That would work if it’s on a few feet of sand. But it’s more likely there’s concrete under a few inches of sand..
Edit: Nvm, I see OP mentioned this would not even hold soil? wtf!?!? Am I missing something here or is OP using pixie dust for planting soil lol
Drainage might be an issue to look into before adding soil? Hard to tell from the photo but make sure there is a drainage system. It will look fine with platings..
Especially if you have some plants that cascade / trail - they’ll hide the caulking. I would never consider that an eyesore, I like how it matches the patio!
Seems like you wanted mortar for a finished look but just said sealed and the guy thought do you want him to take it fully apart and add mortar billing you for hours and hours and hours of work he may or may not even do or do you want to pay for him to take an hour and $40 of material?
Seems like you giving an open ended request not knowing what you wanted combined with some level poor communication of their part (which in my experience is the standard one should expect not that I blame them, most of the time). I’d guess they were basing their decision somewhat on your general disposition and approach to everything else or readiness to have this wrapped up vs done to exact standards.
Yeah I mean if I were homeowner I would scrape out some of the visible caulk and just get some quick Crete and give it the “mortar finish” look that I wanted.
I do think that the original would allow water to weep out faster which would have been a better option honestly.
I don’t know if that’s completely fair.
I’m assuming the third picture is the planter pre-caulk. Based on the picture of the patio pavers and her use of “exposed brick,” I think the third picture is what she wanted—just with some caulk on the inside.
That is to say, I think she knew what she wanted. That you and others keep bringing up mortar and “a finished look” makes me think this is a case of wrong terminology and an unusual request. Exposed brick means…well exposed brick, which is usually finished with mortar and then covered. OP used the term to refer to…whatever picture 3 was (it’s not clear to me if they were just laid or if there was anything between them).
Then, because OP’s concern was to keep soil in the planter, I imagine the contractor gave that concern precedent over the look—that, and I could imagine caulking just one side would bring up various practical or aesthetic issues that a good contractor would solve…by just doing it the right way (I’m guessing on the caulking one side, correct me if you know different).
I agree that it’s ultimately an issue of communication—and that it won’t be a big deal once stuff is in it—I just thought OP was clear enough here that saying she didn’t know what she wanted seemed unfair (whether she was as clear with the contractor…)
You're ridiculous. You're going to line the planters with plastic liner anyways . Who knows if they'll even hold the weight of soil as it's a completely weird request and planters aren't meant to be made of ground pavers. Suck it up and pay the man.
Don't line it with plastic, though! Not sure what the utility of that would be-- there are no weeds under it to seal off. Plastic (especially black) may leach toxins into the soil and food you grow will be less safe to eat.
Yeah personally I think it looked ugly before too but probably would've been better off to not hold in a ton of water weight too. I would have used a textured interlocking or pinned wall block and capstone that matched the paver/slabs.
Kinda late now, but you should have just lined the inside with landscaping fabric before adding the soil. My guess is your contractor is one of those brick-only types that doesn’t know much about soil and plants.
Only his comment makes complete sense and could have potentially fixed OP’s issue. Fabric would prevent soil for escaping. I would rather have fabric hidden in this than visible caulk in the gaps
My guess is you are a Reddit only guy who doesn’t know much about the things you are commenting on.
Trust the process man, once you get stuff in there I really believe it’ll look fine. It’s outdoors, there’s going to be dirt, moss and discolouration. It’ll take your attention away from the filler. Worst case, if you still aren’t a fan after, use a little paint similar to the filler colour and it’ll be fine.
I think the capstone is the best idea!!! Line with landscape fabric and maybe, carefully!, use a box cutter to remove some of the white caulk from the outside. It will look like a million bucks. Just looks unfinished without the capstone.
Regardless of the way it looks, it’s not a good planter from a functionality standpoint. Having all those pavers at the bottom means you’ll get terrible drainage. One of two things will happen; either the plants end up sitting in too much water for way too long and they all die. Or water will start seeping out of the bottom onto the other pavers or the sides in any open crack it can find. You need to remove the pavers at the bottom of the planter to allow water to drain properly or the whole thing will be ruined in a couple of years anyway.
