Schneider’s Landscape Are The Best Patio Building Experts

Patios are generally outdoor spaces or partitions commonly viewed as extensions of the indoor living area. They are typically paved and are mostly used for recreation and dining. A number of building materials can be used to create patios which include but not limited to: concrete, stone slabs or bricks. Block pavings, cobbles or tiles are also not uncommon in the construction of these outdoor spaces.

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As each client’s or customer’s intended function for his/her outdoor space varies widely, patios can be designed and constructed to have any shape, style, form or size. One thing is for sure though: a patio that is well designed and constructed can indeed make for a superb center of interest in one’s home and can be the one of the most if not the most aesthetically appealing areas of a customer’s entire home. One of the major factors that influences the client’s choice of a patio’s styling or design is the overall functionality.

While the aforementioned considerations are certainly not only ones to be given thought, they, to a large extent, determine some of the amenities that patio is to contain. These include: built-in barbeque grills, outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, waterfalls, seating facilities, ponds, swimming pools amongst many others. There are greatly numerous if not an infinite number of design/styling ideas for patios. There are endless combinations of shapes, textures and borders and as such customers usually have a very hard time settling on just one.

The client can choose to have the patio’s amenities reflect those of the interior. Living room furniture such as sofas or couches can as well be included in the outdoor space. A table for resting books or drinks can also be added to create a purposeful space. Modern day creature comforts such as electronic entertainment can as well be added in as accessories to improve the overall patio experience. If most of the guests or family stay long enough to share meals within the house, a full fledged set of dining furniture complete with glitzy chairs and a table can be included in a patio to transform it into an attractive alternate dining area where guests or family can enjoy meals while inhaling the cool fresh air of the outdoors. This is aimed at reducing the monotony of having meals indoors all the time.

Outdoor textiles cannot only withstand weather elements such as extreme sunshine and rain, they come in a variety of textures, styles and colors. Such textiles can be used to protect-fully cover cushions and throw pillows whilst adding a bit of styling and color to them. Regular patterned throw pillows can be used to dress the patio settee and chairs while attention can be drawn to an outlying bench by adorning it with color coordinated throw pillows.

Stone Patios

Stone patios makes for excellent aesthetic additions any home. Provided that they can tolerate prevailing weather conditions as well as foot traffic, a variety of stone types can be employed such as smooth slate squares or rough limestone flags amongst others.

Due to advances in technology, concrete patios can be converted into natural stones of all kinds through the use of techniques such as hand carving, texturing skins and stamps. Utilizing concrete as replacements for typical stone patios doesn’t only get rid of the stone’s inherent disadvantages but is also much more cost effective. Setting up stone patios is quite intensive in terms of labor as each piece must be placed separately on its own. As far as concrete is concerned, the entire patio can be poured all at once and then scored or stamped with a pattern that is stone like.

Concrete patios are significantly easier to maintain in comparison to stone patios.

Due to concrete’s flexibility, almost all variations of stone patios can be recreated using it. Flagstone and slate emerge as the most well known concrete patio patterns. Other attractive options are however available such as random-cut field stone, travertine and European cobble stone. Alternatively, these textures can be replicated using special texturing skins that possess indistinct patterned lines.

Concrete made patios that mimic slate or stone can either be poured anew or alternatively if its already existing resurfaced with a stamp overlay. Numerous manufacturers have created stamps that mimic flagstone, cobblestone, slate etc. to perfection.

Flagstone Patios

Flagstone is one of the most sought after materials for patios mainly because of its narrow joints that gives it porousness thus allowing water to seep through instead of running off. Furthermore, flagstone patios possess earthly shades of grey, brown, blue and red that give them a natural organic look. Flagstone as a surface is slip-resistant and durable and its most common variants include: slate, sandstone and limestone. Formal and informal patios can be created using flagstone. Cut flagstones are usually laid in a repeated pattern to come up with a formal look. On the other hand, an informal look is created by randomly laying irregular cut stones. The informal pattern is alternatively referred to as “crazy paving”. It is not uncommon at times for the flagstone surface to become uneven. This can probably be attributed to deep freezes or improper installations that may cause the ground beneath to heave. To evade this problem, a customer can ask a professional installer from Schneider’s Landscape® for installation recommendation or advice.

Driveways

As is common knowledge, driveways link one’s home or garage to a street. As they are one of the first features that are directly observable on one’s home, they ought to be properly installed and aesthetically appealing. Driveways are usually designed to blend in with the architecture of the connecting building or house. Materials used to construct driveways vary from concrete to asphalt to bricks to cobblestone to block paving amongst others. Flagstone and decorative brick driveways are two of the most popular. A good properly installed driveway has an impressive longevity of at least 2 decades. Before employing the services of a contractor, the client will need to make sure that the contractor is experienced in installing the particular type of driveway that he/she desires. This is due to the fact that each type of driveway requires a specific skill set and knowledge. Thus hiring a contractor that is not adept at constructing that particular type of driveway may result in a below-par driveway that can prematurely fail.

