one to put on my patio
I wanted a very large umbrella so that would be able to offer a lot of people shade at the same time; I needed the shade to extend out beyond the edges of the table under it so that more than just the people immediately around the table would have some shade.

I also love sitting outside when it is raining (assuming that I am not getting wet). When I’m sitting under my small circular umbrella it only takes a little bit of wind for the rain to start blowing underneath. But when I’m sitting under the larger rectangle umbrella then its sheer size helps keep me dry from blowing rain.

 

Do you remember when you were a kid and there was nothing that bothered you? My parents had to hide my shorts in the winter so that I would not wear them; and I grew up in Canada! I guess that we get a bit too used to living in comfort as we get older. Then when something is not comfortable we do the worst thing possible; complain. I remember not even checking the temperature of the water before doing a cannonball into the pool; maybe you used to be like this as well. But I bet now days you rarely go in past your ankles because you find the water to be too chilly.

 

Extend pool season
You can either sit and suffer or do something about this. One of the things you can do is to pick up an electric pool heater. These bad boys are sure to more than double the number of days you are willing to go for a dip, especially if you live in one of the less warm parts of the world. If the water is only warm enough for two months of the year without a heater then it will be warm enough for at least four months with one.

 

Room in the budget?
One of the common reasons why a lot of people do not end up purchasing electric pool heaters is that they can be quite expensive. The unit itself is only a onetime cost so you can save up to buy it but the electricity usage is going to be indefinite. It would not be unreasonable to spend five dollars per day if you have a large pool. Consider lowering your heating bill by covering your pool with a thermal pool cover to keep the heat in.

 

Consider
On the other hand, you probably spent quite a bit of money on your pool in the first place. If you are not willing to use it very much then it was a wasted investment. If a few buck a day is going to mean the difference between using the pool and not using it, you should seriously contemplate getting an electric pool heater.

 

Alternatives
There are a few other alternatives such as the propane pool heater and the solar pool heater. I would not recommend the propane version because they are even more expensive than electric models. But if you live in a place with a lot of sun but not much heat than the solar heater would be something to seriously think about.

You now have a few different options to consider. Whether you have some room in your budget may be the biggest consideration. I suppose your level of toughness may also play apart. I will let you think about this while I dip my own feet in a pool… and reminisce about how much better things were when I did not think so much.

You have wanted to improve the appearance of your backyard patio for quite some time and now you have finally bought some nicer furniture to do just that. Now that you have nice furniture you should probably at least attempt to keep it in decent condition. Depending on where you live, winters or rainy seasons can be very tough on the items that you leave outdoors; stains tend to be worn off of woods quickly and metal begins to rust. Why not save yourself some trouble and buy something to protect them; patio furniture covers can do this.

 

Protect your assets
Patio furniture covers can provide a decent amount of protection from the rain as well as the sun. These covers will decrease the amount of debris and moisture that comes in contact with your furniture; this should subsequently decrease or eliminate the mould that you would normally have to clean off in the spring.

 

Consider
Before purchasing patio furniture covers you should consider how often you actually use the furniture; again this will be influenced by the location in which you live. If you use the furniture all year long on a regular basis then covering it up and subsequently removing the covers the next day is just going to be a hassle. In this case you are probably just better off briefly cleaning the furniture on a regular basis.

Another thing to consider is the type of cover that you should get. If you live in a warm part of the world then you probably want something light that will keep the heat out. A furniture cover made of polyester may be a good choice for this. Alternatively, if you live somewhere it snows then you are going to want something heavier and more durable; vinyl might be well suited for conditions such as these.

Also, depending on the type of furniture you have it may not even be in your interest to purchase patio furniture covers. If you are using light plastic furniture it you may be further ahead just tossing them into a shed for the winter; I will leave you with this.

Everyone has at least a few items that they need to store in their backyard; maybe your list includes a lawnmower or some fire wood. The fact is that it just looks unsightly to have these things sitting out in the middle of the grass. As an added benefit of getting something to store them in, they will also be provided some protection from the elements. If this is your situation then you may be interested in vinyl storage sheds. Just put one together and voila; no more backyard that looks like a scrap yard.

 

Maintenance free
The reason you would get a shed made of vinyl as opposed to one made of wood or metal is that the vinyl shed requires essentially zero maintenance. If you purchase a wooden storage shed you will occasionally have to stain it. If you purchased a metal storage shed then you would have to worry about rust.

Vinyl storage sheds tend to just be simple in general. A big plus for the vinyl storage shed is that you will not need a building permit to set one up. It is also quite light should you ever want to change around the layout in your backyard.