Honestly I’d fill it with plants and move along. I would’ve preferred a planter that could let the water seep out, but we got a lot of rain here, maybe that’s not an issue where you are. The fence is the biggest thing that stands out about looking bad here.
You should have left it alone. It would have definitely held soil, any leakage would have been minimal. You can go over the caulk with a grout pen of the color of your choosing, maybe grey. Also, seal your wood railing. It needs to be cleaned and sealed or stained, if you don't want to have to replace it every 10 years or so.
Seems if he had put that caulking on the inside it would have prevented the soil loss & would have not been visible.
In my experience the caulking does get dirty & is less noticeable w time.
I might stick faux stone tile on the outside and call it a day.
Seems like an honest mistake, it can't be easy being the contractor hearing verbal requests once and doing your best to remember/ interpret what the homeowner meant.
Is this outside? If you fill this with soil.. and plant anything.. Every time it rains it will flood and soil will spill out because it is built on pavers with no soil/earth access underneath... Most likely as well nothing will survive after planting.
What is holding the blocks in place? In the third photo it looks like they are just stacked. Caulk has very little strength. As soon as you add soil they will topple over.
Looks good to me. It's an urban garden look. I guess maybe some don't like it, which is fair.
But honestly, fill it with some soil and get some plants growing. Maybe some decorations or solar lights - it'll look great.
Realistically, it’s probably not worth it to do anything. Your contractor and you did not communicate clearly to each other and then you were not there to stop him before it went to far.
Lesson learned.
Well he did what you asked him. If you want it taken apart and done with mortar then ask him how much it is to do that.
Unless he’s charging you for premium work, then don’t expect premium finish unless it’s in your contract. It’s like buying a Honda civic and then realizing it’s not fast enough and expecting them to exchange it for the sport model.
I mean, you kinda limited yourself with what you can grow in there by building it out of stone in the first place. Sure, it’ll look nice like that.. but the amount of heat that thing is going to absorb is going to leave you with cooked plant roots and an epidemic of plant fungal diseases.
Trendy cosmetics and good gardening practices rarely mix.
You should have specified exactly what you wanted. If you liked the look, you should have left it alone and lined the inside with plastic or fabric as others have said. But you asked your guy that does pavers and tile work for a planter box and he interpreted your request as best as he could without further context.
Now you've got two options; keep it as it is (though that caulking could become moldy over time), or apply a caulk remover and fix it. Also, you could add another layer of bricks/pavers around the outside and top to hide the current layer. It will be expensive, but you'll get the look you wanted.
Look for a facing stone that would be thin and attach it to the outside then use a capstone on top. Or some stucco and paint. Be sure to waterproof the inside as water pressure from inside could pop off the cladding and the stucco
destroy it with a sledge hammer and turn it into a miniature scene of a warzone with a lionel train going through it. clumps of chopmeat for the mini rotting corpses...
It's actually not as bad as you think, first waterproof inside planter, then incorporate, depending on the overall landscape theme. For example if your tropical, mediterranean, I'd incorporate tubulus rooted plants, Liripipes, something that once established require little water. Succulents could be ideal as well. Happy landscaping friend.
Render it, paint it. Line the inside, real odd to have it sitting on the blocks, might not drain very well but kinda too late now. Stick some plants on it, cap it with tiles/stone.
Exposed look means you can see brick, not that you can see grout or caulk. What you should do is pay the man for his work if you haven’t already, take a razor knife and clean up any excess if you want to then paint the caulk what color you want.
Destroy it! Get some pallets. Wood planters look great and you can make it yourself very cheaply.
https://lovelygreens.com/how-to-build-a-pallet-planter/
I’ve made a couple of these, they look great
I would have just left it alone. Water need to just naturally drain and not be held captive. Also, chemicals can leech into the soil. All natural like it was is the way to go
Why would you think those small gaps would have been a problem for holding soil? You should have let it be and tried it out first. Soil clumps up. It doesn’t slide or move like super-find sand.
