Adding landscaping lighting to your patio or backyard is a great way to add enjoyment to your outdoor living spaces and boost the value of your home too. Before you start installing these illuminating landscape accessories, you should become familiar with some of the basics of outdoor lighting.

Where to put landscaping lighting

As you plan your outdoor lighting set-up, there are two things you should keep in mind:

• Areas which need to be lit (such as walkways)
• Places you’d like to illuminate (like a landscaping rock garden)

While there are many fixture to choose from the majority of professional outdoor landscape lighting is 12V-15V, which is considered low voltage lighting.

Wait until it’s dark, and then…

When nightfall hits, take a drive around your neighbourhood and note the houses which are well-lit. What do they have? What type of lights are they using? Where did they place them? After you get home, grab a flashlight and walk around your own property. It’ll give you a sense of what things will look like when they’re illuminated.

You can also position your flashlight at certain angles, such as:

• Downward
• Upward
• Straight-on
• Off-centre

To mimic the lighting effect you’d like to achieve.

What type of landscape lights to choose?

Grand River Natural Stone carries a wide range of In-Lite landscape lighting styles for you to choose from, including:

• Wall accent lights: To be mounted on vertical surfaces such as; partitions, fences, walls or front entry ways. Just make sure they’re not too blinding when you or visitors approach or pass by.

• Pathway lighting: These are low-voltage lights designed to brighten up a walkway by throwing pools of light downward.

• Spotlights: If you have a small, specific area you want to showcase (like a birdbath or water feature), use a narrow-beam spotlight.

• In-ground lights: Just as their name implies, these lights are inset into the ground and provide an accent to walkways or driveways.

Questions you should ask any landscaping lighting contractor

You’ve selected the lighting you want. You know what areas you want to brighten (such as flagstone walkways, interlocking paver paths or stone steps).

Now it’s time to hire a contractor for installing the low voltage lighting system.

As you do your research, make sure you ask the following questions.

1. Do you use a multi-tap transformer?

A majority of outdoor lighting projects used LED bulbs. Using a multi-tap transformer is the best way to maximize their performance because:

• They can control voltage drop (that’s when some lights burn brighter than others)
• It extends the lifespan of your outdoor light system
• Multi-tap transformers are designed for long wire run installations

While asking about multi-tap transformers, don’t forget to ask about what fuse protection system your contractor will install to protect your outdoor lights from shortages, outages or power surges

2. Are your fixtures and transformers UL listed?

The industry standard is to use products which are UL (Underwriters Laboratories) listed. Products which don’t feature the UL logo mean they haven’t been tested for safety.

You (and your contractor) won’t know how they’ll perform in the rain, heat, snow, wind and other weather conditions they’ll eventually be exposed to. Non-UL products may cost you less in the short-term, but here’s something to consider:

If they cause an electrical fire, your home insurance policy may not cover the cost of the resulting damage. Should you have any doubts about the products your contractor plans on using, ask to see their catalogue and UL certification stamps beforehand.

3. How will you bury the wiring?

Two things you don’t want with your landscape lighting wires:

• Your lawn, topsoil and aggregates to be torn up during burial
• Exposed wires sitting above ground

A skilled landscape lighting contractor will be mindful of regular lawn & garden activities (like cutting the grass or kids playing on it) when installing your system.

If necessary, they’ll create a very small trench in which to bury the wires. Once they’re inserted, that trench is closed up. And if the wire is buried near a very sensitive area (like, say a children’s playset), the contractor will use a conduit to protect the line.

Need help brightening up your property? Come to Grand River Natural Stone

You have beautiful outdoor living spaces which look great in the day. Now it’s time to bring out that beauty at night with a custom outdoor lighting system.

Whether you need products, design advice or technical information, Grand River Natural Stone is your source for all things landscape lighting.

You can start by asking for a FREE quote (or anything else you want to know). Our in-house landscape lighting experts will get back to you quickly to discuss your particular needs.

The post Landscaping Lighting 101 appeared first on Grand River Natural Stone.

