Archive for the 'Outdoor Fireplace Designs' Category
Add Elegance To Your Backyard With Outdoor Stone Fireplaces
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 by PyroAdding a stone fireplace to your backyard space provides warmth and elegance. While bonfires and chimneas are excellent starters, real stone fireplaces are more elegant, long lasting and they will likely increase the value of your home. Adding a real stone fireplace to your patio will simply make it inviting. Additionally, a real fireplace is safer and longer lasting than chimneas or fire pits.
How can you obtain the elegance and richness of a stone fireplace at a reasonable price? The answer is thin veneer. Real stone veneer can be placed as a facing on fire worthy bricks or fire stones and nobody will guess you did not build the whole fireplace with solid stones. Why? Well, simply because thin stone veneers are made with real stones. They are not cultured stones. This means they are more fire resistant, they resist chipping and fading. And even if they do get chipped, the color is solid right through the stone because they are real stones.
Why Add a Fireplace to Your Outdoors?
Fireplaces can extend the seasons. With a cozy fireplace you and your family and friends can spend cool spring evenings and late fall nights by a cozy fire outside. Just imagine drinking hot tea or cocoa, roasting marshmallows and eating smores by a real stone fireplace in your outdoor living space. You’ll feel like you are indoors, all warm and toasty, yet you can enjoy the smells and sounds of the gorgeous outdoor evenings with your loved ones. Winter days can also be pleasant to spend by your outdoor stone fireplace if you live in milder climates.
Cool summer nights can make wonderful dinner parties. A stone fireplace can set the tone for the entire evening. Turn on some pleasant music and let the crackling of the fire draw your guests together. Or sit out in the quiet by yourself or with your loved ones and enjoy a quiet evening only interrupted by the gentle crackle of a real fireplace.
Unlike fire pits or chimneas, stone fireplaces can be safer for friends and family to be around. Fire pits can be hazardous to small children while chimneas can be easily knocked over. However, a well built fireplace with an iron screen can protect your family from sparks and while the stone walls can protect people from getting burned if they accidently lean against it.
How To Use Veneer
Natural thin stone veneer is used exactly like fake stones. Simply build a fireplace with cheap fire bricks or fire stones according to the manufacturer’s directions. Then install the stone veneer on the outside of the structure. Nobody will be able to tell if you used 1 and ½ inch veneer or 10 inch stones. Your secret will be safe and your pocket book will be fatter.
Stone veneer comes in a wide variety of styles from square cuts, round cuts, and even natural looking stones. They cost a lot less to purchase and are easier to install than real fireplace stones. You can choose form a variety of colors and textures too. They look like real stones because they are real stones quarried from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona pits.
Stone veneer is shipped in easy to handle corrugated plastic boxes. They are just as easy to install and maintain as fake veneers. Simply prepare the surface, apply the mortar, then apply the stone and mortar in between.
Adding A Stone Fireplace
If you already have a fireplace in your backyard or patio or even if you’ve been considering installing one, a natural thin stone veneer is the way to go. You won’t have to replace an old fireplace, simply “thin stone veneer it” instead.
But above all else, one of the greatest benefits is that you will have less work and less cost when you build a new fireplace by using this stone. A natural stone fireplace will add elegance, safety and a sense of class to your patio or backyard. Minimize your costs today by using natural thin stone veneer when you build your stone fireplace.
Elegant Stone Fireplaces are extremely durable, yet affordable when built with natural stone veneer. View the many different types of Natural Stone Veneer that Halquist Stone has to offer. For more information, call (262) 246-9000 or visit HalquistStone.com to request a free brochure.
Landscaping Ideas to Beautify Your Outdoor Space
Friday, September 19th, 2008 by Pyroby Sarah Duke
No matter the size, if your home has a yard you are certain to get a lot more enjoyment from it if you undertake some interesting landscaping ideas. You can add a water feature or a rock garden, or create a secluded nook shaded by trees and shrubs. You can probably come up with even more own ideas of your to make your yard more pleasant and attractive.