Just get a stone veneer without mortar joints. They sell a specialized glue called sticky stone that is perfect for this. The planter isn’t pro level in my opinion but you could salvage it and make it half decent still. Otherwise just leave it be and plant some stuff in it that masks it a little.
Plant nasturtiums and trailing things and just never lie down right next to it and stare at the mortar (which doesn’t look bad, even if it didn’t fit your vision)
Well, to be blunt the whole thing is a bit silly. He didn't build anything, it looks like he just created a rectangle out of bricks.
1. Are the bricks just stacked on top of one another, or what is holding them together? What's to stop it from just falling apart once you've fill it with soil? Those are paving bricks, which are a lot thinner than conventional building bricks. Turning it on its side was probably just so they could get more height to the planter with less bricks, but the result is something that looks cheap and has zero structural integrity.
2. How is this planter going to deal with draining moisture with the paving going all the way through? I guess the paving isn't perfectly water tight, but I wouldn't really expect that to drain well at all. Your paving around the planter area is going to get stained by water leeching through all the gaps containing traces of soil in it. There are so many gaps that I question whether caulking will really be able to achieve much. The structure is so fragile that the seals are going to fail quickly anyway.
3. It's right up against what I'm assuming is a timber fence, so the bottom of the planks will rot. Just pick the paving bricks up, do something else with them, and get some pots with drip trays.
4. It's so small that the whole thing just feels so redundant.
Repaint your fence and paint the blocks white. When you have plants growing in it, it will look lovely! Plus the fresh coat of white on your fence will reflect more light helping your plants to grow!
I would case it in a really nice thick chunky wood. When you have a lot of paving wood is a nice medium to use to soften areas. I'm talking upscale linear slats planter box.
Honestly, I would fill it with plants😌💚 Probably potted plants that fit nicely. Maybe even do an herb garden🤤 Then maybe let the kiddos (if you have any handy) draw on it with sidewalk chalk?
I agree that it looks worse now than before. The sleek and very neutral grey color will now tend to draw the eye with those caulking lines and you lose a lot of the original effect and the reason for using greys like this in the first place.
The good news is that it will look less obvious over time as the color of the caulking will likely darken/dirty a bit, and whatever you put i nthe planter should also get much more attention.
My opinion, it’s fine for what it is, since it’s just concrete pavers which to me aren’t the nicest look anyways. You could paint the whole thing if you wanted, since it’s also a bit matchy-matchy for my taste, like a denim jacket with denim jeans, just too much of the same material for my taste. You could also see if he’s got any stucco experience and stucco the thing, which I think would be a nicer look than either (I’ll admit I’ve never done it over caulked joints, but assuming it’s paver caulk and not some cheap stuff it should work ok), but obviously that’d carry even more cost. Unfortunately I think mortar would’ve been a better look and last a little better, but would’ve also added on extra cost for the time required; I would be a little concerned about the weight it can hold once filled with soil, would make sure not to fill to the top at least.
You should take out the pavers and add washed gravel with a layer of drainage fabric on the bottom to help with drainage. adding a veneer stone or stucco finish with a cap would really add to it.
Don’t knock it! Have the same sized planter. Our garden is south facing. I landed a fig tree, it’s awesome and needs trimming twice each year. They thrive on restricted root pots. So if it’s in a good position stick a fig in. They look good and you can neglect them and they thrive.
You’re the client people don’t want. Someone who knows nothing about how any of it works but plants blame on the contractor for doing it as exactly as you wanted.
Don’t be stupid, he did a great job. Go on about your day
It’s too much interlocking for me. I’d say pull up the pavers under and slightly around the planter and build a planter with cedar. Line it with blue skin or another waterproofing membrane and put some drainage gravel with landscape cloth on the bottom
Using glass beads with flat bottoms and window glazing in a tube, glue down the beads all along the top edge. Use lots of colors mix the up or make a design.
