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Learn More About Patio Placement and Layout
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For the best and most functional design for your concrete patio, you need to take a holistic approach, considering everything from
exposure to sun, shade, and wind to accommodating all your backyard activities, such as entertaining, cooking, or sunbathing. Scott Cohen of The Green Scene walks you through the planning process and recommends simple patio design tools even novices can use.
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Greetings!
 We all want to do our part in being more environmentally responsible, but sometimes it's hard to know where to begin. Why not start in your own backyard? The "green" attributes of concrete, such as resource efficiency and longevity, make it one of the most sustainable and cost-effective landscaping materials you can use. Here are a few strategies for incorporating concrete into your landscape in an eco-friendly manner while saving money and making your outdoor living area more inviting.
Jim Peterson,
The Concrete Network
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Start with a Concrete Patio
Concrete is made locally and only in the quantities needed for each project, making it one of the most resource-efficient materials you can
use to build your backyard patios, sidewalks and pool decks. (See What Makes Concrete a Sustainable Building Material?)
What's more, installing a concrete patio rather than a wood deck saves trees and eliminates the need for regular maintenance with toxic solvent-based wood
stains and sealers.
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Use Recycled Materials
Find new uses for materials that would
otherwise be hauled away to a landfill. You can mix all sorts of inexpensive recycled materials into concrete to create unusual artistic effects, including broken or crushed glass, recycled aggregates, crushed seashells, and bits of scrap metal. For example, landscape designer Scott Cohen of The Green Scene often incorporates used bottles into his outdoor concrete countertops.
(See Wine Bottles Light Up Concrete Countertop.) You can
also use broken glass to create colorful mosaic designs in concrete patios and pool decks.
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Plant a 'Living Roof'
Strategic placement of plants and trees in your backyard can save energy costs while adding beauty and structure. For example, placing deciduous
trees on the west or south side of your home will help shade the house from the
heat of the sun. Also consider covering your concrete patio with a
vine-covered pergola. This "living roof" not only provides shade, the plants
can actually help cool the surroundings through transpiration.
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Reuse Your Old Concrete
If you have an
old concrete patio, driveway, or walkway removed, save some money by reusing the concrete rather than paying disposal costs. Many companies process reclaimed concrete into a substitute for crushed stone,
which has a number of valuable uses in the landscape. The crushed bits of concrete can be used
as granular fill, as a base course for a new patio, or as aggregate in new
concrete. (See Recycling Concrete.)
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