One of the more popular landscaping ideas today is to create a walkthrough garden. Carefully select the perfect flowers to lend color and charm to your outdoor space. A mix of annuals and perennials is ideal because it reduces your labor and cost while still allowing for the more colorful show that annuals provide. Investigate various kinds of shrubs and trees to provide contrast and balance. And place some stepping stones throughout the garden to encourage easy enjoyment of the surroundings.
Another great landscaping idea is to create different sections in your yard, each with a distinct feature, then unify the entire space by repeating certain aspects of each section in other parts of the yard. You don’t have to have a large yard to pull this off, either.
If children will be making use of your yard, designate a section of it as a play area for them to enjoy. A wooden play set will look more natural and blend in with the surrounding landscaping features. Adding a tree house lends even more interest to your outdoor space.
A lawn is frequently a big part of any landscaping effort. Choose a variety of grass that’s appropriate for your soil conditions and climate so you’ll have a luxurious expanse of green to set off your other natural features. Surrounded by trees, shrubs and flowers, a lawn can be an attractive showpiece.
Many people like to include a water feature in their yard. Ponds and waterfalls add a dramatic touch to your outdoor decor, and the sound of water is considered very soothing by many people. There’s a huge variety of designs and products from which you can choose. Your only limits are your budget and available space.
A rock garden is a perfect solution for problem areas of your yard where it’s difficult for many plants to thrive. Maybe it’s a spot that’s too dry or the soil conditions won’t support plant growth. Or perhaps it’s an area that doesn’t drain well and is always wet and soggy. Putting in a rock garden that includes a few exceptionally hardy plants can be ideal for these problem areas. But it’s also an attractive and low maintenance feature for any area of your yard.
There’s no doubt that landscaping can provide you with great enjoyment, both in the process and the final result. Do your research, get some professional advice if necessary, make a plan, and get going! That’s all it takes to turn your landscaping ideas into reality.
Enlarge Your Living Space With An Backyard Patio Design
Friday, September 19th, 2008 by PyroIf a new look is needed for your outdoor living space and there is ample space, an outdoor patio may be just what you need in able to brighten up your landscape increase value to your house. There are so many assorted sizes and styles of patios there is sure to be one to fit any style or individual taste.
An outdoor patio can make your residence more individualized, especially if you live in a condominium unit or mobile home that is quite similar to a boardering home. Adding an outdoor living space will increase the value of your home. It makes entertaining outside more delightful for you as well as for your visiting friends.
If you are unsure about the style that will work for your home and the outdoor space you have available, be sure to utilize any resources that will be useful in your homework. Take a look at a neighbor’s existing patio, talk to a contractor or designer, or look online to examine photos and styles of different backyard patios available.
Before starting your project the first thing you should think about is your personal budget. This will help direct you in choosing the style, materials, and size of the patio that you want for your yard. Deciding whether you will build this patio yourself or hire a contractor to do the work will also place constraints on your budget for your improvements. Once you make up your mind if you will do the work yourself or enlist someone do it for you, then you can work your budget around this decision.
Having a rough-draft plan in mind is always a good start. This does not have to be engineered plans, but just a mere sketch of your area with accurate dimensions will help you in your search for finding the most suitableoutdoor patio for your area. Do not second-guess your dimensions, even if you are hiring a company for the construction. Make sure that you have the enough notations for them otherwise the estimate for a completed project will be off the mark as well. Having a plan in place before the work starts will also help give you an idea of what the completed job will look like in case that you may need to make changes relocate shrubs, trees, bushes, rocks or even add them later on down the road.
One way for everyone to appreciate the new patioyear round would be to enclose it. By having an outdoor patio enclosure, not only do you add versatility to your patio, but this will also add another {room|extra room} onto your home for such things as a change room for an outdoor spa or even a play area for children. Portable air-conditioners or added heating ducts will make them usable all year round regardless of the weather conditions outside.
Having an outdoor garden patio is a relaxing way to spend time with family and friends while outdoors enjoying the fruits of your labor that you work so hard for each season. What better way to take in the scenery of your own flower garden than to lounge on your newly finished outdoor patio.
