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my mom wants to plant strawberrys even tho the seasons over but she wants to do it anyways. the only thing is that our backyard is filled with tiles, no dirt. it use to have grass and concrete but my dad just made a patio with tile flooring and decided to have the whole backyard cover with tile. is there a way to make a small garden with using planters. i have seen my neighbor with this type of brick but she tells me that the contractor didnt use concrete. how did they do it?. beside having a brick wall, how can i break the tile without damaging the other tile. my dad broke one before by using an axe but it brok another two without even touching it. this was during the installtion of the tile. note: the tiles are made out of porcelain. thanks
opps, i meant without planters. hmm johan's responds seems pretty good to me by chiseling the tiles. but like he said if my dad used a layer of concrete rather thank a rock bedding it would be easier. my dad used bother. since my back yard had concrete on it already and grass he used rock beddings on teh grass area which is the area we want to plant strawberry. the patio area is on top of where it used to be concrete. i like the idea of using the planter and bringing it in. ill do that by buying strawberry pots. all are great advice for future people who want to do want i want to do. i dont wanna risk breaking the tiles and buying new ones cuz if i do and do buy new ones they my not match due to the HOT HOT HOT sun in LA making it fade.

There are pots designed for strawberry culture called strawberry pots. You can find these in clay or plastic. Actually it is a good idea to plant in the fall so the plants are well established for spring.

http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipst echniques/containerindoor/strawberrypot. asp
http://www.rainyside.com/container/YeOld StrawberryPot.html
http://www.rainyside.com/bookshelf/Conta iner_RainySideBooks.html
http://www.gardening-guides.com/garden-d esign/strawberry-pot.php
http://www.mcall.com/features/custom/hg/ garden/projects/all-hg-g-projects-041406 ,0,3071073.story

Fall planting guide
http://www.strawberryplants.com/planting .htm

2007-08-29 21:26:45 by timothy

Outdoor living spaces are very popular and no two are alike. Here is one method for economically producing your own patio pavers.

We had some people came around to our house to do our patio. They did the front and the back. I specifically said we didn't want and grass to be protruding through the patio slabs. The reassured me its not so in their case.

They told me the slabs would be very hard to remove as it is heavily bonded.

When they finished they told us not to walk on it for 7 days and in fact we done it for 14 days.

I told them I didn't want any water settling in the garden they told me they made a soak away.

To my surprise:
water is settling when it rains,
the patio tiles are moving
the grass is protruding through the tiles.

I contact te company over 4 times and they have not replied to my message.

I would like to know how do I go about possibly legal action??

Advice would be much appreciated. Thank you

(based in the UK)

Assuming it is a company and not just Mutt & Jeff trading as Wizzo Patios, start by writing to the company's head office. (Yes, on paper - don't bother with emails and phone calls if you want a result) If you don't know the address, you can find it through the Companies House web site. http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk//index. shtml
Set out details with dates of the service they undertook to provide, the work carried out and why you are dissatisfied with it. Tell them what you expect them to do about it (come back and do it again or money back). Say that if you have not received a satisfactory response within 14 days you will start legal proceedings without further notice.

On day 15, take a copy of your letter to the County Court Office and the clerk will tell you how to issue a summons.

If you find that it is Mutt & Jeff trading as Wizzo Patios, you could still try writing the letter. However, if you don't get a reply, just put it down to experience - they'll be miles away conning someone else.

2009-09-15 10:27:37 by H-C-W

Price: $29.99 $16.78

Pipe unfolds and expands from 2 to 25-feet
30-Percent higher load-bearing rating than standard corrugated pipe
Compatible with most traditional 3-inch and 4-inch corrugated pipe and 4-Inch PVC

I plan to put a patio in my garden. I have some paving slabs which are about an inch thick. I have never done this kind of thing before and I need some advice. The top of the patio ( near the house ) will be higher that the bottom ( by the lawn ) so I need to slope the patio slightly. I'll try to get an even slope by putting in some pegs with string connecting the 2 to show the angle. I'll make some sort of spacer to have an even gap between slabs.

The area I'm looking to patio has had slabs resting on it for a few months, so it is compacted soil. Can I just go ahead, put some sand down, lay the slabs then cement in the gaps? If not, why not?

I must cut a few of the paving stones.
Can I use a big angle grinder for this?
Will it make a lot of mess?
Do I have to cut through the whole slab or is it like a wall tile where you only need to cut through partially then it will break cleanly somehow?

