Polymeric Sand: Controlling Weeds Between Pavers

Over the last fifteen years or so, I have installed numerous brick and stone patios, walkways and driveways. Here in Michigan, most paving is dry-laid, that is, there is no concrete or mortar involved in the installation process. Because concrete and mortar tend to break up over time due to the freeze thaw cycles in this cold climate, it makes sense to use a flexible base and joint filler. Until a few years ago, I used either baby sand, which tends to washed out too easily, or rough-graded sand to fill between concrete or clay pavers. I used chips n dust or stone dust or slag sand to fill between natural flagstone. Rough sand and the fillers I used between flagstones worked fairly well for keeping the joints filled and the pavers from shifting. (Of course aluminum or plastic edging is necessary to keep the edges of each project from shifting outward, but that is another subject). The real downside of these joint-filling materials is that they don't keep weeds down. And yes, there is some washout over time.

Then, a few years ago, I started using a fairly new product: polymeric sand. This type of sand can be purchased pre-mixed for small projects, or added to dry sand and thoroughly mixed for larger projects. Polymeric sand creates flexible, porous joints. The polymer binders in the mixture keep the sand particle continuously adhered one another. Though this product is significantly more expensive than straight sand or stone products like those purchased at sand/gravel pits, there are two major benefits. First, polymeric sand remains where it is placed. There is no washout of this product. Second, polymeric sand creates a barrier to burrowing insects that tend to loosen and expel sand from between joints, and weeds that would otherwise germinate and grow between joints. It is most efficient to use polymeric sand between joints when initially installing a brick or stone paving project. However, it is also possible to replace other joint-filling products with polymeric sand if your product is already in place. "Simply" sweep, blow, scrap, or power wash the sand or stone from between the joints of your pavers. Remove the old sand/ stone. If you have used water to clean out the joints, make sure the pavers have dried completely before putting down polymeric sand. Most of these products tend to stain surrounding pavers if they come in contact water. For this reason, it is necessary to sweep or blow off excess sand before moving on to the next step. Once the final paver compaction is completed, finely mist the entire paved area. This will moisten the top layer of the polymeric sand, thus adhering those grains to each other. Subsequent rain or irrigation will filter down into the joints further joining the particles to each other, ensuring proper adhesion. The joints will look like they have been mortared if they are fairly wide. To the touch, they will even feel mortared. However, scraping or otherwise manually agitating the polymeric sand would loosen it without damage. Once wetted again, the sand will settle back into place and adhere as before. No more weeds or washout.

Warning!  Not all polymeric sands are made equal.  Though I have not used all types, I have kept up on professional forum and have found complaints of hazing from Alliance polymeric sand, excessive splashing from Envirobond polymeric sand which is a very fine powder, and blowouts from Techniseal/Unilock polymeric sand.  I will be doing some investigating and comparisons and talking to other professionals and further fill you in on these issues.  Ultimately, you need to closely follow manufacturers recommendations.  Best practices seem to be to ensure proper compaction of pavers when they are dry; sweep sand into joints; sweep off and blow all excess sand from paver surface; mist the pavers lightly to settle the sand; wait an hour; mist again; wait another hour and mist a final time.

Need some help with project or other paving/hardscape project design, installation or maintenance?
Give Brent a Call @ 616 328-3258.

Fall Projects - Lawn Health

Fall is a great time to improve the health of your lawn. Among the various projects that a home owner can do, or hire a professional to do, are dethatching, over-seeding, fertilizing and weed prevention.

Right now, I am going to recommend dethatching, a simple way to improve the health of your lawn. For those of you who mulch your leaves and grass clippings into your lawn, this is an important step in the care of your lawn. Mulching clippings is a great way to insulate your grass from excessive heat and cold as well as drought that can strain the lawn and open it up to disease and insect damage. Insects love to live in that thatch buildup. Even if you don't use a mulching system on your mower, you should take a look at your lawn to see if build up is occurring. Cut out a small plug of sod in several areas of your lawn. Pull them up a look to see if there is more than half an inch of clippings built up above the soil line. If there is, it is probably time to dethatch. However, years of mulching can create buildup of thatch, which keeps water from penetrating easily. Additionally, for those of you who use insecticides and fertilizers, thatch build up can decrease their effectiveness by blocking the pathway to the root zone. When water, that can not drain properly, comes in contact with these chemicals, runoff occurs. Unnecessary runoff. If you have had trouble with ineffective fertilizer and insecticide applications, this may be your problem.

