Primp your patio

If you have a patio, sooner or later you are going to have a problem with weeds. I am not aware of any voluntary organizations to help you come to terms with this adversity, but I do have some helpful suggestions.

1)      Understanding… Regardless of how well built a patio may be, it has the potential to become a weed haven. Basically if there is somewhere for dirt to collect (think cracks), dirt will collect there and if dirt has collected there, then weeds will grow there. This is true for patios, parking lots, roofs, even cars.

2)      Acceptance… Maybe you can learn to love or live with the unplanned greenery growing in the cracks of your patio. In my yard, I have learned to appreciate buttercups for their frequent flowers, delicate leaves, and the way they grow where grass refuses to… BUT THE DANDELIONS MUST DIE. If you cannot appreciate the naturalized look you must accept that something needs to be done.

3)      Prevention… An ounce of it is worth a pound of cure. Keeping your patio clean is the best thing you can do. Avoid tracking dirt onto the pavement, or performing dirty tasks like repotting flowers directly on the surface (laying down a tarp first is fine). Remove dead leaves from your masonry masterpiece during the season they accumulate not some latter season, as leaves become dirt.  A pressure washer or leaf blower is your friend in this. Also eradicate weeds before they flower, to prevent their seeds from growing in your patio.

4)      Taking action…  To kill weeds already growing in your patio there are several options. You could pick up some herbicide like “Round-Up” and spray them if you are into chemicals. Or you could hand pull them, which is not a lot of fun. You could get a propane torch to cook the weeds, sadly this is not as fun as it sounds and there is a risk of getting black spots on your masonry. Bleach also kills plants, but you run the risk of discoloring your pavers.  A safer version is to use a spray bottle with undiluted vinegar (10% used for canning and pickling) to spray plants.  Another way to cook plants is to use boiling water which will kill not only growing weeds, but also any seeds in the area.  To keep weeds from returning you can treat cracks with pre-emergent herbicide such as “Casaron”. Less toxic methods include filling the cracks with rock salt or slacked lime [Ca(OH)2] which will create an unfavorable environ for any would be weeds.

Even though weeding is a chore, killing weeds can be a great way to unwind after a lousy day at the office or lousier commute home. Enjoy.

Brick Masonry

When it comes to masonry choices, the three most popular are slump stone, new brick and manufactured alternatives.

Bricks

Brick is made of fired clay and comes in hundreds of different colors. Considered by many to be the ultimate exterior wall finish, brick contain many advantages.

Readily available most everywhere with thousands of varieties to choose, brick is one of the most durable building materials. In fact, brick masonry should last 100 years, with the first 25 years completely maintenance-free.

Brick also won’t catch fire, rot or be eaten by termites.

It can be one of the higher-priced exterior finishes; however, many homeowners prefer brick because, due to its durability, it’s less expensive in the long run.

Stone

Stone is another attractive, durable and expensive choice. An antique form of masonry, stone will last a lifetime. Just check out all the Greek and Roman monuments still standing today!

Unfortunately, stone isn’t as available as brick, and not every stone works for masonry work. Some types of stone are too soft, and others are too porous. Stone exteriors also work best when installed with old-fashioned techniques.

Water is stone masonry’s worst enemy because freeze-thaw cycles can cause cracks. Properly sealed stone masonry prevents problems.

Every year, check your building’s masonry exterior four hours after a heavy rainstorm. Any dark patches on the wall means that water soaked into the surface. This is a future problem that will need fixing.

Manufactured Brick and Stone

There is a third alternative to brick and stone which contains all of the above advantages at a lower cost.

Many times what appears to be stone or brick on a house is actually a lightweight concrete-manufactured stone veneer or cultured stone.

A mixture of Portland cement, natural aggregates and iron oxide pigments is poured into molds made from real stones. The result, available in a broad palette of colors and styles, looks incredibly realistic.

Architectural blocks are another attractive, virtually indestructible option. These are essentially the same as conventional concrete blocks, except they resemble polished granite, look like hand-hewn stone or tile or have other decorative finishes.

Concrete block masonry is more common with industrial buildings. It should last 50 to 80 years, and you’ll need to fix the joints after 25 years.

Unlike brick, concrete blocks are not waterproof. You’ll need to apply a water seal every 10 years.

The best water seals are silane and siloxane. You can apply them by spray, and they soak into the surface of the wall like stain.

Article by Service Magic
Read more: http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Brick-Masonry.8822.html?oids=67c1#ixzz0lCkqQHmp

Red Brick ~ Green Brick

Back in may of 2001 I recall reading an article in The Wallstreet Journal about the texting phenomenon sweeping the U.K. and in particular a dictionary of texting phrases. Who would have thought such a ridiculous concept would ever catch on here in the good old US of A… but now it permeates our existence.

A few years back I heard tales from the U.K. of cocktail parties where concepts like carbon footprints and carbon offsets were the overwhelming topics of discussion. Now we are swept up in the far less asinine Green Revolution. Even the Pemco building in downtown Seattle announces to all southbound commuters: the time, temperature, and their carbon output.

Now that we have regained our interest in protecting the planet it is time to take stock in our impact. As Seattle’s masonry restoration expert, that means brick. So where does brick come from? The short answer is the brick store, but there is more to the story than that…

In the beginning there was clay, which had to be dug from the earth, I doubt shovels featured prominently, so there’s emissions from the earthmoving equipment. It is unlikely that the manufacturing plant is adjacent to the clay so let’s load it onto trucks and haul it there, so there is more emissions for you, as nobody uses horse drawn wagons for this sort of thing anymore.

Once the clay reaches the factory it must be processed to remove organic material and rock. Then mixed to the appropriate consistency and molded into the appropriate shapes. Lastly the bricks must be kiln fired. All of these processes are going to require energy, seeing as wind farms and solar power plants are just starting to take off, let’s assume it is from some less eco-friendly source.

The finished product is then likely trucked to major distribution yards throughout the country (more emissions). From there it would be trucked to the brick suppliers (more emissions), and finally to the jobsite (more emissions). Also consider that all hands touching and sustaining this process had to get to work somehow (even more emissions).

Now before you go throwing yourself off the Aurora Bridge there is an upshot to all this pollution.  A properly built and maintained brick building is fairly eternal. Masons who specialize in restoration make sure brick structures stand the test of time and are preserved for future generations to enjoy. We are in the conservation business not the pollution business… That is how we sleep at night. Let’s look at a couple ways a project could play out… Replacement V.S. Restoration.

Many bricklayers would suggest replacing a failing wall or chimney, wasting your money, natural resources, and causing additional pollution. Energy must be expended to demolish the structure and load it onto a truck for off site disposal.  In many cases the brick is then recycled as gravel, which is a good thing, but requires more energy in handling, processing, and trucking. New brick must be brought to the job site and you know how much energy went into making the brick. Then your wall or chimney is rebuilt, however this takes a while and every day a project takes, masons have to get to the jobsite. If you add it up, that’s a big carbon footprint.

By contrast, the restoration method uses a lighter touch. Restoration specialists start by identifying the causes of the failure and addressing them. Then cut out and replace the individual broken bricks, remove and replace failing mortar by tuck pointing, and restore your building to it’s original splendor. In addition to conserving the energy embodied in your original brick, this method is also much quicker so our masonry specialists waste less energy commuting to the jobsite. So you see sometimes a red brick can be green.

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