You wouldn’t think an animated children’s TV show that centers around two young kids and their pet platypus who is also a secret double agent would work its way into a landscaping blog, but I’m always game for trying to stretch the limits of commonsense.  So here goes.

If you’re familiar with children’s television programming then you probably figured out that the show I’m referring to is Phineas and Ferb.  If you’re not tuned into kids’shows then I’ll bring you up to speed quickly on the premise of the show.  It’s summer vacation, and our two title characters are twin brothers who are determined to milk their vacation time for every thing its worth.  Each day they wake up and set out to accomplish one great feat.

They build a roller coaster, search for Bigfoot, become one-hit wonders in a rock band, host a talk show, build a replica of the Eiffel Tower – you get the idea.  They are often helped out by their group of school friends while their older jealous teenage sister attempts to get them in trouble for their actions.  All while their pet platypus Perry mysteriously disappears in each episode so he can fight evil as a secret double agent.

It’s a well written intelligent show, the type of kids’ show that is smart enough to keep the parents entertained at the same as the main audience.

In addition to being my kids’ favorite show, I’ve found there are a number of great lessons that can be applied to life, and specifically as far as this blog is concerned, running a contracting business. 

Starting any new project can often be a bit overwhelming, even for a seasoned veteran of the business. There’s demo, prep-work, excavating, lining up materials, measuring, grading, running designs by clients, coordinating schedules and deliveries, managing employees and subs, and a wide range of other tasks depending on the project.

Sometimes its best just to dive in and get started.  Which is where Phineas and Ferb come in.  “I know what we’re going to do today!” is always Phineas’ line when they figure out their task-du-jour.  If we as contractors can figure out that one great thing to do each and every day, focus on that one great thing, and see it through to completion then we’re doing our job. And as those “one great thing”s add up, then the project takes shape.  

Maybe one great thing is as simple as excavating the footprint for a patio.  Or setting a line of fence posts.  Whatever the task, its best to identify just what needs to be done and focus on getting it done.  Just as Phineas and Ferb’s entire summer vacation takes shape as their daily feats add up, so too does a great landscaping project.

It is also important that we as contractors are excited about the projects we undertake. Leonardo Da Vinci once said “when the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.”  That positive attitude is important to the outcome of the project.  And the Phineas and Ferb theme song echoes this thought.  “Today could possibly be the best day ever, and the forecast says that tomorrow is probably gonna be a million and six times better.”  

There’s a fair amount of self-help sites and literature out there that go over the relationship between maintaining a positive outlook and achieving success, so I won’t go into too much detail.  Phineas and Ferb attack each project they undertake with the unbridled excitement that kids feel when they’re having fun.  They’re excited about what they’re doing and enjoy every second of their endeavors.  If we as contractors can replicate that passion and excitement, then our projects are bound to be a success.

And lastly, there is Phineas and Ferb’s network of friends who are always recruited to help out. There’s Isabella, the spunky girl across the street who has access to her Brownie troop to help with publicity and public relations.  And Baljeet, the math whiz who is often recruited to help with computer projects and engineering.  And Buford, the school heavy who provides the muscle behind many of their projects as needed.

The point here is that any good contractor will have a network of associates with various skills and knowledge who are available to help see the project through to its desired completion.  Personally, I am hands-on when it comes to stonework, masonry, hardscaping and carpentry. But I’m not an electrician.  Or a plumber.  Or a painter, a roofer, an HVAC contractor, an asphalt paver, or many other specialty trades that are often part of a comprehensive landscape installation. But I do have an assortment of these specialty contractors at the ready if we need them.  A little help is never a bad thing.

So there you have it. Somehow or other I managed to include my kids’ favorite show into the blog.  Now if I can just find that pet platypus of mine – Has anyone seen Perry?

** Editors Note:  For those of you who are regular readers (I think there might be two or three of you out there), I'll be taking next week off from my blogging duties as I kick back on the beaches of Delaware.  But don't worry.  I'll be back in two weeks for my regularly scheduled next installment.

If you’ve been following the news at all over the past year, you’ve no doubt seen the stories concerning the Marcellus Shale natural gas reserves.  