From large buildings and bridges to backyard stone pathways and retaining walls, natural stone has been used for its versatility and reliability.

Plus, natural stone outperforms other materials time and again.

Why? Well, natural stone has a low environmental impact, it’s extremely durable with little maintenance, and it has a timeless beauty and grandeur.

1. Low Environmental Impact

Natural stone is made from nature, by nature. This means it requires no chemicals, pollutants, and releases no hazardous gases like other building materials do.

Plus, no energy is needed to manufacture stone—only quarrying and processing.

Natural stone is as “green” as it gets.

2. Easy Maintenance

Stone requires very little maintenance and care to keep it beautiful.

While other building materials need to be regularly painted, stained or sealed, natural stone doesn’t. It creates its own natural patina, which naturally enhances its beauty over time.

You, like your clients, want to spend time enjoying your home’s landscaping. Not maintaining it. That’s why natural stone is so great.

Typically, regular sweeping is all that’s needed to keep your natural stone beautiful for years to come.

3. Strong and Durable

Natural stone is one of the most popular building materials for its durability and resistance to damage. Plus, it’s a long-lasting material that you most likely will never have to replace.

What else makes stone the strongest and most durable choice?

• It doesn’t rot
• It is resistant to pests
• Fireproof
• Less susceptible to frost damage
• Small chips and damage are difficult to spot

4. Timeless and Versitile

Natural stone retains its natural beauty and has a much longer lifespan than its building counterparts (concrete, brick, etc).

Stone never goes out of style and can look just as stunning after 100 years, as the day it was installed.

Plus, since it’s a natural material, it blends seamlessly with outdoor surroundings and its colours and textures vary naturally. Stone can be resurfaced in many ways to match any style and ambiance, and it can be cut into any shape or size for any application.

5. Great in All Seasons

Unlike other landscaping materials, natural stone is consistent through temperature changes.

Common building materials, such as wood and cement, expand and contract throughout the changing seasons. This can cause major damage and warping. Meanwhile, natural stone remains consistent through even the harshest Canadian climates.

How can you make sure your stone is safe throughout the Canadian winter?

• Remove snow from stone and interlocking pavers before it melts—Once snow melts and water seeps into the cracks in your stone, it will freeze in the cracks causing your stone to expand and warp.
• Seal your natural stone in the fall—Prevent damages before they happen by having your hardscaping sealed in the fall months.
• Be cautious with snow shoveling—Metal show snovels can scratch your natural stone or pavers, and it can even scrape off sealant. Try using a snow blower or plastic snow shovel instead.

Let Us Help With Your Stonework

Grand River Natural Stone has the tools to make your home beautiful throughout the year, so trust us with all of your landscaping needs.

For more information about our services, give us a call or visit us!

The post 5 Reasons Why Stone Outperforms Other Materials appeared first on Grand River Natural Stone.

If you have an unusually wet property, this time of year might be your least favourite.

Even though the sun is out and every day is a little warmer than the last, all you can think about is the saturation in your back yard and the moisture pushing in on the foundation of your home.

The soil on your property is like a sponge – it can only absorb so much water. When it hits the limit, the water does things you don’t want. Your basement floods, your landscape erodes – generally bad stuff happens.

But it doesn’t have to!

You can control the way water moves around your property. Ditch your dread of spring with a ditch (we did that on purpose) that acts like a gutter and downspout inside the soil in your yard.

Install a drainage trench in your yard that collects the excess water and transports it to the lowest part of your land, away from your home and expensive landscaping.

How it works

Thousands of gallons of water probably flow downslope in the soil toward and through your property. You need to collect and channel it just like a gutter collects snowmelt or rain.

All you need to build is a simple trench that can be anywhere from 2 feet to 10 feet deep.

The most important factor dictating the depth of your trench is:

• The elevation of the lowest spot on your property.

The trench relies on gravity to move water, so you need enough fall (drop from the top of the trench to the bottom of the trench) to make sure the water flows through the trench to the lowest part of your property.

