Description: An attractive walkway or terrace dramatically improves a home's curb appeal and livability. In many older homes, walkways and terraces need updating or replacement, and new homes are often sold without these enhancements. The projects illustrated in Patios and Walkways, from rustic stone paths to handsome new patios, can be completed within 1-3 days and are explained step-by-step, allowing even first-time masons to achieve professional results. The book helps homeowners select from the wide variety of outdoor materials and tools available at home stores and landscape centers.
Customer Reviews
Review Summary: Aussie review
Date: 2007-08-31
Details: Step by step pictures are easy to follow and informative. This book is set out in a user friendly manner and one of the best of it's type I have read.
Review Summary: caveat emptor
Date: 2005-06-26
Details: The organization is excellent; the presentation of a series of sample projects makes the information very accessible to the novice, while providing some flexibility in how you can use the book. If one of the projects is exactly what you want to do, just read that section and plunge right in. If you don't know what you want to do, or want to do something a little different from what is described, read the entire book and get a good understanding of both basic principles and the variations that are possible. I had nothing bad to say about this book immediately after reading it (several times), but imagine my surprise when, while researching concrete pavers online, I ran across a familiar photograph - from this book - at a paver manufacturer's website. Reading the acknowledgements and copyright info for the book confirmed it - a number of the supplemental photographs are marketing materials provided by manufacturers. No wonder that this book seems to imply that pre-cast concrete pavers are the greatest thing since sliced bread! It seems obvious in retrospect that the book is biased by this manufacturer input. For this reason, if you are hoping to save a lot of money with DIY, this may not be the book for you. It doesn't cover the cheapest patio/walkway options (gravel and concrete), and the emphasis is more on saving money on labor so that you can spend extravagantly on materials. If you already know that gravel and concrete aren't quite right for you, then this might be just the book you need.
out of 2 Reviews
