Watch the conclusion of our two-part show on installing a Pavestone paver driveway and cleaning and staining a concrete patio with Quikrete cleaner and stain.

Other projects tackled in this episode include:

  • Sealing paver driveway with Quikrete High Gloss Sealer.
  • Installing wood lattice on the patio around the house foundation.
  • Building Adirondack chairs and tables using YellaWood plans and pressure treated wood.
  • Building a Pavestone RumbleStone Café Kit square fire pit.
  • Laying St. Augustine grass sod in the yard.

To help the homeowners with their yard chores, they were given a Lawn-Boy, electric start, self propelled, 21” lawn mower.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Danny Lipford: This week on Today’s Homeowner, we’re wrapping up a yard makeover with this family that will truly make the great outdoors great.

Brenda Martens: So, isn’t this going to be great?

Billy Kavula: Unbelievable.

Brenda Martens: It’s going to look really nice.

Danny Lipford: We’re right in the middle of a yard makeover we started last week for Billy Kavula and Brenda Martens.

Brenda Martens: We are very much looking forward to be able to spend a lot of time outside.

Danny Lipford: They recently bought this home, and they love its character, its location, and the neighborhood. But the yard, not so much. The previous owner had used the front yard as a parking lot that destroyed whatever lawn might have been there and left it looking more like a beach than a lawn.

Brenda Martens: I know you’re going to miss your beach. I think I’m going to look very forward to the boys not dragging all this dirt into the house every time they come home, or their friends come in.

Billy Kavula: Yes. Yes.

Brenda Martens: I’m look so forward to having a little more shape, also, to be honest.

Billy Kavula: Oh, yeah.

Brenda Martens: It’s too beautiful, the neighborhood, to have this kind of front yard.

Danny Lipford: Since Billy and Brenda also needed to supplement the existing narrow drive with some extra parking, we decided to create a paver parking pad that would be both attractive and useful. Our buddy Andy Morton from Pavestone showed up to offer his expertise, so we made some great progress.

In just two days, we were able to dig up the beach out front, lay a solid foundation and put hundreds of individual pavers in place to take the paver parking pad from an idea to a very real attractive addition to Billy and Brenda’s home.

Brenda Martens: I love the look of a paver. I think it’s very welcoming. I think the pavers create a warmth.

Danny Lipford: In the backyard, Billy and Brenda had a good-sized patio, but it was pretty bland.

Brenda Martens: We’re not used to being able to spend the majority of the year being outside and enjoying the weather. We’ve moved from a much colder climate, where you had about four months to eat outside and grill outside, unless you wanted to do it in knee-deep snow.

Danny Lipford: So to add some color and character, we started with the patio itself. Allen and Brenda cleaned it thoroughly and added a terracotta translucent stain, followed by a high-gloss sealer that really brought the tired, old concrete to life.

Brenda Martens: Oh, I couldn’t imagine that it would look that different, and it really did.

Danny Lipford: I think Billy and Brenda are hooked.

Billy Kavula: It’s as exciting as can be.

Danny Lipford: So, to start day three, Andy and Billy are applying a coat of sealer to the pavers.

Billy Kavula: So, Andy, tell me about the product. Is it full strength, or do I cut it?

Andy Morton: Yeah, full strength. You just dump it right in the sprayer and then you just start spraying on back and forth, nice even coats. Try to get a good, even coverage.

Danny Lipford: Tell you what, we’ve got another beautiful day that we’re working with here. Perfect conditions to apply the waterproofer to the face of the pavers that we completed yesterday.

Now, this will really help to repel any of the oil stains, which is part of having a driveway, and just keep it looking better for a lot, lot longer. And we’ll check around back, see how Allen and Brenda’s doing on the start of the latticework. All right, you got the first piece of lattice ready.

Allen Lyle: We do. It’s really to roll on there.

Danny Lipford: And I see your faucet slot here and so forth.

Allen Lyle: Yeah.

Danny Lipford: What do you think? You see how even though the wall doesn’t look bad, you see how this will add just a little bit of dimension, I guess, to it.

Brenda Martens: Right, and I think it will make it warm.

Danny Lipford: Yeah.

Brenda Martens: And I think, with that planting area…

Danny Lipford: Yeah.

Brenda Martens: Do you think I could put some ivy in there, to have it grow up the wood?

Danny Lipford: You know, you actually could. Of course a lot of people use this for, you know, different trellises and that type of thing.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Danny Lipford: So, I think putting it in place, no problem at all. Just have to be patient, and allow it to grow up a little bit. How are you planning on attaching it?

