The Blog of Weavers Landscape Company

Soggy Lawn? Water in Basement? We Can help!

One of the things we do quite often is solve drainage problems. At this specific project we buried all the downspout in the back of the house, and embedded a 4" Perforated pipe (the black one) in clean gravel. The white pipe will carry all the water from the downspouts to the road, while the black pipe will collect ground water when the earth becomes super-saturated. If you have a problem with a soggy yard, or water in your basement...chances are, we could help you out! And we'd love to! We service Shippensburg, Carlisle, Chambersburg, and any almost any other soggy-central PA town.

I Want to Plant Some Trees

So....

You want some trees planted, but have never had a landscaper do anything for you before, and haven't a clue what to expect. Plus your wondering if you could do this yourself.

Well, get on your boots, your goin' with us for the day. By days end you'll know what to expect when we call you up and say, "we're coming to plant trees tomorrow". And/or you'll learn how to plant a tree.

Come on, jump in, lets head out to the job.

Note: These pictures are from a job we did in January 2010

Heres the load of trees we'll be planting today. They were just dug the other day, we loaded them up, threw a tarp over to protect them, and they'll have a new home today. Note: Not all things fit in the back of a car.

This Truck and Trailer brought the 'Muscles'. The SkidSteer Loader has rubber tracks for better flotation, and will perform a large share of the grunt work today.

Lets get out the measuring wheel and paint stick...x marks the spot.

Here we have the Skidsteer loader hooked up the the Auger Bit. This thing is what keeps us from going to the chiropractor every day (and losing weight) It digs the hole for the tree, giving us nice loose dirt to backfill the tree with.

Now the hole is dug, lets get some Soil Amendment Material from off the back of the dump truck.

Here's the pile, and theres the shovel...get to work!

Now we mix the Soil Amendment Material with the dirt.

Moving trees by hand? No! They say that work never killed anybody, but we don't want to take any chances. What you see is one of our favorite pieces of equipment-a small track machine that does everything your grandpa used to do by hand, in half the time.

Lets place the tree in the whole. For big trees, we use a sling system using chains, which allows us to properly situate the tree in the hole. For smaller trees we get the biggest guy in the crew and say "bet you can't put that tree in the hole", and after he does, we plant it.

We're getting there...but keep shoveling.

Hey, this is looking good. We have the dirt all mounded around the rootball and are ready for mulch. Oh, you think its to high? Well, the truth is, most people tend to bury their plants, instead of plant them. Trees have a 'crown' at the base of the trunk which should not be buried. Yes, there is such a thing as planting too high, but it is usually better to be a little high then low. Also note the bowl we created around the base of the tree-this will help with watering.

One last step before we mulch. Tree Staking. We use a Anchor System that we pound in the ground, then attach cables from the it to the tree. It will protect the tree from blowing around (or over) in high winds. Why do we use this system? One of the big factors is that when you stand 50' away, you can't see that the tree is staked. Yeah, like we want to see the tree not the stakes.

The trailers getting empty, so hang in there we're almost done!

And now we just mulched the last tree. We're tired and its getting dark...lets go home!

By the way, we're comin' over to plant your trees tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!

Welcome Spring 2010

We are anticipating a busy year of installing Paver Patios, Retaining Walls, Water Features, Landscaping, and Landscape Lighting. We have been to a number of courses and seminars to keep up with new technology and products. If you live in Shippensburg, Carlisle, Chambersburg, or in surrounding areas, remember that we are your local landscaper and hardscaper, and are committed to serve you in a respectable and professional manner!

Visit us at the Franklin Co. Builders show

Please take the time to visit our booth at the Franklin County Builders Show on March 12-14. We will have a number of interesting options to show you, including our new line of Gravel-Lok Patio Products. We will be offering some show specials, and invite you to take part of these savings.

For more info on the show, click here. Or for directions, click here.

Hope to see you there!

Good Companies to deal with...

Every now and then you run into a company that is a pleasure to deal with, and you want to spread the word. Such was the case when we ordered some Job Signs form esigns.com They sell job signs, banners, and lots of other quality sign products. Our order was processed quickly and we were impressed with the quality of the product. I would recommend them to anyone needing quality signs and a reasonable price.

Exciting New Product

On Wednesday, Jan 27, I went to a seminar regarding an new product, Gravel-Lok. This product is the remedy for the (2) main problem with Pea Gravel Walkways/Patio, which are:

a. A soft and unstable walking surface, due to the 'rolling' effect of the stone

b. Stones migrating into surrounding areas, mainly from being kicked around when walking through the area. Also stones sticking in your shoes and tracking into houses.

Gravel-Lok is a 'glue' that holds the Pea Gravel together. The advantages:

a. Solid 'asphalt like' surface, with the beauty of Pea Gravel

b. Stones stay in place. Awesome.

c. Permeability. Yes, you can turn your patio (or driveway) into a permeable pavement. Permeable means that water runs 'through' it, not off of it. Permeable Paving Systems are gaining momentum daily, simply because to much of most neighborhoods are covered with non-permeable pavements, such as asphalt and concrete, which in turn can create a major problem in a high rain event.

Where could this product (together with Decorative Pea Gravel) be used? Here's my thoughts:

Under decks. That has been a real problem area for some people. They don't want mud, pavers are costly, concrete or regular gravel looks disgusting, and decorative Pea Gravel just wants to kick around and always end up on the patio or lawn next to it. Gravel-Lok and Decorative Pea Gravel equal an inexpensive, durable, and visually appealing remedy.
Back yard walkways. So you have grass now, but would like to make it more usable year round. So you look at the options. Pavers would be nice, but don't really give the look you want. A concrete walk would work, but that would look even worse. So you put down some Decorative Pea Gravel, which looks awesome, but you don't care for the way it 'walks' Gravel-Lok will take care of the 'softness' and 'moving around'.
Patios or Driveways? Sometimes. In the right setting, a Pea Gravel Patio with Gravel-Lok would be just the right thing.

So now your wondering about cost. And we have great news. This is a very cost effective product, obvious depending a lot on what happens under the Gravel-Lok and Pea Gravel. For an Under Deck application, you won't find a better, cost effective option. For a walkway with non-vehicle applications (most walkways would be), you'll be well under a Paver Walkway price. Patios or Driveways will depend a lot on design of base, but will still be under the typical Paver price.

This product is not a Paver Replacement in any way. There are applications where I would not recommend this product, and places it wouldn't work as well as other options. (By saying this product I mean a Pea Gravel surface with Gravel-Lok) However, it is a wonderful tool to use for some of those 'I don't know what to do' areas, and we expect it to be a real asset to our line-up of options.

We'll be doing some tests and making some samples. Give us a call, we'd love to talk to you and show you what it is.

Burnell can be reached at 717.530.9076

Below are some pictures Decorative Pea Gravel surfaces. Remember, the Gravel-Lok Product is only the final step in the project, and is only the 'Glue' that bonds the gravel together.