Short days, long nights, security and accentuation...

....all good reasons to consider lighting for your home. The improving LED systems are really taking over the market. LED uses much, much less energy and the bulbs last much, much longer. It's a win, win! OK, I'll stop, stop. This is a small install I did last week, in Chelsea, AL.

Flagstone Patio, Sitting Wall, and yes, a Fire Pit....in July!!!

I completed this project, last month, for my animal loving client. It was a large (350+ sq. ft.) flagstone patio using Alabama quarried brown stone. There was also a 12' long sitting wall using brown stack stone with a flagstone coping. I inserted three large stones into the sitting wall that my client's son brought in which gave the project some extra character. Finally, a "largish" fire pit was installed for those cool Alabama Summer nights!

Front stoop transformation...

I took an ol' front porch stoop made of pine decking and rails and converted into a stone stoop with a flagstone surface and some nice wrought iron railing. Job number one was to demolish the existing wood deck and steps.

Job number two was to build the new stoop! The Wrought Iron work was done by Howell Steel in Maylene, AL. The remainder of the work was done by yours truly. After much measurin', and levelin', and eye ballin'; here's the finished project:

Small walls have their place.

This project found me in downtown Birmingham, AL. The landscaping was essentially in place aside from moving a Japanese maple from one side of the building to the other. Some plastic edging was removed and fresh mulch applied. The biggest part of the job was installing the brown stone borders. It was a way to tidy things up a bit and improve curb appeal.

After:

(click on images for closer inspection!)

Flagstone Patio Construction in Progess

I'm definitely one to be easily amused as I get excited about the look of a patio coming together about as much as a finished one. This patio is a Summer project I'm doing in Vincent, Alabama. I'll be using polymeric sand in the joints which is a technique I'm growing very fond of for certain applications. The project includes a waterfall and several stack walls, the fire pit and benches and a couple other patios on the property.

Here is a picture of the work a little further along. I forgot to mention that I built a waterfall on the property as well, which you can see in the foreground. Anyway, a more completed picture will be coming soon....busy, busy, busy! (click on pictures to get a larger, better view)

Stone Work at Hoover, Alabama Catholic School

I was very careful in my placement of stone and that I held the trowel properly, mostly as a means of avoiding getting the back of my hand smacked with a nun's ruler.

Brown Stone Mail Box

Bluff Park, Alabama.