Patio Slab Crack Repair DEAR TIM: I spent some time at your AsktheBuilder.com website but couldn’t locate the exact video that answers my question. There’s a wide ugly gap between my concrete outdoor patio slab and the slab my house is built on. I’m trying to determine whether to caulk the crack or fill it Read More »
Tan has been busy tamping in Toronto, Canada. He's building a brick patio. Let him fill you in: "Hi Tim! I'm going guild a brick patio in my backyard. I just covered the ground with garden fabric, dumped gravel on top and I compacted it. Should I put stone dust, compact and lay bricks over it Read More »
Sandra Schumacher lives up in the land of billions of barrels of oil better known as Bismarck, North Dakota. She's got a problem with here patio because it slopes towards her house. Allow her to explain. "We have a 10 x 12 concrete patio that has sloped toward the house causing leakage during rainstorms. Could we Read More »
Bernadette Snoussi lives in London, England. She's got a problem with an older decorative garden wall that's in need of repair. Here's her description, but I think the wonderful photo she sent does a superb job of telling the tale: "Hi. Could you please tell me whether it's possible to apply new concrete plinths over the Read More »
Donna Hirsch is about to build a fairy garden at her home in Worth, IL. She needs some creative ideas about how to make a patio. Let her tell you: Hi Tim, This is a much smaller scale than you're used to, but I know you'll know the answer. I want to make a fairy Read More »
Ken Morris has lots of water puddles on his stamped concrete patio in Phoenix, AZ. He thought of an idea on how to solve it, but I believe I have a much better solution. Here's what he sent to me: "My patio was poorly designed. You can see from the picture I get standing water and Read More »
Ron wants to pour a concrete patio and wonders about proper support so it won't crack. He's doing this work in cold Fonthill, Ontario Canada. Here's what he told me: "We had our basement (block) waterproofed from the outside one year ago and have sandy soil. The area we are looking to do is 10 x Read More »
Ronald A. Carleton has trouble with paint peeling on his patio in Port Clinton,Ohio. Perhaps paint is not practical. How's that for alliteration? Here's what Ron wrote to me: "What's the best product to apply to pre-painted cement on a outdoor patio? The pre-painted area in the sun area flakes off while the shaded area stays Read More »
Debbie Foley has a question about her cedar potting table that's stored outdoors all winter in Pickerington, OH. "I have a cedar potting table that must remain outside over the winter. What should be done to care for it over the winter? Should it be covered and if so what should we use to cover it? Read More »
Joe Spinelli doesn't like surprises even though he lives in Surprise, AZ. He's also pithy. "Who do I call to find a leak in my waterfall in my yard?" Here's my answer: Joe, I don't know that I'd call anyone just yet. Why not try to find it yourself? I would turn off the pump Read More »
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