East Grand Rapids, MI Based Landscape Company: Omega Brick & Landscaping

Omega Brick and Landscaping specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of intimate gardens and outdoor living spaces.  Most of my landscape design and installation projects include unique and beautiful brick and natural stone patios, walkways and walls surrounded by lush, mixed, low-maintenance gardens.

A clear sense of spacial relationships, an eye for aesthetics, and the ability to balance art and the natural environment, enable me to transform your vision and goals for your property, into a private sanctuary, a peaceful gathering place, or fun resort.

                                          Curved Chilton walls and paver steps in Ada, MI

Chilton wall for raised bed and sitting area.

Curved Steps and retaining wall - Grand Rapids, MI

Brussel Block Outdoor Kitchen and Entry

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to wrap up two hardscape projects this past December thanks to the incredible weather here in Michigan.  The first project was for the Costantinos in Caledonia.  The second was a collaboration effort with Shawn Kenyon, owner of Precision Remodeling of Rockford, Michigan. 
I was called in to install the hardscape for the new outdoor kitchen and front entry for the Hughes in Cascade. 

This outdoor kitchen includes a grill, sitting walls, counters, a built in firewood box, and a single 24" pillar.  This spring, I installed a Forno Bravo Casa2g-90 pizza oven, encasing it and the stand in a  brick and stucco facade, with a number unique tiles inset on the stucco chimney and stand.  This oven is now ready to bake delicious pizzas, breads, and any number of other dishes.  Temperatures inside reach 1,000 degrees and can hold its temperatures for long periods of time thanks to the three inches of insulation wrapped around the exterior of the oven.

Home Made Bread baked in the new pizza oven

I used an 8-10 inch chips n dust base for this Brussel Block Dimensional wall system, as well as landscape fabric for extra stability, because the subsoil was softer than most of my previous installations.  Compaction using a plate compactor ensures this wall won't shift during Michigan's generally harsh winters' freeze and thaw cycles. 

I used Rosetta Stone for the counter tops in this outdoor kitchen.  These were cut to size using a concrete saw.  Capstones for the sitting walls are Brussel Block Dimensional coping.  A paver saw was used to trim wall blocks as needed, followed by hand-trimming using hammer and chisels to blend the cut blocks with the uncut tumbled wall blocks.

Narrow gardens will be installed around the base of the walls to help soften the edges.  The lawn will also be reseeded early in the spring for optimal establishment.

The front entry was built using Brussel Block Dimensional wall stones and Brussel Block pavers.  The old wooden steps and deck have been replaced with wide curved steps, a deeper paver patio and sitting wall.  I love these steps; seven feet wide, six inches high.  These are easy to clear and easy to climb.  No slipping or loosing your footing.  The wall running on the outside curve of the wall makes a beautiful handhold.

This short wall to the left of the entry was also relaid and a new complementary capstone installed.

Custom Hardscape Projects

This past December proved to be a boon for the landscape industry. I managed to benefit from the unusually warm weather by completing two hardscape projects, one in Ada, Michigan, the other in Caledonia, Michigan.

Bill and Ellen Costantino of Caledonia, Michigan invited me back to install a curving stairway between two previously installed gardens.  The steps and new walls compliment the front entrance I installed for Bill and Ellen a couple years ago. 
 
I have posted a before and a couple of after pictures for you to compare.  Amazing what can be done with a little thought and design time.

Before

The tread was built using Moss Creta Wall Capstone and a custom tumbled, moss colored pavers. Each 12" deep capstone required cutting using a gas power cement saw in order to get each piece fitted tightly against the next.

The rise of the steps and the associated retaining wall and facing were built using Moss Creta Wall, a product from Paveloc. The end of each exposed retaining wall block at the end of the wall and center of the wall where the straight and curved walls meet were trimmed using chisels and hammer to keep a consistent stoneface throughout.

To get your landscape design and installation plan ready
Call Brent @ (616) 328-3258

Because the project was installed in relatively cold conditions, I used a high tech mason's glue called Type-4 Ultra Wet. I have never been so impressed with an adhesive. Even in below freezing temperatures, this stuff stayed soft and went on smoothly. And as the name suggests, it adhered even wet blocks with no problems.

To see this project in person, or discuss your own Hardscape project, give Brent a Call @ 616 940-9166.

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.