Toronto Deck Railing Code Requirements
Bart Flegg on February 10, 2013, 2:11 pm

Deck railings in Toronto are governed by the Ontario Building Code and more specifically the Supplementary Standard SB-7 within the Ontario Building Code. This standard defines the building requirements for railing or “guards” including lumber species, post spacing, guard height and many others[...]

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Deck Contractor, Toronto Landscapers, Building Code
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Tips From The Pros

Small Toronto Backyards
Bart Flegg on December 15, 2012, 6:05 pm

Small backyards are typical of downtown Toronto. The limted space sometimes can sometimes be seen as a burden to your landscaping options however by working with your small backyard you can produce extremely functional outdoor rooms. 

When designing a small backyard there has to be some compromises that are made, but what should you lose and what should stay? At Merlin Construction we try to integrate at least two seperate 'rooms' into our designs[...]

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Toronto, Small Backyard, Patio, Space, Outdoor
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Tips From The Pros

Interlock for a Driveway
Bart Flegg on December 29, 2011, 12:24 pm

When comparing interlock driveway prices with asphalt it is plain to see that interlock is the more expensive option. The reason we see interlock driveways then must be that they out perform asphalt. So why are they better? They are better for two reasons, the first being the meticulous base preparation that goes into a driveway by Merlin Construction and the other is the interlock stone[...]

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Interlock, Driveway, Landscaping, Stone, Toronto
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Tips From The Pros

Toronto Stone Patio Information
Bart Flegg on March 24, 2010, 8:00 pm

So we have taken some time here at Merlin Landscaping to type up a little introduction to stone patio construction. We hope to answer some of the preliminary design and build questions with our new guide. Our goal is to help you get some ideas flowing when planning a new patio project.Check out:

 

Stone Patio Construction Documentation, Toronto

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Stone, Landscaping, Patio, Interlocking, Toronto, Etobicoke
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Tips From The Pros

Researching Stone Landscaping
Bart Flegg on January 18, 2010, 1:43 pm

People can’t help but love the look of stone in their landscape.  It seems that over the past couple of years stone had emerged as the landscape material of choice. We are seeing large boulders more and more and an increasing amount of thin stone veneers. As well as natural stone the market has been flooded with ‘fake’ stone or cast concrete.  We will discuss further the different type of stone currently popular in the landscape market.

Thin stone veneer is stone cut to approximately 1” thick for the purpose of veneering masonry walls[...]

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Stone, Landscaping, Rocks, Landscape Design, Etobioke, Contractor, Toronto
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Tips From The Pros

Leveling a patio - Screeding
Bart Flegg on January 11, 2010, 12:05 pm

When it comes to building patios one thing is for sure, you want them to be level.  A patio with dips and hills is not only unsightly but is a cause for a number of other concerns. These include trip hazards, the pooling of water, leaky basements and many other dilemmas. The evenness of a patio starts with the base. It stands to reason t hat if the base is not level there is no chance of the patio being level either[...]

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Screeding, Patio, Base, Leveling Patio
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Tips From The Pros

Designing Functional Space
Bart Flegg on December 7, 2009, 9:50 am

Backyards are meant to be used, if they weren't people wouldn't pay for the extra space! If you aren't using your backyard you are wasting your investment but worst of all you are missing out on warm days and evenings outdoors. So what is a functional space? Well it's simply a space that gets used, one that works together so that when you use it you feel at home like it was another room in your house[...]

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Design, Backyard, Functional Space, Tips and Tricks
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Tips From The Pros

Cutting Pavers 101
Bart Flegg on November 4, 2009, 2:30 pm

Creating your own patio is a rewarding experience however a challenging one as well. One point that many people find challenging is using the power equipment required for cutting pavers. There are many ways of cutting pavers, a paver splitter, tub saw, cutoff saw and angle grinder. For this tutorial we will share the trick to cutting pavers like a professional with a cutoff saw[...]

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Cutting Pavers, Landscaping Tricks, Patio Construction
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Tips From The Pros