Allen Lyle: Well, it’s almost the exact height here, so once I tuck it in here, I’m going to come with screws going up into the board here that will hold it in place.

Danny Lipford: That’s great. Here, let me give you guys a hand here. This lattice from yellow wood is made from pressure-treated pine to stand up to the weather, and termites won’t eat it so it will last a long, long time. Plus, it has the character and warmth of real wood that will be needed to bring this patio to life.

Allen Lyle: All right, what do you think?

Brenda Martens: I think it looks great. -It’s exactly what we thought, adding a little warmth to the area.

Allen Lyle: Just a little bit, yeah. Little dimension there.

Brenda Martens: We’ll get some Ivies growing up there to look really nice.

Allen Lyle: You could mix some jasmine, even.

Danny Lipford: Back in the front yard, Billy and Andy are making great progress on sealing the drive. This high-gloss sealer will not only protect the surface, it leaves it with a bit of a wet look that shows off the texture and character [1 of each individual paver.

While we continue trying to keep the dirt out of Brenda’s house, Joe has a solution for cleaning out a different kind of mess.

Joe Truini: My friend Blackie here is a sweetie pie, but she tends to leave black fur all over the rug. In this case I even vacuumed the rug, but you still can’t get up all the fur, because it gets stuck down in the fibers.

So I found one way to get up the fibers is with a squeegee. This is just a common window squeegee that I attached to an old mop handle. And it has a sponge on one side, but the other side, it has a really firm, rigid rubber squeegee.

And I found that if you rake that across the carpet—excuse me there, Blackie. You can see after just a few strokes—look at that, little pieces of Blackie coming up here—there you go.

And what you can do is, and it goes pretty quickly. You can get squeegees wider than this, this is only eight inches wide. You can get a wider one if you have a larger room. And you see it just pulls the fur right out of the deep fibers of the carpet.

Once they’re pulled up, once you get them all raked up like that, you just lift them up and toss them out or maybe then come back with a vacuum and get the rest.

Danny Lipford: Our yard makeover for Billy and Brenda is really starting to take shape. Now Allen and Brenda are going to take it a bit further.

Allen Lyle: All right, we have the space. Now we’re going to create the room.

Brenda Martens: That’s exciting.

Allen Lyle: With furniture.

Brenda Martens: Okay. What do you have in mind?

Allen Lyle: Sound good? -Okay, I mentioned maybe some tables and chairs, right?

Brenda Martens: Right.

Allen Lyle: All right, I’ve got some plans here from YellaWood. This is from buildyella.com. It’s an Adirondack table. Do you like the table?

Brenda Martens: I do. I do.

Allen Lyle: I’m glad you do, because I’ve actually already built four Adirondack chairs.

Brenda Martens: Oh, good. I think everyone loves Adirondack chairs.

Allen Lyle: So what we’ll do, we’ll follow some plans. I mean, it’s really easy. It’s got a full cut list.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Allen Lyle: Everything that we need. Exploded view. We will make a few cuts of lumber.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Allen Lyle: And then we’ll start putting this together.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Danny Lipford: The great thing about these YellaWood plans is that they’re very helpful for do-it-yourselfers of all skill levels.

Allen Lyle: Perfect.

Danny Lipford: You don’t have to be a hardcore wood worker to understand them. The instructions are clear.

Brenda Martens: Three quarter by three, by 24 inches.

Allen Lyle: By 24.

Danny Lipford: They require fairly basic tools, and soon they’ll even include step by step videos hosted by handsome and talented TV hosts you may be familiar with.

Allen Lyle: All right.

Brenda Martens: There we go.

Allen Lyle: Got a problem here, Brenda.

Brenda Martens: Well, here, let me hold that.

Allen Lyle: Okay, let’s do that one more time.

Danny Lipford: Andy and I are getting started on another addition for the patio. A fire pit. All right, Andy, what do you think?

Andy Morton: Well, looks like—right here in the center of the patio—we’ve already got a grid line lined out here with the marks in the concrete. We’ll start right here in the front, right off the front side. The minis right there, the little guys. You can kind of see there on the directions. Go ahead and grab me another one if you would.

Danny Lipford: Okay.

Andy Morton: You can kind of see that’s the center. So we’ll center that right up on the line here. And then we’re going to do a large.

Danny Lipford: Okay.

Andy Morton: And then we’ll do the medium, the square one there. It goes right on the corner. You put that right in there.

