patios
It's time to get the absolute most out of your home. The best way to do this is to transform your yard into a usable living space for personal time to relax or an exciting place to entertain. A patio, fire feature, pergola or outdoor kitchen can soon become the focal point of your entire home. Making improvements like these are a big decision and need to be handled professionally, the first step in the right direction is to contact Ecovalley. We listen to what you are looking for as far as entertaining needs, cooking expectations and most of all – budget. We then will design a plan or use one of your own to make the area that will work perfectly for your outdoor needs. We use only high-quality, American made hardscape materials. Never big box store blocks or pavers. Much like a great recipe, if you start with sub-par ingredients you will get a disappointing result from the one you had planned for. We don't cut corners on the purchasing of materials and that consistent attention to detail carries throughout all of our work to the very end of the job.
patios & walkways
patios & walkways
patios & walkways
Pavers are a perfect way to enhance any outdoor area. With the variety of sizes, styles, and colors pavers come in, there are near limitless design options to find something perfect for you. Pavers have a surface texture that offers a great look while also being slip-resistant. Pavers, unlike asphalt and concrete, will not develop cracks over time. If repair of a chipped or stained paver is needed, simply pop it out and replace it with a new one. Maintenance is limited to periodic cleanings of the surface and refilling the joints with sand or joint material. Pavers are a popular material used in many hardscape projects for their diversity and durability.
Stamped concrete can be a decorative option to standard grey concrete to enhance any outdoor area. Stamped concrete is concrete that is patterned or textured to resemble brick, slate, flagstone, tile, wood and various other natural and man-made materials. Stamped concrete does have limits when it comes to colors and design options, however, there are still plenty of possibilities to find a design right for you. The ability of stamped concrete to resemble other building materials makes it a less expensive alternative to using the authentic material. Stamped concrete, like all concrete in Wisconsin, is vulnerable to develop cracks or chips over time. With integral color and proper expansion joints or a natural stone pattern, cracks are much less likely to form or appear. Maintenance is limited to periodic cleanings of the surface and reapplying a protective sealant to protect the surface from water, fading, and stains. Stamped concrete is a great option for many hardscape projects when pavers aren't an option, but you want something more than a concrete slab.
patio elements
As arbitrary as it may seem if designed properly a step can be an intricate part of a patio design. The steps are the invitation to your outdoor living area from indoors and set the stage for the entire patio, their importance should not be overlooked. The funneled foot traffic through the door makes the steps the most used part of the entire patio. Planters, railings, and other built-in features can make your steps stand out as a design feature and not just a means to get through the door.
Seat walls are a perfect design element that has many functions as well as being a great visual statement for your outdoor living area. Seat walls act as a perfect transition between the patio and the surrounding landscape beds or lawn. The height of a wall brings a different aspect to the patio design while providing a perfect area to stop and take a quick seat. A more high end and complex option for a standard seat wall are having a solid bench seat wall installed.
A fire feature will very quickly become the most popular part of the entire home. That fire feature might be a simple fire pit with a cooking grate or a full-scale outdoor fireplace complete with hearth, mantle and wood boxes. With either option, nothing quite relaxes like the sight, smell and sound of a fire. There is no better place to enjoy that fire than in your backyard with your family on a crisp summer night. From roasting marshmallows with kids around the fire pit or enjoying a glass of wine with friends in front of the fireplace, fire features are a patio element your whole family will love.
Having a designated grilling area on your patio can be the element that makes the difference in you getting the full potential out of your outdoor living area. From full outdoor kitchens with built-in grills, smokers, refrigerators, sinks and many other features to custom-built grill inserts to accommodate your existing grill, there are many options to enhance your grilling experience. Grilling is the primary purpose of most residential patios, a grilling area designed to your specific needs will maximize your patios functionality to your home.
Pergolas are a great addition to any outdoor living area. A pergola is typically a wood or vinyl outdoor structure consisting of columns that support a roofing grid of beams and rafters. This roofing grid may be left open or covered so as to create an area sheltered from the elements. Pergolas are often attached to house so that they form an outdoor living space that essentially serves as an extension of a home's indoor rooms, although they also can be freestanding. A pergola is a unique design element that defines the spaces of a patio while providing you with a touch of shade.