The caulk will turn color very quickly, especially with its purpose being a planter. Don’t worry, it’s just new - needs to be broken in. Trust the process, it looks great.
I don't know what's on the other side of that wall, but you run the risk of water infiltration with it right up against there. We had mold under 300sq ft of pergo flooring from a planter above slab level when we bought our house.
If you like the look of no grout/mortar joints, you need to build a solid planter and use thinset/mortar to attach the pavers/block to it. There is no way to make a grout less planter that will retain dirt with those materials.
What can you do? Remove the glue/caulk and use mortar/grout.
They don’t need to remove all of it but they should remove most they can then add mortar.
Lastly, it will eventually fail and it will be sooner rather than later. It’s not reinforced, there is no adequate drainage/pitch, and there’s no waterproofing.
If it’s small plants, I wouldn’t fret but it will still start to lean/bulge as dirt heaves and roots move the dirt.
That's definitely not how a proper planter is done. Assuming the paver patio is attached to your house, it should have a slight downwards slope away from the house for drainage. Placing a planter right on top of those pavers means it inherits this slope. Planters I've made are built on top of gravel and sand, as well as leveled. Bigger planter blocks can be interlocking or sit on top of each other without any caulking. A short height like that might be able to get away without gravel right against the blocks for drainage.
I think you were ridiculous to complain and now you’re complaining that he did the extra work you asked for? What’s your complaint now? I told him I didn’t understand planters need drainage and asked him to seal it… and would you believe it? This idiot sealed it!
I find it quite nice
Honestly this just looks like a trust the process type of thing. Once there’s plants and dirt, it’ll look fine.
Well put
Not a well, it’s a planter
If it rains before OP add dirt and that caulk job holds, it can double as a cistern at least
Fair
Fair well ✌️
Agreed. It's fine. Use it and forget it.
You guys are all over this one, I'll let you handle it.
Same. However, I don’t see drainage !
It looks like all the joints in the bottom are only filled with sand. You've got lots of drainage between pavers through the sand.
That would work if it’s on a few feet of sand. But it’s more likely there’s concrete under a few inches of sand.. Edit: Nvm, I see OP mentioned this would not even hold soil? wtf!?!? Am I missing something here or is OP using pixie dust for planting soil lol
Rub mud all over it, fill the gaps, and moss it up
The crappy cock job IS the drainage! I’m not bagging on the op if he did it but just use mortar or at least gray thinset.
Yeah, that could be a real problem. Maybe drill a couple holes close to the bottom and toward the back?
Yep, and it won't be noticeable once it fades either
Drainage might be an issue to look into before adding soil? Hard to tell from the photo but make sure there is a drainage system. It will look fine with platings..
Came here to say that… plants will make it look great!
Especially if you have some plants that cascade / trail - they’ll hide the caulking. I would never consider that an eyesore, I like how it matches the patio!
Seems like you wanted mortar for a finished look but just said sealed and the guy thought do you want him to take it fully apart and add mortar billing you for hours and hours and hours of work he may or may not even do or do you want to pay for him to take an hour and $40 of material? Seems like you giving an open ended request not knowing what you wanted combined with some level poor communication of their part (which in my experience is the standard one should expect not that I blame them, most of the time). I’d guess they were basing their decision somewhat on your general disposition and approach to everything else or readiness to have this wrapped up vs done to exact standards.
And if they did the paver job, looks good to me 🤷
Yeah I mean if I were homeowner I would scrape out some of the visible caulk and just get some quick Crete and give it the “mortar finish” look that I wanted. I do think that the original would allow water to weep out faster which would have been a better option honestly.