We are a company with highly skilled technicians who have got plenty of experience in constructing just about any type of driveway conceivable with the best quality of materials and to the highest possible standards of workmanship.

Flagstone Driveways

Flagstone driveways add hint of elegance to any home that they are installed in and have a distinctive appearance. However, in comparison to concrete or asphalt driveways, flagstone driveways require more care and time to install. Individual stones may be placed together in a random pattern using mortar and this makes for a time consuming process to put it mildly. However, the end results are quite rewarding as the fully installed driveway is truly a site to behold due its beauty.

Flagstone is a multi-layered sedimentary rock whose main components include quartz and feldspar. The agent that binds the flagstone layers together is responsible for giving it its characteristic color. A myriad of colors are attained through this process which allows appearance to be customized according to the customer’s liking.

In addition, the driveway will have a remarkably lengthy shelf life as flagstone colors do not wash off at all and their tensile and compressive strength are quite high. This means it is highly unlikely that cracks or fissures will develop even under extremes of temperature. With proper maintenance, flagstone driveways may last for more than one lifetime and they significantly add value to the adjoining property.

Brick Driveways

Before concrete had gained widespread use as a standard construction material, clay bricks had been used as construction and surfacing material for centuries. Although their application has in the modern days declined, they are still in used in construction of many structures. Clay bricks are more delicate as driveway construction material in comparison to their counterparts such as cobblestone and concrete and they will usually require regular maintenance and a strong base for them to withstand normal drive usage.

While standard bricks are rectangular and clay colored, many shapes and colors are now available. Based on a customer’s choice, the driveway can either be designed to attain a vintage look giving the impression of having been used for decades or centuries or alternatively fashioned to give it a modern look that will seamlessly blend in with today’s landscape and house designs.

Pavers

Pavers are usually sturdy blocks that are used to create smooth, hard surfaces in the outdoors. Pathways, driveways and outdoor steps are more often than not created from pavers. Pavers can also be used in the construction of retaining walls as well as other landscaping structures. An assortment of pavers is available in numerous home supply stores plus, manufacturers accept direct orders. Contractors and landscapers such as Schneider’s Landscape® offer high quality paver installation services. Pavers can be created from a wide variety of materials including clay tiles, glass, cut stone, bricks concrete amongst many others and they are available in an enormous array of colors, textures, sizes and shapes which allows for plenty of customization.

While pavers require a considerable amount of effort and time to install appropriately, they are extremely durable compared to other building blocks such as wood chips, gravel or asphalt. Provided they are correctly installed, they can last for years without any maintenance activities, in addition they are not overly difficult to install and they can be arranged in a variety unique and creative manners.

Brick Pavers

These are mainly made of heat-cured clay or alternatively using concrete and aggregate that has been dyed to mimic brick. They are structurally very strong and resistant to heat. Sealants are usually applied to get rid of fading.

Natural Stone Pavers

The most common subtypes of these include field stone and flagstone. They are more costly when compared to their brick and concrete counterparts. Of all the stone subtypes, limestone offers the highest tensile and compressive strength and as such, it is usually used for edging. Natural stone pavers can unfortunately break when subjected to considerable pressure and are thus not suited for high traffic places.

Cobblestone Pavers

Cobblestones make up for one of the most ancient paving materials and they are still in use even today in various residential, commercial and public spaces. Remnants of old cobblestone stone roads built close to 2 millennia ago such as those of the old Roman Empire still stand to this day which alludes to the longevity and toughness of cobblestones as pavers. More than one type of stone is used to make cobblestone pavers. Such stones include granite, porphry, basalt and mesh. Cobblestone-made pavers are cut into a variety of shapes such as octagonal, rectangular or square and are available in a variety of colors and patterns. They are most sought due to their visual appeal and virtually non-existent maintenance. By mixing a variety cobblestone colors, patterns and shapes an innumerable number of designs and styles can be achieved.

Hardscapes

Hardscapes refer to the hard inanimate elements incorporated within a landscape. This mostly comprises of any woodwork and masonry work. Retaining walls, paved areas, driveways or any other landscaping created from hard wearing materials such as concrete or stone etc. all constitute the hardscape within the built environment.

Retaining Walls

These are simply structures that are designed and built to hold back or restrain soil on slopes that are unnatural. A retaining wall is used restrict soil between two different elevated areas of land especially in areas having unwanted slopes. Concrete blocks, treated timbers, poured concrete, boulders or rocks are all materials that can be used to create retaining walls.

Cost

The cost of any patio, driveway, retaining wall or pavers depends on the material and how large the area is.

Concrete patios cost comparatively less than those made of tiles, brick or stone. In general, patios constructed from natural materials cost much more to put up and additionally utilize more intensive labor. A stamped concrete patio is estimated to cost about a third of the expense usually incurred by patios from other materials. It is due this factor that concrete remains the most economical patio construction amongst many budget conscious customers. At Schneider’s Landscape, we offer affordable patios, driveways and pavers for any home. We are not the cheapest, but we know you will be happy with your space once we are done. Contact us today for a free estimate.

We serve customers looking for patios in Eden Prairie, Edina, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, Golden Valley and surrounding cities.