Preventing Winter Hardscape Damage

Winter is here in northern Virginia! Winter can be tough on all of your landscaping, but for your hardscape, it could be catastrophic. If you‘ve worked with a landscape professional to create a beautiful landscape, you want to maintain it the best you can. If you take the time and energy to maintain your landscape materials during the winter, once the weather turns around, you’ll be able to enjoy your backyard all spring instead of fixing it up! Here are some measures you can take to protect your hardscape from the harshness of the winter:

• Fill existing cracks. Cracks and holes in your stonework or concrete will only get bigger as water fills the holes, freezes and thaws repeatedly. To avoid extra damage, fill the holes and cracks with sand to prevent more ice and snow from getting into your pavers. Or, consider using a sealant on your concrete or walkways before the snow falls because this can prevent cracks from happening in the first place.
• Research your deicer: When it comes to your hardscape, all deicers are not created equal! Rock salt can be corrosive to concrete and can stain it, so it’s better to use environmentally friendly solutions like potassium chloride. This will help reduce the damage to not only your hardscape, but the plants surrounding it.
• Shovel frequently. The more you shovel in the winter right after a snow storm, the easier it is to maintain your hardscape all year long. But, make sure to choose the right shovel for your landscape materials. Metal shovels can scratch and scrape your concrete, so it’s recommended to use a plastic shovel with a rubberized blade edge.
• Clear off you hardscaping surfaces. Before the snow falls, make sure to remove all dirt and debris to guarantee that nothing gets stuck under the first blanked of snow fall. Also, if you have a fountain or statue in your landscape design make sure to drain it, clean it, and cover it to protect it from freezing and cracking.
• Call Main Street Landscape! We work with the finest quality materials available, have a highly experienced management team, and have talented designers that will be there to help renovate or maintain your hardscape when you need it.