We met Eric and Naomi as a result of a referral from Susie, who works with Naomi.  They say that the best business is referral business, and we’d have to agree.  There’s no more satisfied customer than one who recommends you to a friend!

They have a very a very nice backyard, very private and surrounded with trees.  They have a hot tub back there, and enjoy having friends over.  They also had an old metal-framed firepit and a paver patio that was in very bad shape!  They wanted to turn the space back there into something more comfortable and visually appealing.  After consulting with Countryside Concrete, they decided to go with two colored and textured concrete patios.  The main one by the house serves as a home for the grill and hot-tub, as well as a screen room.  Atop the second concrete patio, we built a fully custom wood-burning firepit complete with natural stone veneer, fire-brick lining and a custom acid-stained concrete cap.

Check out the great pictures below!  And if you need a backyard makeover,  why not give Countryside Concrete a call and let us help you renovate your outdoor space?

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Pat and Marilyn are great people who run  a small farm just south of our shop in Belle Plaine.  They have a charming 2-story black & white farmhouse that they’ve lived in for years and have added on to over time.  Years ago, they put a small addition over a crawl space behind the house, and built a wood deck .  Well, they had woodchuck problems!  The woodchuck got under the deck, found a weak area in the block foundation for the addition, and actually got inside the crawl space!  The critter pulled all the insulation down from between the floor joists, and the floor in the addition was cold in the winter.   The deck was getting rotten and corn prices are good this year, so they decided it was time to do something with the back deck- they wanted a comfortable space where they could sit and watch their grandkids play in the yard.  So they called Countryside Concrete to see what they could do to help.

After talking with them about some alternatives, as well as option for foundation repair and insulation, Pat decided to replace the wood deck with a stamped concrete patio.  He tore down the old deck, and we took care of the rest.  They decided to go with gray tones to compliment the classic black & white look of their farmhouse, and chose a texture-skinned finish for great visual interest.  We also repaired the hole in the block foundation and insulated the foundation wall with 2″ high-density styrofoam to help keep some of the cold Minnesota winter air out of the crawl space underneath.

Take a look at the pictures below!

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Back in early July, we started a large commercial project for Raske Building Systems down at Arnolds of Mankato. Business has been very good for Arnolds- they are an implement and equioment dealer- and they needed more space for their shop. They chose a 12,000 square foot steel building addition to give them the extra room they needed. We installed the footings and poured concrete walls (nearly 400 linear feet), as well as the floor (12,000 square feet)! The footings took 40 cubic yards of concrete, and the walls took 50 yards. Take a look at some of the pictures below to get an idea of the scope of the project- as well as some shots of Countryside in action!

The floors required 212 cubic yards and were poured over the course of 2 days. On the second day, concrete delivery went a little better and we were able to pour 105 yards in less than 2 hours!

Check back for more updates on our work down at Arnold’s, word has it the owners were so happy with the work Countryside Concrete did for them, they are changing the plans for the parking lot from asphalt to concrete! If you’re considering an addition, either to a large commercial space or just some extra square footage at home, give Countryside a call- we’re more than happy to help in any way we can!

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Michael and Sonya completed a LARGE addition to their home last year, including a major interior remodel and the construction of a 3-season porch on top of a tuck-under 2-car garage.  One of the last things left to do was to pour a concrete floor for the new garage.  They were also left with an awkward space at the rear of the garage that was basically unusable, as well as an exposed footing from the original house that had no frost protection.  Given our winters here in Minnesota, this could have caused MAJOR issues for the structure of the house if it got cold enough, long enough for the ground underneath that footing to freeze.  Take a look at a couple of “before” pictures.

To give the footing frost protection, we installed high density foam insulation along the wall, footing and exposed subsoil.  We then laid up additional block to provide cover and ledge for a new concrete slab, turning a poorly constructed and unusable area into about 75 square feet of additional storage in the new garage.

They also had some water issues along the walk-out style sidewalls of the garage, so Countryside installed a draintile system, complete with a sump basket and wall edge to direct all the water down into the tile system.

Finally, we poured a new concrete garage apron in the front of the garage.

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 This is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to work for Gary & Mary. Pictured below is the first patio we built for them a few years ago, as well as the deck and timber landscaping Gary did himself! Check out the firepit in the middle, and make sure to check back for more pictures at night with the fire going, as well as the lighting installed in the concrete.

Gary and Mary got all the work done in the back yard, and decided it was time to do something about the front yard. Take a look at the “before” pictures below. These pictures really aren’t too bad, so I feel okay sharing them with you!

Now take a look at the almost-finished project.  Gary and Mary decided to go with the Arizona Flagstone stamp for the patio.  For a base color, they chose Mesa Beige and we accented it with Walnut release.  The vertical textured face and rock-faced nosing really look great and give the stoop tremendous visual weight.  We’ll be getting more pictures after the landscaping is finished, so make sure to check back.

Next on the list of projects for Gary and Mary is a driveway replacement.  Originally, they planned to do asphalt, but rumor has it they are so pleased with the concrete work Countryside has done for them, they are planning to replace their existing driveway with concrete rather than asphalt!

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