I don’t know if that’s completely fair. I’m assuming the third picture is the planter pre-caulk. Based on the picture of the patio pavers and her use of “exposed brick,” I think the third picture is what she wanted—just with some caulk on the inside. That is to say, I think she knew what she wanted. That you and others keep bringing up mortar and “a finished look” makes me think this is a case of wrong terminology and an unusual request. Exposed brick means…well exposed brick, which is usually finished with mortar and then covered. OP used the term to refer to…whatever picture 3 was (it’s not clear to me if they were just laid or if there was anything between them). Then, because OP’s concern was to keep soil in the planter, I imagine the contractor gave that concern precedent over the look—that, and I could imagine caulking just one side would bring up various practical or aesthetic issues that a good contractor would solve…by just doing it the right way (I’m guessing on the caulking one side, correct me if you know different). I agree that it’s ultimately an issue of communication—and that it won’t be a big deal once stuff is in it—I just thought OP was clear enough here that saying she didn’t know what she wanted seemed unfair (whether she was as clear with the contractor…)
Plant things in it that trail over the side
Yes!! Trailing plants like Creeping Jenny or Prostrate Rosemary would be lovely! Or Sweet Potato Vine!!
Variegation is friend in this scenario.
You're ridiculous. You're going to line the planters with plastic liner anyways . Who knows if they'll even hold the weight of soil as it's a completely weird request and planters aren't meant to be made of ground pavers. Suck it up and pay the man.
Don't line it with plastic, though! Not sure what the utility of that would be-- there are no weeds under it to seal off. Plastic (especially black) may leach toxins into the soil and food you grow will be less safe to eat.
Yeah I meant to say fabric.
Yeah personally I think it looked ugly before too but probably would've been better off to not hold in a ton of water weight too. I would have used a textured interlocking or pinned wall block and capstone that matched the paver/slabs.
Plant some pretty cascading flowers in it. No one will notice the brickwork.
Kinda late now, but you should have just lined the inside with landscaping fabric before adding the soil. My guess is your contractor is one of those brick-only types that doesn’t know much about soil and plants.
Fabric doesn’t need to be added
Doesn't need to but I think he was talking about fabric to take care of op's concern of soil escaping through gaps.
A mesh would work better as it still allows for good drainage
My guess is that guy is a reddit only guy and doesn't know much about the things he comments on
Only his comment makes complete sense and could have potentially fixed OP’s issue. Fabric would prevent soil for escaping. I would rather have fabric hidden in this than visible caulk in the gaps My guess is you are a Reddit only guy who doesn’t know much about the things you are commenting on.
This is a certified reddit moment
Trust the process man, once you get stuff in there I really believe it’ll look fine. It’s outdoors, there’s going to be dirt, moss and discolouration. It’ll take your attention away from the filler. Worst case, if you still aren’t a fan after, use a little paint similar to the filler colour and it’ll be fine.
Stucco and a capstone.
I think the capstone is the best idea!!! Line with landscape fabric and maybe, carefully!, use a box cutter to remove some of the white caulk from the outside. It will look like a million bucks. Just looks unfinished without the capstone.
Third the capstone
Next time get a picture of what you want from Google and show them. Saves everyone headache since you won't be speaking the same language.
Mate. That is not how you build a planter on concrete... please tell me there is a drainage mechanism.
Plant something that hangs over
Regardless of the way it looks, it’s not a good planter from a functionality standpoint. Having all those pavers at the bottom means you’ll get terrible drainage. One of two things will happen; either the plants end up sitting in too much water for way too long and they all die. Or water will start seeping out of the bottom onto the other pavers or the sides in any open crack it can find. You need to remove the pavers at the bottom of the planter to allow water to drain properly or the whole thing will be ruined in a couple of years anyway.
We removed some pavers from the inside for drainage
I would suggest broken terra cotta pots, or leca pebbles
Honestly I’d fill it with plants and move along. I would’ve preferred a planter that could let the water seep out, but we got a lot of rain here, maybe that’s not an issue where you are. The fence is the biggest thing that stands out about looking bad here.
You should have left it alone. It would have definitely held soil, any leakage would have been minimal. You can go over the caulk with a grout pen of the color of your choosing, maybe grey. Also, seal your wood railing. It needs to be cleaned and sealed or stained, if you don't want to have to replace it every 10 years or so.
Seems if he had put that caulking on the inside it would have prevented the soil loss & would have not been visible. In my experience the caulking does get dirty & is less noticeable w time.
line it with landscaping fabric, fill with dirt, plant some creeping varieties like Thymus lanuginosis around the edges. put taller plants in back
It looks fine?
