Stone weathers Lake Michigan storms

This 2019 HNA award winning natural stone installation is more than just a pretty project. With Lake Michigan at near record high water levels, storms are producing waves as high as 20’ causing severe damage to lake shore properties like this one. That’s why the project is designed so that incoming waves will sheet over the stone and drain thru the lawn. The entire turf area is constructed as a drainage field... MORE

Innovations are born out of limitations

A contractor client asked me, “What can I do to grow my business when I have a major labor shortage?” So, we took a deeper look into his business structure, his numbers and his systems, and we found that growing his business without making changes would eventually hurt him. It was actually a blessing in disguise that he couldn’t find more employees... MORE

Finding a happy place

Contractor Mike Darling likes where his company is today. “12 years ago I had up to 17 employees. It was more stress, more call backs and more headaches. The quality wasn’t there and the money wasn’t any better. It was the same amount of profit if I had 17 people or if I had 6 quality people [as he does today].”... MORE

Training can make your company exceptional

Training employees has been one of the keys to the success of my company. Without our focus on training, we would not be doing the large involved projects we do, our profits would not be as high and our employees’ pride in their work wouldn’t be near where it is today. Even if a well-trained employee eventually leaves, at least we will have the benefit of increased productivity while he was with our company... MORE

Porcelain pavers come a long way

Outdoor porcelain pavers are still relatively new in North America having been first introduced about 6 years ago — but their popularity is growing rapidly. Porcelain offers a combination of aesthetic beauty and performance characteristics that make it an easy selection as more homeowners, architects and designers learn more about them... MORE

Contractor Profiles

Lake work walls, permeables & cranberries

April/May 2020

Lake work walls, permeables & cranberries

Waterfront properties comprise 99% of Progressive’s work so they do lots of retaining walls and permeable pavers. MORE

1-crew company permeable experts

February/March 2020

1-crew company permeable experts

Key Landscape has found success by educating themselves to become hardscaping specialists. MORE

Going into Hardscape Rehab

December/January 2020

Going into Hardscape Rehab

Contractor seizes the opportunity to launch a cleaning, re-sanding and sealing business. MORE

Biggest challenge is minimizing challenges

August/September 2019

Biggest challenge is minimizing challenges

Months of planning allow paver specialists to complete large projects to near perfection with minimal issues. MORE

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