It’s a complex story that is centered on the debate between the environment and energy sources, personal property rights vs. the public good, the short-term economy vs. our long-term goals, state and local governments vs. the overall national wealth, and a myriad of other topics.  The debate has touched a nerve with people and parties on all sides of the issue.

But one thing you might not be aware of is how this debate affects your hardscaping, specifically stone pricing.

So how do alternative energy sources and stone pricing affect one another? You wouldn't think they would necessarily be related, but if you priced out stone prices as recently as a year or two ago, you may be surprised to know that the current prices are likely much higher.

Here on the east coast, and in many other parts of the US, blue stone and gray stone are probably the most commonly used types of stone for flatwork. Most of these stones come from the northern PA and NY regions of the Appalachians (Think Scranton). Readily available, easily accessible, and plenty of transportation networks available for shipping.

But guess what? Those stones also sit directly atop the Marcellus Shale reserves, and if you've been following the news then you know that these reserves are now being tapped into at incredible rates as an energy source. I won't get into the politics behind it, but PA's governor has opened it up and it's basically the wild west as far as energy harvesting goes. What does this mean (in addition to the devastation of some really wonderful pristine native woodlands and some major water pollution issues) as far as hardscaping goes?

1. Big Oil is buying up any land it can for claims, and this means many of the smaller quarries are selling or remaining inactive and get paid by the oil co's to do so.

2. The larger quarries that aren't selling out are losing a significant portion of their labor force as Big Oil wages are blowing the wage scale out of the water.

Add these two things up and you get a significant shortage of materials and higher pricing on what is available.

I spoke with my supplier, and he was telling me that supply of new materials has slowed down considerably. Materials that have always been the bread of butter of availability are suddenly drying up and prices are climbing steadily. Already about a 10 percent increase over the past year, and he expects more increases and less availability very soon.

I don't know if this will affect everyone across the US, but here on the East Coast it's already the reality. 

I’m not trying to scare people off from that flagstone project you may be considering.  It’s still available, perhaps with a few more delays than in the past, and still affordable compared to other types of stone.  But don’t be surprised if you notice that a project price may be higher than you were expecting, or even more than the same project you priced out a year or two ago.

With the height of summer upon us, we're cranking out the big projects.  Right now we're working on a big dryset flagstone patio project, with some raised terraces, ultimately a fountain, some landscape lighting and a number of other accessories.

And as part of that project, it was necessary to install some steps to transition from the driveway grade to the patio grade, roughly a difference of about 24".  And to accomplish that transition, the client opted to go with some natural blue stone steppers, each measuring 6' w x 6" h x 18"d.

So what are steppers, you may be asking yourself.  Steppers, quite simply, are large solid chunks of stone that each serve as an individual step.  That's right solid chunks of stone each measuring 6' w x 6" h x 18".  Those are big stones.

And yesterday was the day.  Four giant chunks of stone, each weighing approximately 800 lbs. 

And we didn't even need any heavy equipment to move them.  How, you may be asking yourself, does one move 800 pounds of solid stone without equipment?  Well to be honest, "one" doesn't move 800 pounds of stone.  It took four of us, and a time-proven method of rollers, planks, and leverage tools.

Basically we leverage the stones up onto a series of 2" PVC pipes placed upon a series of planks.  Once the stones are in place on the rollers, they actually glide across the planks relatively easily.  As a pipe spits out the back end, we feed another one under the front, and so on and so on until they're in place. 

The hardest part is for the upper steps, when we have to maneuver the stones in place up on top of the lower stones without scratching or scuffing the stones.  Again, PVC pipes to the rescue.  Just to make sure the stones don't scuff one another until they're dropped into place, we place a series of pipes lengthwise across the front edge of the riser of each stone in place.  Then we (sort of) simply scoot the stone up the ramped pipes until it is on top of the steps where it needs to go.  Remove the pipes, and voila, another step is in place.

It's hard not to feel like we're ancient Egyptians building the pyramids, or ancient Incans building Machu Pichu when using such basic techniques.  But it works.  And to be honest, it's quite satisfying when you pull it off.