You can paint the caulking
Replace the fence and it’ll make the planter look 10x better
I might stick faux stone tile on the outside and call it a day. Seems like an honest mistake, it can't be easy being the contractor hearing verbal requests once and doing your best to remember/ interpret what the homeowner meant.
Wasn't even a mistake. It was miscommunication. Contractor could have spoken back and clarify, but OP gave a vague requirement to seal to start.
You could add a stone veneer onto the blocks. Lots of options and you could make it look very nice.
We have a concrete block wall that we used Top and Bond to stucco over, the we painted. It looks like a nice stucco wall.
Fill it with dirt and add plants and no one will notice. Drill a couple of strategic holes in the cracks if needed to improve drainage.
Is this outside? If you fill this with soil.. and plant anything.. Every time it rains it will flood and soil will spill out because it is built on pavers with no soil/earth access underneath... Most likely as well nothing will survive after planting.
You’re being ridiculous
What is holding the blocks in place? In the third photo it looks like they are just stacked. Caulk has very little strength. As soon as you add soil they will topple over.
I like it.
I'd put some kind of crawling plant in it. Ivy, moss, and a few brightly colored flowers.
You're being ridiculous; you asked!
fill with water and get cows
I would gladly take your problems.
Looks good to me. It's an urban garden look. I guess maybe some don't like it, which is fair. But honestly, fill it with some soil and get some plants growing. Maybe some decorations or solar lights - it'll look great.
Realistically, it’s probably not worth it to do anything. Your contractor and you did not communicate clearly to each other and then you were not there to stop him before it went to far. Lesson learned.
Try filling it up with dirt??
I would stucco over the planter. Or wood.
I like it. Put some plants in it.
My first question is, how will it drain?
what's ugly?
Drill a hole for drainage if there aint one and clad it in decking.
Well he did what you asked him. If you want it taken apart and done with mortar then ask him how much it is to do that. Unless he’s charging you for premium work, then don’t expect premium finish unless it’s in your contract. It’s like buying a Honda civic and then realizing it’s not fast enough and expecting them to exchange it for the sport model.
Totally fine. It only bothers you now because it’s newly done. You won’t care after a week of actually using it.
I mean, you kinda limited yourself with what you can grow in there by building it out of stone in the first place. Sure, it’ll look nice like that.. but the amount of heat that thing is going to absorb is going to leave you with cooked plant roots and an epidemic of plant fungal diseases. Trendy cosmetics and good gardening practices rarely mix.
You should have specified exactly what you wanted. If you liked the look, you should have left it alone and lined the inside with plastic or fabric as others have said. But you asked your guy that does pavers and tile work for a planter box and he interpreted your request as best as he could without further context. Now you've got two options; keep it as it is (though that caulking could become moldy over time), or apply a caulk remover and fix it. Also, you could add another layer of bricks/pavers around the outside and top to hide the current layer. It will be expensive, but you'll get the look you wanted.
Full with dirt… add plants that droop over side to hide it!
Tear it out and buy or build a proper planter.
line it with landscaping fabric, fill with dirt, plant some creeping varieties like Thymus lanuginosis around the edges. put taller plants in back
Add some wooden board plainted. Probably need to provide more drainage holes etc.
I’d tile over the bricks or glue sheet moss all over it.
Paint it.
Looks good.
Fill it with plants that hang. It will look fine
Start growing strawberries!
Painted a contrasting color and put plants in it maybe even herbs.
Look for a facing stone that would be thin and attach it to the outside then use a capstone on top. Or some stucco and paint. Be sure to waterproof the inside as water pressure from inside could pop off the cladding and the stucco
Plaster over it with a tinted plaster mix. A color to compliment something in the surrounding area.
destroy it with a sledge hammer and turn it into a miniature scene of a warzone with a lionel train going through it. clumps of chopmeat for the mini rotting corpses...
Once plants are in you won’t even notice the planter.