The goal of dethatching is to remove the thatch which prevents proper water and chemical penetration. Dethatching machines can be rented at most equipment rental stores. I just dethatched several acres of lawn for a client in Grand Rapids. The machine cost $90.00 for a 24 hour rental. I completed the dethatching in about six hours. Not your typical yard. Using a rake, gas powered blower, and a zero turn lawn mower, I removed approximately fifteen yards of old thatch from the lawn. That's seven and a half mounded pickup trucks full. It took me twelve hours to accomplish this.

Most of you won't have such a large project on your hands. One to two hours (maybe) using the dethatcher and another hour of raking would probably do the trick. Rent the machine for under $50.00. Operation of the dethatcher is simple. If you can mow, you can dethatch. For those of you who have a tiny yard, or don't want to spend the money, but have the time, inclination, and strength to do it, you can buy a dethatching rake to do this project.

Once you have finished dethatching your lawn, including raking up the clippings and composting or otherwise disposing of the product, you can move on to overseeding, fertilizing and weed control. Tenacity, one of the newest weed control products out there, can be applied at the same time you are overseeding/seeding and still effectively control post- and pre-emergent weeds according to Syngenta. Check it out: http://www.greencastonline.com/TenacityHerbicide/index.aspx. I'll be testing that product claim this fall and next spring to let you know how it works out.

Michigan: Fall Gardens

Fall is in full swing and quickly moving toward winter. I thought now would be a good time to get out and view some local gardens and show everyone some ways of keeping the garden interesting even during these days of dormancy. So, over the next few weeks, I will be posting pictures with descriptions and explanations of the various ideas behind the use of the feature shown. Hopefully, you will get some ideas on how to make your landscape and gardens shine in the coming months.

Among the ideas I will try to touch on, is the use of structural plants like the variegated grass to the right. Even through winter, this grass can add interest. When other plants have died back and withered away, strong ornamental grasses can hold their shape and give the garden some height. In addition, the swaying and swishing of the grass as the wind blows through it can be mesmerizing and calming in the middle of a bleak winter. Look at the way the light filters through the blades. Beautiful.

Hint: Sometimes large grasses can become unruly. If needed, you can always use tan twine to help keep the grasses from collapsing under the weight of excessive snow/rain or wildly whipping winds.

Raised Vegetable Gardens In Caledonia

My newest project has provided me with the opportunity to experiment with varied forms. Check out some pictures of this project in progress.



Once the raised beds were completed, my clients decided they would like to further enhance their yard by adding a paver patio inside the circular walls. By doing so, we increased the usefulness of this area. Now it can be used as a sitting area in addition to the original vegetable garden.

Note the design we used: the "flower petals" face north, south, east, and west. Hard to see in the pictures, but the colors added were made using concrete stain and are green and purple (blue stain over red pavers).





Creta Wall blocks make up this curving, free-standing wall system with built in bench.  Combined with pavers we have created stunning front entry for clients in Caledonia, MI.








 Call Brent if you have been thinking about creating something unique in your landscape.
616 328-3258

Detail-oriented, precision cuts = stunning works of art.

 Installing the proper crushed stone base for any retaining wall system is essential.

Brent Langley installing landscape fabric between the crushed stone fill (used for proper drainage) and the garden soil to be added later. This landscape fabric will keep the soil from seeping into the stone below.







Rubber set between the corregated barn wall and the soil will keep the soil from corroding the siding.

The properly installed crushed stone base for this paver patio ensures this project will last for many decades.

Circular patios, curving walls, and built-in benches in progress.

Disciplines of Landscape Design

Landscape Design encompasses several disciplines necessary to achieve a satisfactory result (end product). Landscape Design requires some measure of insight into each of these. Among these disciplines are Aesthetics, Horticulture, Architecture and Psychology.

