I remember a few years back when I invited some friends over for a labor day barbecue. My wife and I had just purchased a new house and really wanted to break it in with a major celebration. We invited our friends and started getting excited about the big day. Well, the big day arrived …

In the patio world, stamped concrete vs. pavers is a question as old as patios themselves. Which one should you choose to craft your picturesque outdoor space? Most questions like these come down to raw personal preference, but there are some considerations you should make when deciding what material to build your patio from. Namely …

Are you one of those people who have lived with a sticky sliding patio door for years? Honestly, the Captain was in that boat too (back when I was just an Ensign). It’s always been easy for me to let these little things slide when there are so many more important things on my old …

Fellow patio enthusiasts, it’s getting to be that time of year. The leaves will fall, the days will get shorter, and before you know it, we’ll be deep in the throes of winter. I’ll tell you a little secret: I hate the winter-time. From December to March, I’m in a state of denial and mild …

If you’re like the Captain, you love your canine companion as much as you love spending Sundays outside on the patio. But, you don’t want to spend that Sunday cleaning the smell of pet urine out of your pavers! Let’s face it, your little fur buddy needs a place to do his or her business. …

What’s better than a patio at dusk in early Summer? A patio at dusk in early Summer… with a fire pit. Nothing complements a slightly cool evening better than the crackling of burning firewood in the moonlight. Let me set the scene for you — the flames dance joyously on the wall of your house, …

You might live next to a busy road, have noisy barking dogs nearby, or are unfortunate enough to have neighbors that play their music too loudly. I’ve been there. We bought our first house right next to a closed down racetrack. A few months after we moved in, it opened back up! One thing is …

Back when I smoked, I walked outside one summer morning to try to get a cigarette in before work. I took it out of the pack, put it in my mouth, fired up the lighter and — boom. All I could smell was the sickly ammonia of dog pee on my back patio. I had …

Well, you bought or rented a new house and finally got your dream patio. It was everything you could’ve hoped for and more. But after a few weeks passed by you started noticing small weeds encroaching on your personal space. You didn’t pay much attention to them because they were tiny and easy to ignore. …