Understanding Concrete, Cement, And Mortar

Steps for Understanding Concrete, Cement, and Mortar:
1. Portland cement is a fine gray powder that hardens when mixed with water. It's seldom used by itself but is an important ingredient in many other masonry products.
2. Concrete is a mixture of portland cement, sand, and an aggregate, such as gravel or coarse stone.
3. Concrete is mixed with water, then poured or pumped to create foundation walls, footings, piers, slab floors, driveways, steps, and sidewalks.
4. Once fully cured, concrete can support immense structural loads.
5. Mortar is a mixture of cement, lime, and sand, and is commonly used to hold together bricks, concrete blocks, and stones.
6. Masons use a wide variety of trowels to apply, spread, pack, and tool mortar.
7. When cured, mortar is somewhat softer than concrete, which allows it to accommodate a small amount of movement in a wall without cracking or crumbling.
8. Concrete, cement, and mortar are available in various strengths and mixtures, so be sure to get the right one for your job.

How To Cut And Shape Stones

Roger Cook demonstrates how to cut and shape stones for hardscaping projects.

Dry Creek Bed

This video was filmed over a number of weeks. It included a crazy paved path over an introduced dry creek bed, lined with river rocks and pebbles. We designed a native layout of planting for the front yard.

SiteOne Installation

SiteOne Installation

How To Clean And Restore A Brick Paver Patio In A Few Hours

BackYard Basics by TechniSoil with host Terry Jensen. In this patio makeover episode I will show you how easy it is to clean and restore an aged brick paver patio. It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s actually easy to do it yourself over a weekend. I finished this entire outdoor living hardscape project by myself in less than four hours total. Whether you hire a contractor or go the DIY route, this video will show you how to bust out the job quickly so your patio will be ready for a friendly barbecue party or some quiet time reading a book.

This paver patio and adjacent walkway area was very dirty and covered with green and black algae. We started by pressure washing the bricks with a gas powered pressure washer which took about 45 minutes. It’s important to clean evenly back and forth with the spray wand, almost as if you were painting a fence. I tried initially using an electric pressure washer but found the jet stream was now powerful enough to clear out the grime and algae. The gas powered unit worked great and made the cleaning process go quickly. If the water dries in time you can move on to the final restoration steps, but on this project, I decided to give it more time to dry and returned to finish the following day.

Next, I installed two colors of UltraMix Designer Series Paver Joint Sand from TechniSoil. This patio was a combination of red brick pavers and charcoal-tan-plum keystone wall blocks for elevation. I used Brick Red and Charcoal Plum UltraMix Sand, and it tied the contrasting colors together beautifully. UltraMix Sand is not a polymeric sand, but can be used in a dry joint sand application or stabilized with a liquid stabilizer. Polymeric sands have an extremely limited color selection and can cause issues like hazing from polymeric powder dust.

Finally, I wrapped up the project by applying NanoPave JSS (2-in-1 Joint Stabilizer & Sealer) with an everyday handheld pump sprayer. NanoPave JSS performs two necessary jobs for hardscaping, by stabilizing the joint material and sealing the stone surface. The sealer enhances the natural color, and for this job we used NanoPave JSS Ghost - Natural Look Finish. The liquid sprays on white, but dries ultra clear. I used a foam rubber squeegee to evenly distribute the liquid over the pavers and I was careful to apply according to application rate and temperature recommendations.

When the makeover was complete, I had spent only a few hours transforming the outdoor living patio area from old and dingy to bright and beautiful. We used only TechniSoil products to enhance the project, specifically UltraMix Paver Joint Sand and NanoPave JSS. For products and ideas like these and more, visit TechniSoil.com or any of the TechniSoil social media channels.

Backyard Paving Remodel

http://www.landscapingnetwork.com See how to dress up a plain-gray concrete patio with acid stains and then carve it to look like paving stone. Coordinating brick steps and borders complete the makeover.

Modern Front Yard Remodel

http://www.landscapingnetwork.com This modern front yard landscaping was a remodel from the existing yard. Excavation was done to open up space for a fire pit, dining area, front lawn, planters and retaining walls. See how this modern front yard was designed and the materials that were used by landscape architect Ive Haugeland from Shades of Green Landscape Architecture.