Any ideas or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

ditto to Johns reply, its just to many steps to explain here.
One thing I will say is don't use a screw driver or nail to try to cut the paver's it will not work and you may need to go to the hospital...NO JOKE
You can use a grinder with a diamond blade or a carbide blade to cut the paver's but they must be cut the will NOT break cleanly on a score line consistently and you will break a lot of them.
YES it will make a lot of dust when you cut them. if you use a diamond blade you can have someone spray a stream of water from a garden pump sprayer on the blade as you cut this will greatly reduce the dust and help the blade last longer.

Sure you can just put down sand and then the paver's if you feel like doing it all over again next year. Even with paver's the surface is only as stable as the base on which it rests on. take the time to do the base right . dig out the dirt make it nice and level then tamp it and then add a layer of sand about 2" no more. before you lay the paver's wet the sand down good to make sure it is settled. then put the paver's on.
As far as the gaps the best way for you to fill the gaps is after all the paver's are in and you have walked on them to make sure none are out of wack go get a couple of bags of masons mix and dump it out dry on the paver's and broom it in the cracks.sweep all the excess off as best you can then wet the whole thing with a very fine mist of water to get the mix wet. pay attention to how much is on the paver's and try to wash them off but if its going to wash out the joints don't worry about it for now you can always go back and wash them with a light muriatic acid solution that will remove it.just make sure you use enough water to we the mix all the way through. doing it this way will ensure a good bond to the paver's in the joints. This is not how we do it on a professional level but it will work for you just fine.

2007-04-12 14:49:22 by Stephen

Price: $22.99 $12.99

Exceeds all applicable ASTM Standards
Compatible with most traditional 3-inch and 4-inch corrugated pipe and 4-Inch PVC
Solid pipe helps move water from one point to another

I own part of a property that used to be 1 unit but was split into 2. My house on one side and the other side was just a garden. There was a common tile patio that extended from my lot into the other lot. The other lot was purchased and they are now building a house on this lot. Some of the tiles were removed to put in a retaining wall along the lot line and because of the irregular pattern (not in a straight line) there are parts of my patio that are now missing along the edge. My question is do I have the right to request that this be fixed by the neighbor or is the repair on me? Are there any real estate law articles I can reference? My property is in Alameda County in California.

Your key word is that you own part of the property and it's a common tile patio. Is your land surveyed as it should be and staked out? That would tell you exactly where your property is and isn't. I do that before trying anything else......as that should give you the answer. If you don't own that part, then you have no rights to it. No reputable builder would build on your property. They would have to have the property survey and staked out in order to build.. A retaining wall or even a fence that's on the lot line is common between two properties and permission from the building inspector and possibly going to a meeting about a variance would be in order. I am generalizing because I live in a different state. I would go down to the library and find the lot and block number and make sure that your rights aren't ignored. In the state of New Jersey, where I live, common lines on the property lines should be agreed upon and done legally. I had to ask my neighbor if I could put up a fence on the property line. Like I said, go down and get the block and lot number and look up the deeds records. The municipal building or the courts should have this info. Does this , in any way, pose a problem for you................such as flooding, obstructing your view, etc.? Take pictures at all stages in case there's a breach of contract here. Good luck.

2007-12-10 03:11:25 by hermie314

Ok so my dad is retiring from the air force after serving 30 and plus years.... so i really want to do something special for him... so 1 i have to make a playlist of songs to play at the retirement party... and 2 i want to make a powerpoint presentation of his military life...oh and 3 i want to give him a gift that would be really special..


so if you guys have any ideas...i really would love the advice or thoughts....

ummm... here is a little info of my dad

1. likes to build stuff (he's built our shed, stand up garden, patio, tile in our house...etc)
2. he is a maintance chief
3. from detroit
4. just recently bought a motercycle
5. loves aerosmith
6. likes mainly classic rock type music but also likes some country
7. is known for his barbque
8. very funny (but not the pratical joke funny)
9. been stationed to guam, japan (was actually born in japan but he is not japanese), italy, georgia, korea, louisiana, and other places
10. likes to ride his bike and do spin class at the gym
11. does watch and follow sports but not really a lot
12. very very organize and clean
13. plans on becoming a teacher after retiring
14. loves the tv shows survivor and amazing race
15. likes to travel



ummm... i think that will give you an idea of my father


some of the ideas ive come up with are...

gift ideas: aerosmith tickets (concert is about 3 hours away from us and are playing 3 days after his retirement party), a clock that plays that tune the base plays on the trumpet at the end of the day (sorry cant think of the name at teh moment), pistons jersey (inside joke/ long story)

powerpoint presentation: i want it to be funny, memorable, sweet.


thanks in advance for your answers....

your idea seems really nice, so go for it. sorry that i don't have any ideas. maybe you should get him a framed pictures of him in his military uniform.

2009-06-11 15:30:31 by bubblesinmyworld