StillWind Creations

I normally hire Chazz to help look after my plants and landscaping.  When he finished the mulch this year, we discussed replacing my cracked sidewalk with it's poorly repaired steps with something upscale.  Chazz took a ride with me to look at another home in Meridian Kessler whose sidewalk I always admired.  He explained how it was built and told me he could recreate the same look and built it to last 100 years or more.  I was interested.  . Over the next couple days, Chazz called around to get prices on blue stone and the limestone steps.  The materials were not inexpensive, but they were the best, and that is what I wanted.  We agreed to start the project right after Easter, however, we ended up being further delayed because of the rain.  Chazz kept in touch with me until he could start the job when the rain cleared.  He busted up and removed the old sidewalk.  He even arranged to give my concrete to someone who could recycle it into much needed fill.   Next the stone arrived from the stone companies.  He was there when they delivered to tell them where to put the pallets of blue stone and where to dump the limestone.  Chazz was thoughtful and ran a conduit under the sidewalk for electrical lines in the event I decide to do landscape lighting.  The sidewalk was built with a foundation of limestone gravel and the top layer was made of finely crushed limestone that is almost the consistency of sand.  The fine limestone works as a very flat bed upon which to lay the pavers and also works as a grout to fill the space between the pavers.  The project, including excavation, took about 6 working days, although it went on a bit longer than we had planned due to so many rainy days.  The overall result is marvelous.  I love coming home every day to my new sidewalk.  It raised my home's curb appeal dramatically and I have no doubt it will translate into more equity.   Now I'm dreaming about having Chazz build an outdoor stone kitchen.   I hope you enjoy the pictures. 

Since all of the work was done by Charles and his son this project took longer than if we had hired a larger company, but we were aware of this before it was started. His work was well worth the wait! The new patio is a vast improvement over what was there before and if we ever get some rain I suspect our drainage problems will have been addressed also.

Went without a hitch. This was a small job, and Stillwind brought it in on time and on budget. I will definitely engage them when I'm ready to do the larger projects they specialize in.

I had several flower beds that had gotten out of hand. After we talked about what I wanted, Chazz and I visited other Meridian Kessler homes and talked with one of the neighborhood homeowners who was asked to be on the garden tour to begin to solidify ideas. I was going to have the landscaping done early in the year, but Chazz warned me to wait until the painters were completely finished and not to waste my money on mulch or his work until then. So in a way, he turned down my job until it was best for ME to start it. He got to work within a couple days of the exterior stucco renovation and painting of my home by spading up the existing beds to loosen the soil, removing the weeds, and cutting a new bed in the front lawn and around my maple tree. He also trimmed the trees of low-hanging branches. After preparing the beds, he moved about 2 dozen hostas, several dozen ferns, some boxwoods and others to new and better garden spots based on sun or shade exposure. I bought several new lillies and some cone flower plants from a Master Gardener on Craigs List (saving a fortune) and he planted them in their new homes based on light exposure. Chazz then prepped the beds with pre-emergent to keep down any new weed growth, and added 15 yds of hardwood mulch which he negotiated to be dropped in my yard, rather than the street because I asked. He finished by installing two rain barrels, so that I can catch water for my new beds. He even created a PVC overflow on the smaller rain barrel in the event I don't get it emptied before it is full so that the water does not erode the foundation of my house. Chazz was willing to be flexible with the design, and more importantly, was there every day and did what he said he would be. He even helped me move a room sized Persian rug while he was there when I needed a hand!