Susan first visited Stone Garden in 2018 with the idea of creating a small outdoor seating area for herself and her little dog, Beau. She selected our Palm Island pavers, a light cream and peach combo, to make her yard pop. (Photos by Renee Sauer)
Over the next two years, Susan's project grew to include hardscaping throughout her front, back and side yards. Everything looked beautiful ... until this summer's record rainfall when the Mildew Monster turned up!
Susan's dream of a low-maintenance property was dampened by the mold and mildew problems currently plaguing the Cape Fear region. Luckily, we can help! We'll share some solutions for cleaning and sealing pavers, but first Beau will take you on a tour.
Susan wanted a combination of concrete pavers, brick walls and intricate ironwork. We referred her to Mike Edmondson of Millennium Masonryand Frank Campese of Atlantic Iron..
Says Susan: Mike was amazing with helping design this, as was Frank … the three of us created this completely. We changed our minds many times, but now that the final product is done, there isn’t a thing I would have changed.
As much as I love the patio, I really love the sidewalk going through the gate to the deck.
Nina and I nailed it when we picked Palm Island for the pavers, and all the same size rectangles.
In contrast, the back patio design uses a Herringbone pattern and includes a built-in grill and tiered fountain Susan selected with help from Chelsea, our garden art specialist.
Susan decided to continue the pavers to her front entrance. We will use this pathway to demonstrate how to beat the Mildew Monster.
Traditional pressure washing with a light bleach solution can help remove mildew but it can also be rough on joints between the pavers and damage surrounding plants. An alternative is to follow the easy steps below with the SRW Paver Wash introduced to us by Courtney, who joined our team in February.
Step 1: Wet pavers thoroughly.
Step 2: Pour non-diluted SRW Paver Wash into a garden sprayer.
Step 3: Scrub pavers and joints with brush.
Step 4: Rinse well. Let dry overnight. For any stubborn green spots, use SRW Mildew Cleaner.
Step 5: Freshen up polymeric joints if desired. Susan used our Ivory Gator Maxx.
Step 6: Reduce future mildew penetration by spraying on SRW Sealer and covering the surface with a solvent-resistant or foam roller.
Susan selected the SRW low gloss sealer to provide a little color enhancement and sheen. No gloss and high gloss sealers are also available.
The cleaning and sealing products, which we stock, have successfully eaten the Mildew Monster. Susan is thrilled with the result and is now ready to tackle the other pathways and back patio by herself (with sidekick Beau).
Beau approves of a job well done and now pardons himself to use his own special "rest" area hidden behind the grill.
As I tell my friends, I built Beau a dog park. A very expensive dog park. LOL.
Beau says thanks for visiting.
See you next time!
We hope you enjoyed this tour.
If you need to tackle the Mildew Monster, we can help.
Visit Stone Garden's website at www.stonegarden-nc.com to see more great ideas for patios, pathways, pools, and fire features or give us a call at 910-452-1619.
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