When you look at your backyard, what do you see? Do you gaze upon weedy grass and an aging deck and imagine that you have a gorgeous hardscaped patio, pergola, fire pit or barbecue, a la Clark Griswold peering out his kitchen window in Christmas Vacation? Or do you look out to find the patio you’ve always wanted, finished to your exact specifications?
If you count yourself among the former, what’s stopping you? According to Donnie Powell of Finer Lawn and Landscaping, the patio of your dreams is just a phone call away.
Why Hardscapes?
Donnie started his business 17 years ago like many young landscaping entrepreneurs: with a push mower, a trailer and a pickup truck full of tools. At first, he and his team spent the majority of their time on general maintenance. Then they started getting requests for smaller building projects, which eventually morphed into the larger, full-scale hardscapes Finer Lawn is known for today.
“We not only learned how to build any and all hardscapes, [but] we perfected it and discovered ways to make them better, longer-lasting and with little maintenance.” –Donnie Powell
Donnie also believes his business’ reputation for hardscape work is due in part to their process. Instead of installing a patio on a gravel-sand base only, they also pour a concrete base under the pavers. This cuts down on maintenance and ensures the client won’t have to worry about any major settling, he says.
Finer Lawn also sets itself apart by doing everything in-house. All employees are certified hardscape installers through Reading Rock, their building materials provider. (Finer Lawn is also Reading Rock’s most recommended company to residential homeowners for any size project.)
The Popularity of the Patio
Ironically, Donnie says his patio work really took off when the economy took a downturn around 2008. He reasoned that people wanted to spend less money on trips and goods, and more on improving their own living spaces. Since then, the desire for patios and other hardscape features has not waned.
Since personal preferences differ, no two jobs are the same—that’s what Donnie enjoys most about his line of work.
“There is something different every day, a new project, a new customer,” Donnie says. “That’s one of my favorite parts—I love to work with the customer [and get to] know their story.”
Customer Tony Sottile agrees.
“Donnie and his team make the whole process easy! We enjoyed taking our vision of what we wanted to him and having him and his team make it happen,” he says.
From Idea to Installation
To turn your backyard dreams into reality, all you need is an idea and the space (and a budget, of course). Finer Lawn can work from a photo you have, or discuss your vision with you then map out an installation plan. They have a variety of catalogs from which to choose colors, materials and sample designs to help you better picture the final product.
If you don’t have a huge budget to spend right now, the good news is you can start small and add on to your patio any time—Finer Lawn will make sure everything will flow together and match.
So what’s holding you back from the patio of your dreams?
Finer Lawn & Landscaping
513.260.6466, FinerLawn.com