The pictures above are from our work this week.  Four steps, four guys, one day.  Not too bad.

And this week's work got me to thinking about some other recent projects we've done using steppers.  Not quite as big as the ones we did this week, but beefy pieces of stone nonetheless.  Here's a few more pictures of stepper projects we've done this year.

So I'll post some more pictures of our current project once we wrap things up over there.  Probably a few more weeks still to go until everything is wrapped up.

But in the mean time I wanted to share our step progress with everyone, and show some of the capabilities that solid stone steppers can accomplish.

If you are interested in incorporating steppers into your hardscaping, give me a call or shoot me a line and I'll be happy to show off some more of our work.  One step at a time, of course.

For those of us who work outdoors, summer is typically a welcome time of year.  Longer daylight hours, plenty of work, and usually nice weather in which to work.  But with summer often comes a few heat waves, and right now much of the country is in for a doozy.  Plenty of records being set, excessive heat waves, massive thunderstorms and power outages.

Even my trusty i-phone is feeling the effects.  I went to make a call earlier today at work, and a big yellow exclamation mark appeared on the screen with a brief message -- "Excessive Heat.  Please allow iphone to cool off before using."

Here in the Philadelphia area, we've had consistent temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, and the forecast calls for continued heat through the next few days. Triple digits are even in the forecast for the weekend.

And as much as us outdoorsy types usually welcome the warmer weather, if we fail to take a few basic precautions, that heat can cause some serious health problems.  Even the fittest and most strongest can feel the effects if we're not careful.  Here are five basic precautions to take to avoid falling prey to the heat.

1.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  Make sure to keep up with with water intake.  This doesn't mean waiting until you're thirsty to grab a drink, by that point the body is playing catch-up.  And it most certainly doesn't mean drinking lots of coffee in the morning or drinking too much alcohol the night before.  Avoid drinks with caffeine, sugar, or alcohol, this includes most energy drinks.  The best thing to do is "prime the pump" with plenty of water consumption in the morning, consistently throughout the day, and in the evening before bed.  It sounds cliche, but stay hydrated!

2.  Adjust the hours of strenuous activity, if possible.  Sure, it's our job to work hard during the day, but if we can get a little earlier start, or get the bulk of the heavy work done earlier in the day before the heat peaks, it will help.

3.  Take your time.  My best workers are animals.  Seriously.  They're big strong guys who are athletes and are used to pushing their bodies.  But even the biggest and strongest guys can fall victim to the heat if they're not smart about it.  Take a little breather between wheelbarrow loads or at regular intervals during digging.  If you wait until you're feeling weak or tired, it may be too late.

4.  Dress smart.  The best clothes to wear are loose fitting lightweight clothes that breathe and will keep the direct sunlight off your body.  The tendency is for guys to think that the less clothes they wear the better.  This is false.  Have you ever noticed that workers in the middle east tend to wear loose-fitting robes that cover most of the body, or that Central American workers often wear long sleeves or even long pants?  These guys know what they're doing.  There's a reason workers in the desert regions of the world don't go shirtless.  Keep the body shaded and out of the direct sun.  That doesn't mean wear a sweater or a jacket, but don't let the sun affect your body any more than need be.

5.  Listen to your body. If at any point during the day you're feeling excessively tired, light-headed, nauseous, or experiencing muscle cramps or headaches, take a breather.  Find a cool spot in the shade, drink a cool glass of water, and try to cool off and regain your strength.  For people who are used to pushing themselves, this may seem like a wimpy thing to do and you may think this shows signs of weakness or a poor work ethic.  To the contrary.  As a boss I'd rather have a worker who is taking care of themselves to remain productive, instead of pushing themselves to the point of being completely useless.

A few other quick heat-related notes.  If you are on any special medications, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure that you aren't prone to any additional heat-related side effects.  Diuretics and antihistamines in particular can cause additional problems if you're out in the sun or heat for a prolonged period of time.  And even if you're not working outdoors, make sure you check on the elderly, your pets, or young children to make sure they're doing OK.

We can't change the weather, but we certainly can control how it affects us.  Be careful out there!