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Author Topic: Anyone pave over their yard?  (Read 3346 times)

Offline bellabella

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Anyone pave over their yard?
« on: June 20, 2010, 12:41:52 PM »
Our grass is getting very costly and time consuming. We had to replace it  with sod numerous times and have tried everything to keep it looking lush and healthy.  It ends up drying up and dying. We water and treat it and have reseeded spots etc. I would love to pave it. Has anyone done this? any advice? I would like to do it myself to keep cost down. Is home depot a good place for the materials? thanks
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Offline Griswold Contessa

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2010, 03:04:06 PM »
Wow that's a bit drastic don't you think?  Have you look into vinca (periwinkle) which is a lovely groundcover, you can even combine a variety of groundcovers for a interesting look but to have nothing but pavers remains me of many of the front yards in Astoria which are cold and uninviting.  How large is the space you're talking about?  Is it a front or rear garden? 


Quote from: bellabella on June 20, 2010, 12:41:52 PM
Our grass is getting very costly and time consuming. We had to replace it  with sod numerous times and have tried everything to keep it looking lush and healthy.  It ends up drying up and dying. We water and treat it and have reseeded spots etc. I would love to pave it. Has anyone done this? any advice? I would like to do it myself to keep cost down. Is home depot a good place for the materials? thanks
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Offline bellabella

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2010, 03:23:25 PM »
its in the backyard and its not the whole yard. I have beautiful plants/shrubs/roses/tomatoes etc around the perimeter. I've been looking online and think we are going to go with some recyled materials.
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Offline Shelby2

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2010, 08:14:48 PM »
If you mean recylcled materials like crushed stone, I think that's a much better alternative than paving. 

Check out this site for an idea about what crushed stone looks like
http://www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/davisville2.html#jdpermpav

There are probably many other (better) sites for photos as well.

or how about something like this?
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Offline snickers

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2010, 01:59:34 PM »
Quote from: bellabella on June 20, 2010, 12:41:52 PM
Our grass is getting very costly and time consuming. We had to replace it  with sod numerous times and have tried everything to keep it looking lush and healthy.  It ends up drying up and dying. We water and treat it and have reseeded spots etc. I would love to pave it. Has anyone done this? any advice? I would like to do it myself to keep cost down. Is home depot a good place for the materials? thanks

You do know that there are ways to keep your lawn green and weed free right? I rather look at a garden over a slab of cement any day. You are talking about your front yard right? well unless you plan on making a driveway then it serves no purpose really.

You need a hose end sprayer, 1 can of beer,some mouthwash and some dish washing soap. Do a google search on lawn tonics. I am going to try this myself once I buy the hose end sprayer. I spread some ironite lawn fertilizer last week,been watering it every night since and my new sod(about 2 months since I layed it down)is mainly brown. I had to go to Lowes in Brooklyn to buy that 1 small bag,lack of rain surely is a problem.
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Offline buddy

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2010, 04:28:37 PM »
I have a small weekend house and my back yard has mature, raised perennial beds/trees/flowers etc.  But my walkways and everything between the beds are small stones, slate walking paths or recessed bricks.  Sounds like a lots going on but it's very, very lovely.  I'll try to upload a photo here.  If not, private message me and I'll email you photos. 

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Offline snickers

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2010, 06:05:06 PM »
Crushed stone looks great but I am sure it's not a do it yourself job. You need a landscaper or
even a stone mason for the job to be done properly. The thing with sod is that it needs a lot of
water. I know your frustration because sod is costly and the install takes a lot of work.

Funny thing is the day after I had put down the sod,people commented on how great it looked,I told them but in a few weeks it will be as brown as a desert. We have to pay for water usage and I am not going to water a small strip of sod(by the curb)like crazy and have higher water bills.
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Offline bellabella

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2010, 06:49:43 PM »
Buddy that is beautiful!!!!
Its for my backyard so if someone is not happy looking out their back window so be it. Im a big nature lover but after spending thousands on a small patch of grass, I am done!! Like snickers we purchased sod and it dried up. We were not neglectful and take pride in our garden. I think it might be a soil problem and frankly I'm tired of dealing with it. I was thinking recycled rubber pavers and making a nice design.
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Offline buddy

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2010, 09:58:34 PM »
A friend of mine used rubber mulch.  He likes it.  I'm not familiar with it so I can't comment personally.  I like the crushed stone but you still have to either weed or spray week killer.  But I love the beachy look of it and I hate cutting grass.

I wished my photos were larger.  I can't figure out the right size.
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Offline Shelby2

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2010, 10:23:03 PM »
Quote from: buddy on June 21, 2010, 09:58:34 PM
A friend of mine used rubber mulch.  He likes it.  I'm not familiar with it so I can't comment personally.  I like the crushed stone but you still have to either weed or spray week killer.  But I love the beachy look of it and I hate cutting grass.

I wished my photos were larger.  I can't figure out the right size.

If you have photoshop, try this:

change image size to 800x600 pixels, then hit "save as" and select "4" for image quality.  In my experience this usually brings the file size to below the max for this site and will allow people to click and see it larger on their screen.  If you don't have photoshop, I don't know what to recommend (sorry).
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Offline buddy

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2010, 09:06:34 AM »
thanks Shelby.  I use TinyPic website and choose the message board size (640x480).  They do have the size you suggested so I'll try that one next time.
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Offline NYC Native

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Re: Anyone pave over their yard?
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2010, 11:02:57 AM »
Quote from: buddy on June 21, 2010, 04:28:37 PM
I have a small weekend house and my back yard has mature, raised perennial beds/trees/flowers etc.  But my walkways and everything between the beds are small stones, slate walking paths or recessed bricks.  Sounds like a lots going on but it's very, very lovely.  I'll try to upload a photo here.  If not, private message me and I'll email you photos. 


Beautiful!!!

Try uploading it to photobucket and then copy and paste the link - if you dont want to sign up just use a picasion.com
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