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Yes, staining a brick home can increase a home’s value, assuming your pro does a good job and you keep up with maintenance tasks. Staining brick is a much better way to increase a home’s value than painting brick, as the latter can cause chipping, warping, and bubbling. Brick stain, on the other hand, gets absorbed by the surface, so it can still breathe. 

It is possible, albeit a lot slower, to break up a rock using water. You would do this by freezing and thawing the water. You could create some initial holes or cracks in the rock, then pour water into the cracks or holes and allow them to freeze (so it's best to do this in winter or in colder climates). Since water expands when it freezes, this puts pressure on the inside of the rock and causes it to crack. You could continue to pour more water in and let it freeze to continue to break up the rock.

Cutting stone comes with a number of safety hazards. First and foremost, if you’re not comfortable with the equipment required to cut stone, including blades and grinders, you could easily injure yourself. The heavy machinery also poses a risk to your ears if you don’t wear proper ear protection; similarly, you need to wear eye protection to keep debris from irritating your eyes.

However, the biggest risk from cutting stone comes from the stone dust. When breathed in, stone dust can be a huge hazard to your lungs. Always wear a face mask when cutting stone to prevent inhaling stone dust, and thoroughly clean the work area when you are finished.

To avoid injury, we recommend hiring a stone-cutting professional, rather than attempting this job yourself.

Yes, you can cut patio stones with a circular saw. Similar to using an electric grinder, you will need to use a diamond blade as this is the most effective blade for cutting a material like stone. The stone must be wet when using a circular saw to ensure the cut is smooth.