 

Storage
Yes; the reason why you want a storage unit in the first place is so that you can have a place to put stuff that should not be left out. This will allow you to keep the rest of your backyard in a more presentable fashion. Storage shed are a great place to store tools, gardening equipment, or wood for your copper fire pit.

 

The Negatives
An issue with the vinyl storage shed is that it is fairly tall and will take up decent amount of space; this is obviously not ideal if you are already stuck using a tiny backyard in the city. This is made worse by the fact that they do not look as nice as other storage units such as those made of wood.

 

Consider
Before making a purchase you should consider both the size of your backyard and the size of the shed you are interested in. If the size of the vinyl storage shed overpowers the size of your backyard then you are going to regret your decision to purchase one. And if the storage shed it too small then you are going to be annoyed by its lack of ability to store everything you need it to.

If you do need a place to store items and do not have a garage attached to your house, or if you simply need additional storage room then a vinyl storage shed can be a very good idea. I just recommend that you consider space before going out and purchasing one.

MyBackyardPatio.com focuses on quite a few different products that can be utilized on your backyard patio but I personally think this is one of the coolest products so far. Why let the party die when the sun goes down? With this product you can stay out all night. These lights will not even attract bugs to your party; but I’ll get to that later. I would like to introduce you to patio umbrella lights.

About
Patio umbrella lights are essentially what the name implies; they light up your umbrella so that you can sit under it and still have visibility. Being able to see when hanging out with friends is ideal you know.

There are two different types of umbrella lights.

1)      The first kind of lighting system is called ribbed umbrella lights. Small light bulbs are attached to the ribs on the underside of the umbrella. The rips are the wood/metal/plastic bars that hold the soft material component of the umbrella in position when the umbrella is opened up.

2)      The second is very different from the first. The lighting component is attached part way up the stem of the umbrella. This component has multiple lights on it which shine up into the umbrella and illuminate it. The light that bounces off of the umbrella then lights up the surrounding area.

Stay up past Mother Nature’s bedtime
The obvious advantage of such a contraption is that you can stay out after dark and be able to see the people you are spending time with. This is ideal if you don’t start drinking with friends until the evening and do not want to move the party inside once the sun has gone down. This subtle form of lighting also beats out awkwardly placed flood lights in an attempt to light up the night.

No insects?
I hinted earlier that one of the advantages of this type of lighting is that it will not attract bugs. Not every form of patio umbrella lights will do this but there is one kind in particular that will. As LED technology has advanced it seems that it has been applied to everything. Patio umbrella lights appear to have taken a pretty huge benefit from this. It turns out that the light spectrum produced by LED lights does not attract insects. As such, I highly recommend that that you purchase LED patio umbrella lights.

If you already have a patio umbrella in place but happen to be lacking decent patio lights then you might want to try these out. At the very least you can avoid the insects at night.

What you should know about my hot tub gazebo
In essence, our hot tub gazebo is not much more than a sturdy umbrella for our hot tub that keeps water out of my beer glass when it rains. More details follow.

 

My hot tub gazebo helps me avoid my overly friendly neighbour with no shirt and an ever protruding beer gut

We’ve had 3 different people move into the house beside us during the last 5 years; I’d like to think it’s not me attracting or scaring away all these folks. More likely it’s the appeal of the cheap little house beside ours in an upscale part of town.

It’s practically impossible for me to do any work in the backyard or relax with friends/ family without this individual coming by. But as long as he can’t see us then he won’t come over. I really did not want to install a high fence so we came up with another idea… the hot tub gazebo!

The gazebo allows us to hide and relax without worrying about being seen. I can now chill with a brew in the hot tub without having to offer a drink to this neighbour.

We did not spend a lot on our hot tub gazebo; you don’t have to either
We do NOT have a large mahogany gazebo complete with a flat screen television. On the contrary, we have just about the opposite of what most people think of when they imagine gazebos for hot tubs; our is pretty minimalistic.

It is not much more than 4 wooden beams at each corner of the concrete patio that out hot tub sits on. These beams support a wooden roof that angles up like the roof on a house. But if we had stopped here then there would be nothing stopping us from being seen.

On the underside of the roof along each side we installed some dark but transparent plastic curtains that can be pulled across to give us complete privacy on the inside. Lights on the inside then allow us to see regardless whether there is daylight. The curtain rods are suspended down a few inches so that the curtains don’t meet the top of the roof and moisture can still escape.

Now the neighbour may hear our music or hear us talking but he hasn’t yet developed the audacity to come over and pull open the curtains to say hello.

The other reason we got our hot tub gazebo
Our gazebo for hot tubs helps keep our electronics from getting wet when it rains. I now keep a permanent radio in the unit that can play songs right off the the external hard drive in my house; a little bit of ingenuity goes a long way.