Landscaping in Oxford, Michigan

    

 

We just completed this fire pit with a sitting wall in Oxford, Michigan.  The customer also chose to install outdoor lighting underneath the seat and each pier will get one light facing the patio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patio Before

The inlay was added to enhance an existing patio. Enhancing existing elements is one way to spruce up your landscape while containing costs in a tight economy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This fire pit is perfect for entertaining, night and day.

 

Can you imagine having the family and friends over, the kids are

roasting marshmallows (with adult assistance) and the adults are enjoying good food and conversation.

Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful staycation?

 

Cleaning Bricks

Cleaning, sealing, and sanding of existing brick paver sidewalks and patios should be performed every 2 – 3 years.

The sealing of bricks should not be done more often than this.  Excessive sealing could result in a build up of sealer and even produce a hazy or cloudy appearance to the pavers.

If this does occur we should be able to remedy the problem by diluting the sealer with a stripper or a thinner. This is something that the average homeowner should not try on their own.

While cleaning brick pavers use a power washer and “blast” the sand out of the joints. Now don’t go crazy with this. If you blast too much out, you could get down to the bedding sand, and this could cause the pavers to settle and become uneven — creating a costly repair.

Brick pavers don’t usually need chemical cleaning. Washing with a power washer works well, but if the pavers have stain from hard water or oil from vehicles, there are some good products that can usually remove the stains but not always or completely.

If your pavers are not sealed and the contactor used polymeric sand to fill the joints the pavers may not need sanding for 4 – 5 years. If you don’t have polymeric sand in the joints then your pavers will need sanding every year, and I suggest you spend the extra few dollars and upgrade to polymeric sand. As a contractor I only use polymeric sand.