Olson Outdoor

Why do I love doing hardscapes with steel and concrete? The top poc is from almost 4 years ago, and the bottom pic is from today. Nothing has died, warped, or fallen over. We engineered and built this stuff well, so it’s not an accident, but good material choice makes a big difference.

When my client said, ‘Hey, can you build this?’, I said ‘No problem!’. It only took us about twice as long as I thought. 😂 But it is a brick sh*****se sitting on a 20”x20” foundation with rebar in the base and 4 vertical rebars/collars going up. Whew. Ready for a beer.

This is the technique we use to lay paver paths. If the sand is installed under the fabric it doesn’t wash out and the pavers stay level for longer. We also glue them down to the fabric. It takes a little longer to do it this way, but we get a higher quality product.

Here is a cautionary tale about how not to approach a drainage problem and what it takes to fix it. The first pic shows how someone tried to use catch basins to divert water back to a series of sump pumps which pumped water out to the street. They are nice and deep, with large pumps, and THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH A DOWNPOUR. This, the homeowner continued to have flooding issues even after spending plenty to have this done. The fourth pic shows a pipe that starts nowhere and goes nowhere, because why not, right?

The last pic is the start of making it right by GRADING. Grading is the optimal solution for flooding. In this case we have 8” of natural fall from the back corner of the house to the street(we used a transit to determine the grade). Thus, we are able to create a swale that not only allows about 10” of fall from the top of slab to the bottom of the swale, but also allows us to have about 2” of fall per 10’ towards the street. No pumps, no basins, just properly sloped earth for the water to flow.

We will also be adding new gutters and plumbing the downspouts into a 4” PVC line that leads to a pop up drain past the front corner of the house. In addition, we will install an 8” high steel border at the property line to help divert water from the neighbors lot towards the street. Belt, suspenders, check.

If you want to pay once to fix a drainage issue this is how you do it. Call us anytime at 512-937-5262 or message me. Michael Olson with Olson Outdoor.

Dirt work is the least sexy part of any job, but one of the most vital. If you do it right, it is never noticed, and if you do it wrong it is very difficult to fix once the rest of the landscape is in place.

The picture on the right shows the correct grade by a house. It starts 6” below the slab and slopes down another 6” in the first ten feet(6 feet in this case). We also have 8” of fall from the far end to the near end over a distance of 50’, which is slightly more than the minimum you want of 1” per 10’.

Correct grading prevents flooding and foundation issues, and in this case made for a more useful and attractive transition from the house to the yard. The last step will be to add fabric, gravel, and flagstone pavers.

If part of your house looks like the picture on the left, you may want to consider having some work done.

If you take the time to make the first course perfect, the rest go up bang bang bang.

So glad I have carried this around for four years.

Here is a gate we just finished. With all metal to metal connections and a metal frame it won’t sag, and stained cedar wood is always beautiful.

Laying artificial turf is all about the prep. When you start with a compact and level base you get a good finished product. This kind of turf is great for shady areas, especially if you have dogs or kids. Call us at 512-937-5262 or drop an email to [email protected]. Estimates are always free.

We do a lot of drainage work, and French drains are almost never the solution. However, when we were digging to lay down base for this stone patio we found a wet area by the corner of the stairs and planter, so we installed a perforated pipe in a gravel lined ditch that leads to a pop up drain. This will carry away any excess ground moisture in this area.

We also installed the small channel drain you see and will drill holes in the planter for it to drain out and not stain the flagstone. It is the little details like this that make a big difference in the long run.