Green Acres Landscaping Resource Center
Articles and Tips
Landscaping
Walls, Patios and Terraces
- Consider a Flagstone Patio for Your Falls Church VA Home
- Turn Your Patio Into a Winter Wonderland
- Enjoy Northern Virginia Evenings On Your Patio With a Fire Pit
- Creating More Storage Space On Your Northern Virginia (Northern VA) Patio
- Make The Most Of Your Northern Virginia Patio With The Right Patio Furniture
- Winterize Your Northern Virginia Flagstone Patio To Ensure Longevity
- Choosing a Location For A Fieldstone Patio at Your Northern Virginia Home
- Choosing the Right Type of Patio for your Arlington VA Home
- Choosing a Flagstone Patio for your Arlington VA Home
- Easily Repair Your Northern Virginia Brick Patio
- Timber Retaining Walls a Great Option for Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- Interlocking Brick Pavers a Great Material for Your Northern Virginia Patio
- Stamped Concrete Patio Benefits for Your Northern Virginia Home
- Brick Pavers Offer Durable Elegance to Your Patio
- Create a Cozy Garden Terrace at Home
- Concrete: The New Versatile Landscaping Material
- Tips For A Great Retaining Wall
Picture Gallery
Water Features and Drainage
- Benefits of a Soaker Watering System Your Landscape
- How to Plan A Drainage System for Your Landscape
- Get Your Northern Virginia Landscape Ready For A Fountain
- Choosing A Water Fountain For Your Northern Virginia Garden
- How to Protect Your Northern Virginia Irrigation System During the Winter
- Types of Outdoor Fountains for Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- Illuminate Your Northern Virginia Water Feature for Maximum Effect
- Caring for Your Northern Virginia Koi Pond
- Common Pond Plants for Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- Landscape Catch Basins — a Drainage Solution for Your Northern Virginia Yard
- Pondless Waterfalls a Low Maintenance Option for Beautiful Waterscapes
- Fountain Maintenance and Care
- Dry Creek Beds Provide Beauty and Remedy Drainage Problems for Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- Going Beyond a Filter: How to Thoroughly Clean Your Garden Pond
Picture Gallery
Driveways and Walkways
- Don't Forget to Consider Concrete for Improved Curb Appeal
- Customize Your Walkway to Reflect Your Northern Virginia Style
- How to Get Started with Driveway Design and Construction
- Creating the Right Walkway For Your Mount Vernon, VA Home Begins with the Right Material
- Enhance The Curb Appeal Of Your Ashburn, VA Home With A Driveway Design
- The Ins and Outs of Driveway Resurfacing in Northern Virginia
- Purchasing and Protecting the Concrete At Your Northern Virginia Home
- Pitfalls of Using Rock Salt on Your Northern Virginia Concrete Driveway
- Flagstone: a Perfect Material for Your Northern Virginia Walkway
- Choosing the Perfect Driveway Material to Fit Your Northern Virginia Landscape — and Budget
- Tending To Your Damaged Driveway: Repair Tips
- Walkways: Your First Landscaping Project for Your Northern Virginia Home
Landscape Design Considerations
Picture Gallery
Lighting and Art
- Use Garden Art to Liven Up Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- Outdoor Lighting Types for Your Northern Virginia Home
- Illuminate Your Northern Virginia Water Feature for Maximum Effect
- Outdoor Solar Lighting Highlights Your Northern Virginia Landscape without Increasing Your Electrical Bill
- Looking to Illuminate Your Northern Virginia Landscape?
- Incorporating Garden Art Into Your Northern Virginia Landscape
Specialty Gardens
Design and Ideas
- How to Create a Backyard That Supports Wildlife
- Create A Natural Oasis in Your Northern Virginia Backyard
- Conquer Difficult Areas in Your Yard with a Shade Garden
- Tips on Starting Your Northern Virginia Vegetable Garden
- Add a Personal Touch to Your Northern Virginia Landscape with a Theme Garden
- Designing a Children's Garden for Maximum Fun and Outdoor Play
Caring for Greenery
Seasonal Activities
- How to Winterize Your Landscape
- Fall Gardening Projects for Northern Virginia Home
- Spring Landscaping To Get Your Northern Virginia Lawn And Garden Ready
- Northern Virginia Winter Gardening
- The Advantages of Fall Planting
Design and Planting Ideas
- Seasonal Flowering Bushes and Shrubs for Summer
- How to Achieve a Professional Landscape Design
- Consider Indoor Garden To Continue Your Northern Virginia Landscaping Throughout Your Home
- Dwarf Trees For Your Northern Virginia Landscape?
- Annual and Perennial Flowers: What Can They Add to Your Northern Virginia Landscape?
- How to Create a Fern Garden for Your Northern Virginia Landscape
- How to Landscape Vibrant, Successful Northern Virginia Butterfly Gardens
- Try Your Hand at Growing Roses
- How to Create a Beautiful Northern Virginia Herb Garden
- Create A Backyard Oasis
- Using Northern Virginia Landscaping to Shade Your Home
Picture Gallery
General Maintenance
- Sprinklers To Keep Your Northern Virginia Landscape Looking Healthy
- Protecting Your Northern Virginia Garden From Pests Naturally
- Should You Fertilize Your Ornamental Trees and Ornamental Shrubs?