What supplies do I need?

You need:

• Perforated drain pipe with a sleeve to stop sediment from clogging the drain and a cap for the high end.
• ¾’ drainage stone or 3/8’ washed peastone (whichever you prefer, as both work well). Enough to fill up most of your trench.
• A non-woven geotextile to wrap the stone and pipe to keep clean.
• A trencher (you can rent from any hardware rental store), or a shovel and some elbow grease.
• A hand tamper to lightly pack your backfill on the surface.

The trench should run in a line that protects your yard, your foundation and your basement. It’s a defensive substructure. An L or U-shape might work best, if your property slopes at multiple angles.

The trench should become level right at the lowest point on your property. It should look natural where it meets level ground.

Dig the trench, place the wrap, lay the pipe, fill with stone.

Water always takes the path of least resistance.

After your trench is dug:

• Line it with the geotextile wrap (sold as commercial filter fabric in some places).
• Run the drain pipe from end to end (don’t forget to clip on your cap at the high elevation).
• Fill the trench with stone to about 3 inches below grade.
• Fold the wrap over the top of the stone, so the stone and pipe are completely protected.

Since the stone is easier for water to get through than smaller, denser sand or clay particles, that’s where it’ll go.

The trench can be as thin as 6 inches and it’ll still do a great job.

Now you have a trench with a pipe and some drainage stone or peastone wrapped in fabric.

Take some of the material you excavated and cover the last inch or so of trench, then pack it down lightly with your hand tamper.

Don’t get too vigorous – it doesn’t happen often, but some homeowners crush their new drainage pipes by getting aggressive with the packing.

And just when you thought you were done…you are.

It’s a job you can complete in a single day and will help your family avoid thousands of dollars in repairs from a flooded basement or washed out landscape.

Grab the stone you need (we’ll help you figure out exactly how much you should get) from us today so you have all the supplies ready to get your trench done this weekend.

Call Grand River Natural Stone or stop by to talk to a member of our team. We’ll get you started off right.

The post Drainage For Unusually Wet Properties appeared first on Grand River Natural Stone.

A fireplace is a cozy way to spend fall evenings.

And installing thin stone veneer on your indoor or outdoor fireplace is full of great benefits, such as:

• Giving it a rustic and charming appearance
• Protecting it from the outdoor elements
• Extending your enjoyment of the fireplace for the season

The best part is that installing thin veneer stone on your fireplace is quite simple to do – even if it’s a brick fireplace.

Choose your stone veneer

There are two types of stone brick veneer for you to choose from:

• Authentic: It may come at a higher cost, but it’s a gorgeous, long-lasting choice for your backyard or family room fireplace. Usually it’s heavier than artificial veneer, but is cut thinly enough that weight is not an issue.

• Artificial: Sometimes known as faux stone. Manmade stone veneer now looks, feels and behaves like the natural version. If you’re planning to do it yourself, artificial stone veneer is lighter, tidier and overall easier to work with.

Preparing to install thin stone veneer

Whether you’re installing authentic or artificial stone veneer to your brick fireplace, the process more or less remains the same.

First, though, you’ll need to clean the surface where the stone will be affixed and remove any:

• Paint
• Dirt
• Dust
• Debris

If you’re planning to install thin stone veneer directly into a brick or concrete fireplace, you can apply it directly to the surface.

Then, apply a scratch coat (about ½” think) of mortar to the surface and let it cure for 24 hours.

1. Mix the right amount of mortar you’ll need

Usually the mixture is two parts of washed masonry sand to one part of cement.

Stir it up for a minimum of five minutes until the mixture is both think and creamy.

2. Lay the stones out in the pattern you want

If you need to trim the stones to fit your backyard fireplace, you can use a masonry hammer or masonry saw from Grand River Natural Stone.

3. Clean the stones before applying them

After you’ve cut the stones to fit, you’ll need to remove all dust, dirt and loose particles from them.

If necessary, you can even wash them with water.

However you’ll need to wait for them to dry before you install them.

