Stone work along the Rice Creek chain of lakes in Lino Lakes

Yards that run down to the Rice Creek lakes

Lino Lakes is built along the Rice Creek chain of lakes. A yard that runs down toward one of those lakes has a slope to deal with, and a slope means stone steps, paths and landings to get from the house to the water. Ground on a lake lot holds water, and after the thaw it stays wet well into spring.

Many Lino Lakes houses are newer, with stone veneer on the front and stone used in the landscaping. Snow sliding off the roof piles against that stone, and salt on the entry steps soaks into it, the same as it would on an older house.

Stone jobs around a Lino Lakes house

Stone is what Don does first. Around a house here that covers the following.

• Stone steps and paths down a lake yard, reset where they have moved
• Stone landings at a front or back door
• Loose or cracked stones in a stone front
• Worn joints between stones cut out and repointed
• New stone set where an entry or the yard needs it

How stone steps on a slope come apart

Each step on a slope rests on the ground under it and leans on the step below. When frost lifts one, the ones around it shift too. Rain and meltwater running down the hill wash out the base under a step, and then it rocks every time someone uses it.

Putting that right means lifting the stones, rebuilding the base under them so water drains through it, and setting them back level and tight. Where water is pouring across the steps after a storm, where it comes from has to be worked out too.

Concrete stoops, patios and block walls

If what you have is a concrete stoop, a poured patio or a block wall holding back the yard, ask Don before you assume. He can tell you on one phone call whether he takes those. Stone is the work Stonecrete Inc puts first.