- Spring Cleaning for Your Oakton, Newington, or Herndon Landscape
- Ergonomic Garden Tools Offer Ease of Use for All Gardeners
- Fall Landscaping Prep
- How to Keep Your Yard Healthy and Happy All Summer
- Using Vinegar As Natural Weed Killer
- Making Your Northern Virginia Lawn More Green
- How to Water Your Lawn
- A Quick Look at Garden Tools
Useful Links
Associations & Community
Better Business Bureau
dc-easternpa.bbb.org
Mount Olivet Methodist Church
www.mtolivet-umc.org
Arlington VA
Arlington Youth Football League
aflva.com
Arlington, VA
Contractors & Suppliers
Deck Doctor LLC
www.novadeckdoctor.com
Chantilly, VA
Rock, Stone & Sand Yard, Inc.
www.rssy.com
Lorton, VA
Carter Fence
www.carterfence.net
Dunn Loring, VA
Mickey Simpson Architects & Builders
www.mickeysimpson.com
K Hovnanian Homes
www.khov.com
Traditions Homes
www.builtbytradition.com
Arlington VA
Real Estate
Washington DC Realtor —www.buckmanrealtor.com
Michelle Buckman has been Washington DC area resident for over 25 years and is licensed as both a Maryland Realtor and Washington DC Realtor. If you're looking to sell or purchase a home we recommend you give her a call, she's very familiar with Maryland suburban communities including Chevy Chase MD, Silver Spring, MD, Takoma Park, Maryland and Northwest Washington, DC.
Inside — HVAC, Plumbing
Harvey W. Hottel
Inside — Mold Remediation and Asbestos Removal
RTS Environmental Services
Victory Mold Remediation
Purchasing and Protecting the Concrete At Your Northern Virginia Home
To ensure your concrete patio, driveway or sidewalk stays looking like new longer, and to improve the longevity of the surface, steps should be taken to ensure your concrete is treated appropriately. Freshly poured concrete is very susceptible to damage and should be treated gently for at least the first 30 days after pouring.
New concrete is highly saturated with water, and the water in it can freeze when the temperature drops. For this reason alone, concrete should not be poured in the late-Fall in climates such as that of Northern Virginia. While concrete that has been allowed to properly dry is perfectly suitable for winter conditions, proper materials and installation techniques must be used.
For the best results from concrete, request your contractor uses only concrete with a minimum compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch. This not only provides a stronger surface, it also helps protect the material from salt damage in the winter. Here’s why.
Concrete is a porous material, which absorbs liquids rather quickly. When salt, commonly referred to as rock salt, is used to melt snow and ice on concrete, the salt melts and is absorbed by the concrete as well. When the water/salt mixture enters the pores of the concrete it becomes a mush-like substance. As the temperature drops, the mixture freezes, expands and can break the concrete apart creating cracks and spalling. When concrete with a minimum compressive strength of 4,000 pounds is used, the material is compressed tighter, allowing it to repel more water than is absorbed. This reduces the likelihood of salt damage.
To avoid salt damage to your concrete consider using an alternative to salt such as sand. Sand obviously will not melt ice or snow, but instead provides traction for driving and walking while not harming your concrete or surrounding landscape.
Contact the professionals at Green Acres Landscaping and Masonry for more information on concrete care and protection. Serving all of the Northern Virginia metro area including the communities of Centreville, VA, Ft. Belvoir, VA, Leesburg, VA and Reston, VA since 1992, we pride ourselves in the installation of distinctive landscapes, irrigation systems, low voltage lighting, drainage systems, natural stone designs, concrete patios, walkways and outdoor kitchen areas.
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Driveways and Walkways
- Don't Forget to Consider Concrete for Improved Curb Appeal
- Customize Your Walkway to Reflect Your Northern Virginia Style
- How to Get Started with Driveway Design and Construction
- Creating the Right Walkway For Your Mount Vernon, VA Home Begins with the Right Material
- Enhance The Curb Appeal Of Your Ashburn, VA Home With A Driveway Design
- The Ins and Outs of Driveway Resurfacing in Northern Virginia
- Purchasing and Protecting the Concrete At Your Northern Virginia Home
- Pitfalls of Using Rock Salt on Your Northern Virginia Concrete Driveway
- Flagstone: a Perfect Material for Your Northern Virginia Walkway
- Choosing the Perfect Driveway Material to Fit Your Northern Virginia Landscape — and Budget
- Tending To Your Damaged Driveway: Repair Tips
- Walkways: Your First Landscaping Project for Your Northern Virginia Home
Green Acres Landscaping is a full service landscape design company, serving both residential and commercial clients in the Northern Virginia area since 1992. Our experienced team is ready to help you with any landscaping project, large or small.