Danny Lipford: Okay. So I heard you say yesterday, 30 minutes or less.

Andy Morton: Yeah.

Danny Lipford: Well, I can see this is it, though, huh?

Andy Morton: Yeah, all there is to it. Real simple process. This is the RumbleStone system. It’s a three-piece system here. And the little guys are the minis. We’ve got the largest, and then the big square ones are called the mediums.

One more large there and we’ll have the first course finished out.

Danny Lipford: And then you stack right on top or overlap?

Andy Morton: We go right on top, and then the seams will overlap each other which is basically why. We stand up the next course vertically.

Danny Lipford: This is actually so easy, Allen could even do it.

Andy Morton: So easy even a caveman could do it.

Danny Lipford: Yeah. Yeah.

Billy Kavula: Gentlemen, what have you done to my patio?

Danny Lipford: Uh-oh. Here comes the boss now.

Billy Kavula: Not that I’m complaining.

Danny Lipford: Check it out.

Billy Kavula: Unbelievable.

Andy Morton: And then you’re going to have another large following that up.

Danny Lipford: So that’s… Okay.

Billy Kavula: How long did this take, guys?

Danny Lipford: Well, we’re into about 20 minutes right now, is all.

Billy Kavula: That’s all?

Danny Lipford: I mean, yeah.

Billy Kavula: Yeah, and it lined up on the cross here. It looks very nice. I got the hands of a pianist, not of a laborer. I’m sorry.

Andy Morton: We’ll let you get the capstone here.

Danny Lipford: You get the last one. There you are. Man, that is just perfect.

Billy Kavula: Wow!

Danny Lipford: There’s the metal insert now.

Andy Morton: Exactly. We got a little assembly to do. Bolt that together, and then we’ll be ready to build a fire.

Danny Lipford: It looks like Brenda and Allen are making some progress over there. You nervous about Brenda using that miter saw over here?

Billy Kavula: We’ll be counting her fingers in about an hour.

Danny Lipford: She looks pretty fearless over there. Watch your fingers. How about that? Unbelievable. So, 22 minutes.

Andy Morton: Right on the nose.

Danny Lipford: Man, that is great! I mean, you can’t hardly mess up on that. That is fantastic. I like that a lot.

Andy’s work here is done, but before he leaves, he stops to check on the driveway one last time.

Andy, I’ll tell you, it always amazes me just putting that sealer on and how much color and character really comes out in the stone.

Andy Morton: That’s for sure, yeah. It just really kind of caps it off. Plus, it’s going to protect and help those stones last a little longer, too.

Danny Lipford: Yeah, that’s fantastic. Well man, thanks so much for all the help and everything, you and Pavestone helping us with all of this and the fire pit out back.

I can’t wait to drop back by with Billy and Brenda and sit around the fire a little bit. You got a great job. Now, how about hanging around with some sod work? We’ve got three pallets of sod coming in. What do you think?

Andy Morton: You know, I got to catch a plane.

Danny Lipford: Oh, of course.

Andy Morton: I’m going to have to head out.

Danny Lipford: Okay. Well, we’ll let you off the hook. All right. While Andy’s catching that plane and we’re getting ready for sod, why don’t you catch this Best New Product with Jodi?

Jodi Marks: Well, as you can see, there are a lot of options when it comes to pressure washers; but take a look at this one right here. This one is by Ryobi, and I like a lot of things about this, actually.

Look at the power that you get with this particular one. So if you’ve got a lot of cleaning to do, 3,100 PSI will tackle those projects. It also has a Honda engine.

But I think what I like best is this right here. Look on the end of the wand here. You know, usually on a typical pressure washer, you have to stop the pressure washer and change out the nozzles here—the different options for the different powers. With this one all you got to do is turn it to get the degree of the pattern that you want. So it’s all right there at your fingertips.

Another thing that this offers is that when you release the handle, it automatically powers down to 90 PSI. And what that does is, it actually does a couple of things. It saves energy, so it makes it more energy efficient. But it also allows you to turn that nozzle to get a different spray pattern without having all of that force. And then of course, it’s ready to go when you’re ready to pull that trigger again.

Danny Lipford: The pieces of our yard makeover for Billy and Brenda are all coming into place. The paver-parking pad is done, the patio stain, lattice and fire pit are done in the back. And now it’s time to get these folks a lawn. And that involves a lot of pieces. Pieces of sod, that is.