A practical understanding of Aesthetics or art, when combined with the other disciplines, will enable you to envision the overall layout of your landscape. Additionally, an eye for art allows you to combine various elements of the landscape into a cohesive and flowing design.

Great landscape designers take much of their sense of garden aesthetic from natural landscapes. I encourage you to find and explore areas untouched by the ever encroaching hand of man. God is the greatest landscape architect. Let His creation guide your design. Combinations of color and texture, the mix of beauty that touch your various senses in the wild can be included in a smaller scale in your own landscape.

Horticultural knowledge encompasses a wide range of disciplines but in short it is the science of plants. What plants go where and what conditions each plant requires for optimum growth. How are plants affected by pests, soil conditions, light and water and temperature? How do plants react to pruning and fertilizers? And so on.

Additionally, a basic knowledge of architecture helps us frame the landscape. It helps us determine what hardscapes such as walkways, patios, gazebos, outbuildings, etc., need to be included in our landscape to make it habitable and useful for our defined purposes. Keep in mind, how the landscape will be used. Who will be using the area? How will it be accessed? What is topography of the land? What kind of walls or slopes will be included in the landscape?
How will various areas interconnect and interact?

A general knowledge of psychology is within the grasp of most people. While designing your landscape, you should think about how you would like to use the area(s)? Everything you include in the landscape should contribute to your usage goals. Will the area be used for meetings or family gatherings? Are you trying to create an atmosphere of action or relaxation, an aura of anticipation or peacefulness? Do you intend to exude intimacy or openness with your landscape? As with the interior of your home or business, how the various elements combine and contrast affects the mood and ambiance of your landscape.

Once you have determined what your landscape is meant to accomplish in your life, a knowledge of psychology will help you frame and fill your gardens and landscape with elements that will enhance your intended experiences. How does a particular choice of paving material affect the speed at which you move through your gardens? Do certain elements draw you in? How do certain plants or arrangements affect our mood or the moods of those who experience our landscape? Will a certain water feature distract from or enhance the purposes you envision?

Brickwork: Making a Lasting Impression

I cannot tell you how many times I've been called to a home to consult a client on repairing their brick walkway or patio. It is not unusual to see brick pavers that have shifted away from their original position by one, two, even three inches. Multiply that by the number of joints in a project, and you can see how dangerous, and down right ugly this could get.

Shifting patios inevitably result from two major mistakes with the initial installation. First, the project was probably laid without a proper base. It is not uncommon for pavers to be laid on a one or two inch sand base. That's probably OK of the first few months, but come winter up here in Michigan, the ground starts freezing and thawing and heaving. The problem is that sand doesn't retain its original position, so when the sand shifts, so do the bricks. Never lay a brick/paver walkway or patio only on sand!

The second problem: no edging. Without some type of edging, the bricks can shift outward. When this happens, the bond between the bricks loosens and causes the general structure of the walkway or patio to fail.

In areas prone to harsh/cold winters, it is essential to start your project with a proper foundation. This means digging approximately seven inches deep for areas receiving only pedestrian traffic or ten to twelve inches deep for areas receiving vehicular traffic. In addition, you must dig approximately four to six inches beyond the area of what will be your finished patio. Thus, if you intend to make a patio that is twelve feet wide, you will dig the hole thirteen feet wide, six inches wider on either side of the patio.

Next, order crushed concrete or gravel to fill four inches deep for a pedestrian area, and six inches deep for a vehicular area. To figure out how much crushed concrete or gravel you need to order, use this formula:

Crushed Concrete

Pedestrian Area:
Area square feet/27 cubic feet/3 * 1.10 * 1.4 tons = total tons of gravel/crushed concrete

Vehicular Area:
Area square feet/27 cubic feet / 2 * 1.10 * 1.4 tons = total tons of gravel/crushed concrete

Dump and spread the gravel/crushed concrete to half of its final depth, two inches for pedestrian area, three inches for vehicular area. Spread as evenly as possible. Don't worry about leveling perfectly.

