# Freebie walk materials



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

Attached is a photo of a walkway I built from the house to the pond, utilizing all free for the taking materials from Home Depot. Origianlly they were 18 x 18 inch square precast concrete stepping stones made to simulate slate or flagstone. The pieces are just randomly laid out, some pieces match others do not, but it gives it a typical flagstone look. Home Depot routinely has these damaged pieces as well as all kinds of other paversd, stepping stones and edgers, that they place outside and hope some one will haul away for them. I collect em up everytime I see any at HD, and place them in piles of like items at the house. When I get enough for a project, then I start. The grey walkway looks like random pieces of slate and goes from the house to ther gazeebo and is approx 20 inches wide and 103 feet long......all free! The tan colored stones were broken simulated flagstones, and is approx 30 inches wide by 15 or so feet in length, and still have to be dug down in the ground......again free for the hauling at the local HD. The section of red colored edgeing along the pond is made of red colored concrete edgers, that were originally supposed to be placed vertically, as they have a scalloped top edge. Since there were broken as well and free, I laid them up flat ways and buiilt up a retaining type wall along the pond, which is 5 courses of pavers high. Makes for a nice finished edge and easier grass triming. I have since added abaout 70 more feet to the length of this ponds retaining wall, and probably have enough edgers yet to do another 30 or so feet. Eventually I hope to edge at least 1/2 of the ponds bank in the area closest to the house, where the water is nore shallow. The rest of the ponds banks drop off to 4 or 5 feet or more very quickly and do not need a retaining bank as its impossible to trim without the side arm cutter or a weedeater anyhow due to the banks steepness. I already had my old JD180 dumped in the pond while cutting on those steep banks.

So if you have time HD has materials for free as well as a lot of other places. Just because its a scalloped top edger does not meani t has to be used as such. Once its installed it looks just like a regular brick type retaining wall as the scalopped ends are in the dirt and have grass growing on it. The bare patches of dirt seen used to be grass, but removing that stump sort of torn up a lot of it, but I should still have more than sufficient time to get it growing again if I can get some rain. If not there is always next year. The water meter type box is where my pump for the fountain is housed. Its a 1" centrifugal pump that powers 2 fountains in the pond. I still have to bury an underground power feed to it, but for now I am running it off an extension cord.


----------



## Ernie (Mar 18, 2004)

Good job Chipmaker, and all for free (labor excluded:furious: ). From Home Depot to boot..Go figure.... Iknow someone that works for HDhmmmmm .

Wheres Argee, he never mentioned anything about freebies

Still the job looks very good. Nice size yard also helps when using larger stone and etc.


----------



## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

I'm gonna have to keep my eye on Lowe's now that the landscaping 'season' is over & see what I can pick up.

Great tip!


----------