You know, I don’t know what it is about laying sod that is so satisfying. I mean, look, we’ve just got this dusty old yard right now, but within about an hour, we’re all going to gang up on it, we’ll lay the sod, and Brenda and Billy will have a brand new yard.

The sod we’re using here is called St. Augustine. It’s a warm season grass. It’s very common in most areas of the south with sandy soil. However, the harsh winter this year has kept this stuff dormant a little longer than usual. So, it’s more brown than green right now.

But with a few warm days and regular watering, it will soon turn emerald green. Don’t you love this stuff?

Allen Lyle: I love the instant gratification of it.

Danny Lipford: Drop and flop.

Allen Lyle: Just drop and fluff. All right. Here you go. Boom. Boom. Get that rake moving.

Danny Lipford: Okay. I need some more. I need some more.

Allen Lyle: I imagine just seeing something like this, Danny, reminds you of, in the mornings, when you had to put your hair on.

Danny Lipford: Oh, I’m not worried about that. All right, Billy, we’ve got a pattern going here, just so we don’t want to overlap.

You don’t want to line ’em up, so we’ll just start and anywhere you want to go, just start from one end and just throw it on the ground, and I’ll use a rake to kind of position it.

Billy Kavula: Okay, so tell me about care for this stuff.

Danny Lipford: You’re doing just right. Well, water, water, water. I mean, one thing about it, you’ve got some great soil here. It’s just, you know, a little sandy, so you’re going to have plenty of good drainage and all.

And I’d let it grow for a couple of weeks or more before you cut it. Let it get a little tall. And then just cut that top third off of it. And this is St. Augustine’s, so it’s good in the shady areas like this.

Billy Kavula: Okay.

Danny Lipford: Speaking of shady areas, shady character right over here.

Billy Kavula: No comment. He’s been good to me all week.

Allen Lyle: Danny Lipford, laying sod. Billy.

Billy Kavula: Yes, sir.

Allen Lyle: Danny Lipford laying sod. You know, just throw and go. Throw and go.

Danny Lipford: Throw and go.

Allen Lyle: Throw and go.

Danny Lipford: Well, look what I’ve done here. Created that instant yard, didn’t I? Give me my prop back. Well, look here, Billy. We’ve got a little extra help here. How about that?

Billy Kavula: We’ll take it.

Danny Lipford: Oh, look here. We got extra gloves. How about that?

Brenda Martens: How convenient!

Danny Lipford: There you go. That’s perfect.

Brenda Martens: So, isn’t this going to be great?

Billy Kavula: Unbelievable.

Brenda Martens: It’s going to look really nice. I’m thinking you will fill in those blanks right there.

Billy Kavula: No, Allen will.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Danny Lipford: Allen, got a few holes over here.

Allen Lyle: All right.

Billy Kavula: He’s the true artiste. I’m a throw and go kind of guy, Danny told me.

Danny Lipford: Eventually, we have the whole front yard covered with sod. No more beach, just our great new driveway and a lawn, so, we have grass now.

Billy Kavula: We do.

Danny Lipford: And we thought you would need a brand new lawnmower.

Brenda Martens: Oh.

Danny Lipford: Our friends at Lawn-Boy have just developed this whole new line of lawnmowers, and it really is interesting. First of all, you see this.

This model has an electric start, so there’s no need to yank on a pull cord to get it going. The idea is to make the user’s job easier, with features like a two-point height of cut adjustment, a rear wheel drive self-propelled system and a larger bag that holds more so you empty it less often.

When our friends at Lawn-Boy heard that we were putting some sod out, they wanted to make sure you guys had one of these.

Brenda Martens: That is sweet.

Billy Kavula: That is so great. We actually left ours back up north, because we didn’t think we would need a lawnmower.

Danny Lipford: Is that right? Well here you go now.

Billy Kavula: An unbelievable surprise. Thank you so much.

Danny Lipford: Excellent. So our work in the front is done, but the new paver parking pad really makes the old asphalt drive look even worse. So Billy has hired a paving contractor to resurface it.

That’s not exactly a do-it-yourself project anyway, but it sure is a great improvement. Back on the patio, however, there are a few more details for us to wrap up.

All right, Billy, I got some sand for us to pour down in here, so that you can be able to build a fire. Allen, if you want to take Brenda your worthy helper and start positioning that furniture up there, I think we’re ready.

Allen Lyle: Well, since we built it, I think we should.

Brenda Martens: We built it.

Danny Lipford: Exactly, that’s what we thought. This sand will protect the patio from the heat of the fire, so if Billy and Brenda decide to reposition the fire pit later, all that’ll be necessary is a little sweeping. You don’t have any cats, do you?