21AA Road Gravel

Compact using a tamper or plate compactor. I would advise you to use a plate compactor whenever possible. Plate compactors compact more thoroughly and more quickly. They also save you a lot of labor. Believe me, after using a tamper for half an hour, you will feel sore for days. If you do use a plate compactor, you will still have to tamp some edges by hand. You can never get into every nook and cranny with a plate compactor. Failure to compact all of the base will result in eventual collapse of the improperly compacted area.

Once you have finished compacting the first layer, add the remaining crushed concrete or gravel, this time take your time to get the area leveled. If the paver patio or walkway will be against a structure, you will want to ensure proper drainage by sloping the gravel away from the structure.
Half an inch slope for every four feet of distance is plenty.

Once level, compact again. Don't forget to get into those corners. You will probably have to rake and shovel to get the proper slope/level. Get this level as close to perfect as possible.

Now you have your completed base.

Take a can of spray paint and mark out where you would like the edge of your finished patio/walkway. Don't forget, you need to leave four to six inches of compacted crushed concrete/gravel around the outside of your patio. Step back. Take a look from several different places. Try to envision how the patio will look once it is finished. Make sure your lines mesh with your vision. Cross out the lines if you don't like the look. Try again until it looks just right.

Now, time to install that edging. I generally use a plastic or aluminum edging, staked in place with ten or twelve inch spikes. I prefer to be on the safe side and use approximately five spikes for every eight linear feet of edging. This way, the edging tends to shift less. Run the edging along the outside of the line you just made. Brick restraint edging is generally "L" shaped. Face the horizontal part of the edging outward, away from where the bricks will go. Spike the edging in as you go. Remember, you don't need to put edging along any hard edges such as a structure, concrete or asphalt driveways, or sideways.

I have occasionally used landscape ties as edging. However, this only works for straight-edged areas, and the wood tends to rot rather quickly, usually within five to ten years. That means, you have to replace the edging eventually, thus disturbing the brickwork. Not really worth it in my opinion.

I have seen poured concrete curbs used as edging. Again, I think you are looking at a lot more work than its worth. Like most poured concrete, a concrete curb is inflexible. Therefore, if you do not put in a proper base and pour deep enough (i.e. below the frost line which could be 18" or more), you will eventually end up with cracked concrete. Just like those driveways you see all over Michigan. You don't want to replace that and mess up your brickwork. Stick with aluminum or plastic brick restraint. It will last as long as your brickwork so you won't have to replace it.

The Art of Building Stone Patios

People often marvel at the intricacy natural stone patios exhibit. They are especially amazed as they watch a pallet of flagstone transform into a work of art. "I could never do that," seems to be the mantra of most people. I tell them, it is much like putting together a puzzle, only the pieces don't have predetermined positions. Each piece must be placed according to the vision of the builder. Not everyone has the patience and eye to put together a puzzle as complex and physically demanding as a flagstone patio Not to say you shouldn't try. If you are capable of and you enjoy putting together puzzles, by all means, give it a try.

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that creating a stone patio is akin to creating a work of art. It takes an eye for form and color, texture and flow. Like any art, there is also a measure of skill involved. Great artists seldom lift a paint brush and create a masterpiece on their first try. Practice and patience is required. Likewise, becoming a skilled and proficient stone artisan/craftsman often takes years. And it definitely takes patience.

When I first began building stone patios, walkways, and walls, it was not unusual for me to begin a section, spend several hours placing and setting the flagstones, only to realize, after stepping back and taking a break, that the pieces just didn't gel. Too many small pieces in one area. Too much of one shape or texture or color in another. One must always keep an eye on the "big picture". Remember, your art is often viewed from a distance. Few people get down on their hands and knees to look at your work, so step back and see how things look from different points of view.

Keep your eye on the goal. When you are sore and tired, keep your vision in mind. You are striving to create a work of art, a lasting creation that can be enjoyed for many years to come. This is a task that requires patience and skill as well as inspiration. So, it you start to get tired, or frustrated, step away for a while and come back when you are rested and ready to invest yourself again. Conversely, if you are on a streak. Don't stop, its during these times of inspiration, that the greatest art is created.

Coming soon.... Building a stone patio that lasts: from start to finish.