Landscape stone can be used in many beautiful ways in your front or back yard. Is it colorful, versatile, and easy to install. You can also build wonderful things with landscape stone.
Before going to buy landscape stone, however, you need to know what you are shopping for. There are two general categories it falls under: full size stones of different materials and smaller fragments that resemble gravel. In full size stones, there are many things you can buy—limestone, bricks, clay pavers, and concrete pavers are all masonry materials that you can use in landscaping. These full size stones come in a range of shapes—from the basic rectangle or square to round, curved, and other shapes. They also can be colored and textured. Brick, for example, can be red, white, yellow, gray, or a mix of those colors. Limestone also comes in many colors from blue to gray to white. If you opt for the smaller types of landscaping stone, however, you are usually looking at small chunks of limestone (usually gray or white in this form) or red or black stones (often these look like pieces of brick).
To decide what sort of landscape stone you need, it is certainly important to know your options, but that is only half the picture. You also need to know what you are using them for. Full size landscape stones are useful in building retaining walls (try brick or concrete). They can also be used to patios, edging flower beds, and making walkways (here, concrete or clay pavers, brick, or limestone will work). Gravel-like landscape stone can also make lovely walkways, but they are not a smart choice for a full patio. Use these smaller pieces of stone also in flower beds and landscape beds in place of mulch.
Once you know what you will be building, head on down to your local masonry materials store and see what they have to offer. Chances are you will find so many different landscaping stone options, that you will have to come up with a few more projects to use them in!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Face Brick- Perfect for Any Custom-Built Home’s Exterior!
One of the greatest things about building your own home is getting to customize it to your particular taste and style. While most homeowners focus on the indoor touches of their custom-built homes, it is important to also make smart choices for the outside of your home. Perhaps one of the wisest choices you can make is covering your home’s exterior with face brick.
Building with brick makes sense on many levels- it is durable, it looks fantastic, it is gives an air of permanence, and it also is easier to get lower home insurance rates on brick homes. These are just some of the perks of a brick exterior; another major benefit to including a lot of face brick (or any exposed brick) on your outside walls is the level to which you can customize them.
When you use face brick, you can choose a range of colors and styles for your home’s outside walls. There are reds, deep burgundies, pal e whites, pinks, and greys. Face brick is usually textured to evoke a certain time or place. In terms of how the actual bricks look, they come in several styles including machine-made (meaning more uniform and similar looking) brick and slightly lumpier, more handmade looking bricks. You can also mix and match styles of brick on your home. For example, accenting a red brick home with some pale grey face brick can create a lovely façade.
Talk to your builder about face brick and then look around at what concrete and brick suppliers in your area offer. You will likely be surprised at the sheer amount of options available for the outside of your new home!
Building with brick makes sense on many levels- it is durable, it looks fantastic, it is gives an air of permanence, and it also is easier to get lower home insurance rates on brick homes. These are just some of the perks of a brick exterior; another major benefit to including a lot of face brick (or any exposed brick) on your outside walls is the level to which you can customize them.
When you use face brick, you can choose a range of colors and styles for your home’s outside walls. There are reds, deep burgundies, pal e whites, pinks, and greys. Face brick is usually textured to evoke a certain time or place. In terms of how the actual bricks look, they come in several styles including machine-made (meaning more uniform and similar looking) brick and slightly lumpier, more handmade looking bricks. You can also mix and match styles of brick on your home. For example, accenting a red brick home with some pale grey face brick can create a lovely façade.
Talk to your builder about face brick and then look around at what concrete and brick suppliers in your area offer. You will likely be surprised at the sheer amount of options available for the outside of your new home!
Brick Veneer: A Great Choice for Your Kitchen
Updating a kitchen is a fun and challenging project. There are so many different things to consider. You can replace floors, appliances, countertops, and cabinets. You can paint walls, furniture, and change fixtures. You can also use masonry materials to add in cozy touches. One of the best materials for such a renovation is a brick veneer.
Brick veneers are thin panels that look like traditional brick work. They can be applied as part of an over-the-stove splash back, on countertops (the edges or the entire counter itself), and some brick veneers are sturdy enough to use on floors. One place where they are especially compelling is on an entire wall.
Even if you cannot afford a major kitchen overhaul, you can get a new look through covering one or more walls in brick veneer. Whether you chose to use a red, white, or gray veneer, you can make this wall part of your overall design aesthetic. For example, this exposed brick look works especially well with a rustic kitchen design. To stay within your budget, you can opt for design features that complement the veneer and stand out. One or two copper-colored pots, a vase of wildflowers, and some rustic ceramic plates or sugar containers can give your kitchen a French Provencal feel. Likewise, apply the same principle of an exposed brick wall, but change the accents and you can make your kitchen feel like a chic, bohemian, New York style loft. Here you could compliment the brick veneer wall with mismatched pieces of antique furniture, modern art, and a few pieces of sculpture for a truly unique kitchen.
Besides its design possibilities, brick veneer is a wonderful choice for home renovation because it is lightweight, affordable, and easy to install. So, before you begin to plan your kitchen renovation, visit your local masonry materials store for a look at the many styles and colors of veneers. You’ll be surprised by how much you find!
Brick veneers are thin panels that look like traditional brick work. They can be applied as part of an over-the-stove splash back, on countertops (the edges or the entire counter itself), and some brick veneers are sturdy enough to use on floors. One place where they are especially compelling is on an entire wall.
Even if you cannot afford a major kitchen overhaul, you can get a new look through covering one or more walls in brick veneer. Whether you chose to use a red, white, or gray veneer, you can make this wall part of your overall design aesthetic. For example, this exposed brick look works especially well with a rustic kitchen design. To stay within your budget, you can opt for design features that complement the veneer and stand out. One or two copper-colored pots, a vase of wildflowers, and some rustic ceramic plates or sugar containers can give your kitchen a French Provencal feel. Likewise, apply the same principle of an exposed brick wall, but change the accents and you can make your kitchen feel like a chic, bohemian, New York style loft. Here you could compliment the brick veneer wall with mismatched pieces of antique furniture, modern art, and a few pieces of sculpture for a truly unique kitchen.
Besides its design possibilities, brick veneer is a wonderful choice for home renovation because it is lightweight, affordable, and easy to install. So, before you begin to plan your kitchen renovation, visit your local masonry materials store for a look at the many styles and colors of veneers. You’ll be surprised by how much you find!
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