Billy Kavula: No.

Danny Lipford: A cat might find this little sand box interesting.

Brenda Martens: Let’s move it that way.

Allen Lyle: Okay.

Brenda Martens: There we go. How about that? And then turn it at the same angle.

Allen Lyle: Oh, that’s where you’re going.

Brenda Martens: Okay.

Billy Kavula: You guys know I like to put my feet up, so how are they going to reach from there?

Danny Lipford: Yeah.

Billy Kavula: I’m pretty short.

Allen Lyle: Do you realize, you know you’ve got a cooking surface on the fire pit? You don’t need that anymore.

Danny Lipford: I know it. I know it. This has become obsolete. We need some color.

Allen Lyle: Okay.

Danny Lipford: You know, some plants. And firewood.

Brenda Martens: I know you like your symmetrical.

Danny Lipford: We’re just a bunch of guys. You better start talking where to put these things.

Brenda Martens: How you doing with the firewood there?

Allen Lyle: It’s kind of like a hot dog roast on the beach with all the sand here, I like it.

Brenda Martens: I know. Or some s’more.

Allen Lyle: Yeah. Ooh, s’more sounds good.

Brenda Martens: I know. Hey, dessert’s on at 6:00.

Danny Lipford: Beverly asks, “What do you think would be the most economical way to water my flower beds?”

When you’re looking to save money on watering your flower beds, the thing you need to do is make sure you get that water right where it’s needed—right around the roots—and reduce the amount of evaporation.

You can do that by using a soaker hose. Soaker hose is very inexpensive type of hose that basically allows water just to seep right out on all parts of the hose. That way, you can weave it in and around the plants, even bury it under the mulch if you want. So that that water can go straight to the roots; and, again, reducing the amount of evaporation.

Another way of doing this is through drip irrigation that you can hook to a regular hose, or you can integrate it into your existing irrigation system. They even have a lot of do-it-yourself kits that make it very easy to handle all of that work yourself.

Either way, the plants will love it. And if you really want to save some more, make sure you have plenty of mulch to retain that moisture.

Danny Lipford: Before we started this project, Billy and Brenda’s front yard was a dust bowl, or “the beach,” as they like to call it. No grass, and no real curb appeal, aside from the house itself.

It needed more parking possibilities and a more welcoming atmosphere. We created both, with the addition of this beautiful paver parking pad. The pad adds plenty of warmth and character to the landscape, and it transitions nicely into an inviting walkway to the front door.

Adding the lawn and resurfacing the existing drive just completed the picture. But the icing on the cake is this garden bench made with plans from buildyella.com. Now Brenda has the relaxing spot she wanted to enjoy her neighborhood.

The back patio was in a lot better shape, but still pretty bland. A coat of stain on it started bringing the area to life, and the natural wood lattice began to give it some personality.

Finally, the fire pit and the Adirondack chairs made it feel like the most comfortable room in the house, and possibly the most popular one.

Brenda Martens: Oh, I see you have the fire started already.

Danny Lipford: Oh, yeah.

Allen Lyle: We’d found just enough twigs and branches to get you started first time.

Danny Lipford: For the first fire, but after that, it’s all Billy.

Brenda Martens: Okay. Well, here’s some refreshments.

Allen Lyle: Oh, thank you.

Danny Lipford: Excellent.

Brenda Martens: Everyone has worked so hard.

Danny Lipford: Looks great. Thank you.

Billy Kavula: Thank you.

Danny Lipford: Now, you know, after the coals die down here, it could be perfect for cooking those steaks or hotdogs, or whatever you want out here.

Brenda Martens: Oh, I need some s’mores for Allen.

Danny Lipford: S’mores for Allen. There you go.

Hey, I hope you enjoyed this week’s show. And seeing how you can do some simple things around the outside of your house, it can make a big, big improvement.

We certainly had a lot of fun putting everything together for the Martens here, and I hope that we’ve been able to give you a little inspiration and maybe a few ideas that you can use around your own house.

I’m Danny Lipford. Thanks for being with us here on Today’s Homeowner. We’ll see you next week.

Allen Lyle: I think I could just camp here.

Danny Lipford: Allen and I have known each other for a long time.

Billy Kavula: Oh, yeah?

Danny Lipford: Still don’t like him, but it’s just I’ve known him for a long time.


Further Information

Editorial Contributors
avatar for Danny Lipford

Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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