If you love the idea of an outdoor fireplace but don’t have the budget to build one in your backyard, an outdoor fire pit is a great alternative. Fire pits not only serve as safe methods for building a fire in your backyard, but also as alluring accent pieces to extend the beauty of your home into the outdoors. [...]
For the best choice in retaining wall ideas look to the natural beauty of stone in many forms. For a rustic, old world feel stacked flagstone walls are timeless and match many different landscapes. Incorporate a flagstone patio or walkway to tie it all in. Brick retaining walls are popular, come in wide variety of [...]
Throughout most of the country, the month of August is one of the hottest times of the year. In the garden, August seems to fall in the lull between the explosive growth of Spring and early Summer, and the cleanup and Winter prep that occurs in the Fall. As such, many homeowners look at the [...]
Designating a space as an outdoor living room is a new concept in home design. Our Great-Grandmothers would offer a glass of lemonade “out on the porch”. Our Grandmothers would invite us to sit on the patio and we now entertain on our decks. Residents of tropical islands have long accepted that space in their [...]
Water may be the key to life but when it’s soaking your basement or creating a bog in your yard, you probably wish you had a little less of it. When water is accumulating where you don’t want it, French drains are a good solution to move it to a safer place. A French drain [...]
Patios installed by a patio contractor are a great addition to any home. While that professionally-designed and installed patio is sure to look great and last for many years to come, patios are really just stone, concrete, or brick floors until you add your own finishing touches. Here are some great and surprisingly easy ways to transform your [...]
Look across your yard after a heavy rainstorm and assess the performance of your drainage system in Kansas City. If you spot soggy areas or standing water, you need to consider tweaking the existing drainage or risk inflicting damage. Bad drainage can harm your landscaping, decks or fences as well as causing water seepage or [...]
Patios installed by a patio contractor are a great addition to any home. While that professionally-designed and installed patio is sure to look great and last for many years to come, patios are really just stone, concrete, or brick floors until you add your own finishing touches. Here are some great and surprisingly easy ways [...]
You may have a drainage problem around your home if your basement is wet, the yard is flooded periodically, water ponds on your lawn for long periods after rain, or trees and other plants grow poorly. There are a variety of ways that drainage issues can be resolved depending on whether the problem is with surface water (rain) or [...]
How do you know when it’s time to update the landscaping around your patio? If the plantings are leggy and invading the stones or wood structure of the patio, trimming and updating are needed. Every garden can benefit from an overhaul, adding nutrient rich soil, new plants and a healthy layer of mulch. If the [...]
To improve the function and appearance of your yard, tap into the numerous retaining wall benefits. Not just for commercial use, retaining wall blocks will make your yard easier to maintain and better to live in. For erosion control, nothing beats a solid retaining wall. Good retaining wall design can add terraced gardens and built [...]
The land around your home can be used for many things. For people who enjoy golfing, it is possible to build a putting green into your landscape that can be used for fun, practice and entertainment. Putting makes up about 40 percent of your golf game, so the best way to cut strokes off your handicap is [...]
To add character and function to your backyard, design and build a unique patio. With your family’s style, needs and space in mind, a professional contractor of patios in Kansas City will truly take your yard from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Decide on the optimum patio size first. Take into consideration your grade, but [...]
Landscape lighting is a great way of enhancing the look of your home and yard after dark, making your yard more pleasant to relax in at night, and an attractive place for evening entertaining. If you’ve put the effort into making your yard attractive, landscape lighting will ensure that your hard work doesn’t go to waste once the [...]
For the ultimate in outdoor comfort, be sure to leave room for a new patio with fire pit in your yard. The sunny days of summer will be stretched even longer when you can enjoy time around the fire with family and friends. Fire pits can be built directly into the patio, sunken or simply [...]
Retaining walls add function to your yard. They can also create more usable space and correct problems like drainage and erosion issues. But you want your yard to look stylish. The right retaining wall designs need to tackle that as well. Match or compliment the surrounding materials, including patios and exterior finishing’s. If you have [...]
Controlling water above ground often can prevent water from getting into basements, according to a North Dakota State University engineer. "Correcting those above-ground problems may prevent structural damage to your home, as well as dry up those basement damp spots," says Ken Hellevang, an agricultural engineer with the NDSU Extension Service. He notes that saturated [...]