Once dried, you can moisten their backsides with a masonry brush, which will help strengthen the bond between the stone and the mortar.

4. Apply mortar to the back of the stone

Then, press the stone to the fireplace wall.

While you’re pressing it, rotate the stone slightly in order to force some of the mortar to squeeze out around the edges of the stone.

Before the mortar has finally set, remove any extra from the surface of the thin veneer stone with a rag or brush.

5. Point the joints with grout

When all of the stone veneer elements are in place, grout any large gaps between the stones.

Post-installation maintenance

Once four weeks have passed, you may wish to apply a high-quality sealer to the stone veneer.

• For an indoor fireplace: Sealing is more of an aesthetic reference, as opposed providing a protective barrier (simply because it won’t be exposed to outdoor elements).

• For an outdoor fireplace: Even though it’s outside, your fireplace doesn’t need to be sealed. However, if you want to enhance, darken or bring its colour back to life (especially if it’s an older unit), then sealer is an appropriate option.

Applying stone sealer on a regular schedule is completely optional.

Remember: the sealer may change the colouring of your thin veneer stone, so make sure you test it out first in an area of the fireplace where it won’t be noticed.

And since stone veneer is easy to clean, just wash off the sealer with a hose if you aren’t happy with the results. Just make sure you do this within minutes.

We’re ready to start when you are

Now that you know how to install thin stone veneer to your backyard fireplace, it’s time to make it happen.

And Grand River Natural Stone can help. We’re your source for everything you need to get it done, including:

• Masonry tools
• Mortar
• Masonry sand
• Sealer

Just contact us for a FREE quote or to speak with any of our product or building experts.

We’ll answer all your questions and give you the guidance you need to get started.

The post How to Install Thin Stone Veneer on Your Indoor or Outdoor Fireplace appeared first on Grand River Natural Stone.

Make your yard the one everyone else talks about—something you can be proud of.  But first let’s take a minute to go over some quick decisions that need to be made before you start your journey into becoming a pond owner:

Site selection

Choosing the location to construct your pond is key to an attractive, healthy, low maintenance piece of beautiful landscape.  Since we tend to spend more time indoors than out, it would make sense to put your pond where it can be enjoyed through your windows as well.

Your pond should be built on level ground in an area that receives a fair amount of sun.  Having it where you have easy access to water and electricity can be quite helpful as well.  Putting your pond under trees where it will catch leaves or pine needles throughout the year will call for the endless chore of cleaning out the pond.  Also, do not construct your pond in low spots within your yard.  This can cause potential flooding during heavy rain.

Once you’ve picked your location, Grand River Natural Stone offers a wide variety of stones you can use to border, build or enhance the look of your pond:

• Flagstone
• Armour stone
• Retaining walls

Fish or no fish

Some people like to enhance their pond experience with different types of goldfish and Koi.  The maintenance of your pond will, of course, be a bit more with the caring of your fish, by keeping the water relatively balanced as well as different diets for the fish; however, the anesthetic may be worth it. Before purchasing fish for your pond contemplate on whether or not you are willing to take the extra time to add this lively feature.

Sizing a liner

There are three types of liners to choose from when building your pond

• Pre-formed
• Concrete
• Flexible

Normally concrete stone is not used due to it not being as economically feasible, as well as issues with eventual cracking.  Pre-formed ponds are generally for ponds sized 50 to 200 gallons.  They are easy to drop in, but ensuring that the pond is stable and balanced takes a bit more time than a flexible liner.

Also, you are limited in shapes and cannot customize your pond to your liking.  Flexible liners offer the most options in terms of the size and shape of your pond.  They are very durable, easy to install and conform to any shape hole.

You can DIY and we can help

Regardless of the location, size, or liner you choose to use, Grand River Natural Stone carries ideal landscaping enhancements to make your yard that paradise on earth you’ve always wanted.

Contact us and let’s get you started on your dream yard today.

The post DIY Pond Construction appeared first on Grand River Natural Stone.