Holiday Escapes: Beautiful Driveway and Backyard Designs

Estate style driveway with matching pilasters by Genesis Stoneworks.

Long weekends like the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday take people outside. I like to think of them as an exodus from office chairs and television screens, to sunshine and BBQ chicken with friends.

However, the view may be startling for some.  Un-kept lawns, cracking driveways, and cluttered patios can easily put a damper on high spirits.  Rather than spend yet another long weekend watching home remodeling shows, why not take action!?

Consider a change.  Winter is an excellent time for remodeling.  Social events gravitate towards warmer months of the year, and Southern California winters are dry.  These factors make for great opportunities to make big changes during these “slow” months.

With start to finish times as fast as two days, Genesis could transform your home into an enviable paradise faster than your Amazon book arrives.  Let Genesis turn a cluttered patio into a resort style escape! How about transforming that embarrassing driveway into an elegant approach!?

New research in permeable paving stones and heat island effects show that interlocking paving can even benefit Mother Earth.  Excess run-off from landscape irrigation or seasonal rain storms can cause erosion and water contamination. Permeable paving counteracts this by filtering excess water through sand and gravel sub-grade, which removes contaminants and limits run-off volume.  Choosing light colored stone helps to battle the heat island effect on a micro scale.  By choosing interlocking paving over asphalt, the property stays cooler.  This is because dark-colored materials absorb more solar energy, getting hot, and stay hot long into the evening.  Light colored interlocking paving reflects that solar energy and keeps the property cooler.

Genesis Stoneworks specializes in outdoor remodels for driveways, patios, and even landscaping.  With 10,000 satisfied clients and counting, you’ll be working with someone who knows how to create the most beautiful version of your home.

To schedule a free estimate, call Genesis toll free at 888.389.5533, or visit our free estimate page.  Don’t settle for another weekend inside, make the exodus into a more beautiful life today.

Water-less Gardening: Saving Money with Xeriscape

Landscaping requires lots of irrigation, which hurts wallets and the environment. Grass lawns require as much as 10 gallons per square foot per year!  A small lawn at 30 feet by ten feet, 300 square feet, would consume 3,000 gallons of water a year. That’s a lot of water!

Xeriscape flowers. Image via Quadell on Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately there’s a way to show good taste in plant selection and landscape design, while still saving money on monthly water bills. Xeriscape landscape designs reduce water consumption by utilizing low water use plants. These low-water plants look beautiful and resist drought, so the landscaping looks great year round, even in the summer. Continue reading “Water-less Gardening: Saving Money with Xeriscape”

Rainwater Collection Systems for Driveways

Image via Juni, from Kyoto Japan on Wikimedia Commons.

Rain purifies the air, and cleanses the ground. It can be polite, or a terrible force of nature to be feared. New hardscape designs always include a drainage plan, and installers meticulously carry out those plans.

On a driveway, rain combined with improper drainage leads to erosion and possibly even wash outs. These unacceptable safety hazards drive the meticulous nature of designers and installers when it comes to drainage plans. I consider this to be a reactive behavior in construction. Continue reading “Rainwater Collection Systems for Driveways”

Pool Fill: Remodeling with Purpose

In the world of home investment, swimming pools are a questionable feature. While useful for family get-togethers and outdoor excursions, many consider pools to be a liability which lower the value of the property. Many home owners and property investors choose to fill swimming pools, eliminating the need for maintenance and liability concerns.

Crews can remove a pool using several different techniques including semi-permanent pool covers, partial removal, and complete removal of the concrete or fiberglass structure. Figure 1 shows a Genesis crewman filling a swimming pool with clean dirt, completing a partial pool removal.

[Figure 1] Pool Fill Process: Compaction
 Several factors to consider when deciding whether to fill an in-ground swimming pool:

Evaporation. Uncovered pools constantly lose water through evaporation, which increases the water bill.

Chemical Reduction. Most swimming pools require the use of hazardous chemicals (when concentrated) to keep the pool clean.

Injury Liability. If someone becomes injured in the pool, insurance companies usually hold the home owner responsible. Remove the pool, and remove the liability.

Leaks leading to failure or repairs. If the pool develops a crack and leaks into the subsoil, erosion could cause the pool to fail. If the leak is caught before an accident occurs, a repair can still be costly.

Partial removal, as in figure 1, means the demolition of the pool floor, while leaving the side walls intact. This allows water to pass freely to the water table and avoid flooding. If the home is sold after the pool filling project, the partial structure in the yard should be revealed to the buyers. Future construction and landscaping in the area may depend on the knowledge of buried structures.

Complete removals involve the demolition of the pool floor, side walls, plumbing, and pool motors. This most costly option takes the property back to square one. While the hole gets filled with clean dirt, also consider adding nutrients to the top soil. This aids in plant health for future landscaping. Starting from scratch (literally) allows home owners to create a landscape to match their tastes and styles, a genuine expression of pride in ownership.

Whether transformed into a Japanese garden, or play area for the grand-children, the gained square footage from filling a pool can add both monetary and intrinsic value to the home. We’re sure you’ll love the results.

Contact Genesis today for a free in-home consultation. We’d love to help you traverse this important decision which affects your property. Reach us toll free at 888.389.5533, or visit our free estimate page.

Showcase: Bishop’s Hat Paving Pattern

Bishop's Hat Paving Stone
[Figure 1] Bishop’s Hat Paving Stone
In today’s product showcase, we focus on Bishop’s hat stone. A unique block with five sides, the angular stones create striking patterns and brilliant contrasts. This versatile stone posses an integral part of the designer’s handbook. The asymmetrical stone opens design possibilities, is readily available from most major manufacturers, and offers a long history of design and installation use. This article outlines why bishop’s hat pavers will be around for years to come.

In Figure 2 below, we see several alternate patterns for bishop’s hat stone. Often combined with an 8″x8″ square block, the asymmetrical symmetry of this stone stands apart from other rectangular bricks. The running bond pattern on the far right doesn’t utilize 8×8 stones to complete the pattern, but the two patterns on the left are only 2 of the options available when subsidizing with differently shaped stones.

Bishop's Hat Patterns Graphic
[Figure 2] Bishop’s Hat Pattern samples

Each manufacturer offers alternate installations specs and patterns for bishop’s hat stone. For designers and home owners, this opens a wide range of highly unique patterns. Rather than reinvent the wheel, designers can pick a pattern which meets their guidelines and client taste. There’s a reason why manufacturers offer pattern schematics, because they work.

[Figure 3] Bishop’s Hat Stone on Pool Deck

The many pattern combinations of bishop’s stone exceed the options provided in Figure 2 above. Unique color combinations further extend the options of this diverse product. When designing with 8×8 squares, consider accenting with alternate high contrast colors for the squares. Figure 3 below demonstrates one possible combination for a beautifully designed pool deck. Many manufacturers offer unique color blends and finishes for bishop’s hat stone, just another benefit of high competition in the concrete block manufacturing game.

Bishop’s hat pavers prove time and again a crux for hardscape designers everywhere. With wide support from the manufacturing community, replacement stones will be readily available in the unlikely event of cracking or stains. Give us a call and see how we can use bishop’s hat to beautify your property. Remodeling outdoor spaces since 1993, Genesis excels in bringing visions to life. Call 888.389.5533 for a free in-home consultation, or visit our free estimate page.