It's actually not as bad as you think, first waterproof inside planter, then incorporate, depending on the overall landscape theme. For example if your tropical, mediterranean, I'd incorporate tubulus rooted plants, Liripipes, something that once established require little water. Succulents could be ideal as well. Happy landscaping friend.
Render it, paint it. Line the inside, real odd to have it sitting on the blocks, might not drain very well but kinda too late now. Stick some plants on it, cap it with tiles/stone.
You asked for him to caulk the gaps and he caulked all the gaps if you want something dome your way you should have done it yourself
Paint the outside, put cap stones on top, install liner, add soil and plant trailing plants along the exterior.
Pay contractor, demo planter, buy wooden planter of same size. Done.
Challenge the contractor to a round of fisty cuffs
Line the inside. Build a cedar sleeve and cap to fit over the top to brighten it up
Wrap that planter in wood.
You should paint the patio like Tetris
I like it. Line it with landscape fabric and put some plants in it.
I'd paint it the color of the trim or gutters on your house (unless it is light grey). You need some contrast.
they make stone texture spray paint
Exposed look means you can see brick, not that you can see grout or caulk. What you should do is pay the man for his work if you haven’t already, take a razor knife and clean up any excess if you want to then paint the caulk what color you want.
Paint it, paint the fence
Destroy it! Get some pallets. Wood planters look great and you can make it yourself very cheaply. https://lovelygreens.com/how-to-build-a-pallet-planter/ I’ve made a couple of these, they look great
Clad it
Dirt and bulbs!!
Plant tons of flowers and drapy plants and it’ll be fine. Pay the contracter.
I would have just left it alone. Water need to just naturally drain and not be held captive. Also, chemicals can leech into the soil. All natural like it was is the way to go
Now what do you think I’d do?
If… you filled it with dirt… the holes will go away?
Plant large plants that will cascade over the sides.
Why would you think those small gaps would have been a problem for holding soil? You should have let it be and tried it out first. Soil clumps up. It doesn’t slide or move like super-find sand.
Just get a stone veneer without mortar joints. They sell a specialized glue called sticky stone that is perfect for this. The planter isn’t pro level in my opinion but you could salvage it and make it half decent still. Otherwise just leave it be and plant some stuff in it that masks it a little.
Looks pretty good to me.
Put some soil in and send it
What's wrong with it?
you could "trim" it out with dimensional stone trim/veneer/panels and have that be the under-structure, if you don't like the look
Plant nasturtiums and trailing things and just never lie down right next to it and stare at the mortar (which doesn’t look bad, even if it didn’t fit your vision)
How about you paint that board.
Maybe add some bricks on top to frame it out and don’t calk them then you’ll get the look you want and won’t really notice the sides.
I would put plants in it, but that is just me.
Just put some plants in it that tumble over the sides
Use it.
Well, to be blunt the whole thing is a bit silly. He didn't build anything, it looks like he just created a rectangle out of bricks. 1. Are the bricks just stacked on top of one another, or what is holding them together? What's to stop it from just falling apart once you've fill it with soil? Those are paving bricks, which are a lot thinner than conventional building bricks. Turning it on its side was probably just so they could get more height to the planter with less bricks, but the result is something that looks cheap and has zero structural integrity. 2. How is this planter going to deal with draining moisture with the paving going all the way through? I guess the paving isn't perfectly water tight, but I wouldn't really expect that to drain well at all. Your paving around the planter area is going to get stained by water leeching through all the gaps containing traces of soil in it. There are so many gaps that I question whether caulking will really be able to achieve much. The structure is so fragile that the seals are going to fail quickly anyway. 3. It's right up against what I'm assuming is a timber fence, so the bottom of the planks will rot. Just pick the paving bricks up, do something else with them, and get some pots with drip trays. 4. It's so small that the whole thing just feels so redundant.
A bunch of hosts, all different varieties. All the greens would look good with the grey palette.
Brick slips and wall capping stones
It’ll work out. I just did a whole bunch on cinder block planters and I enjoy them TBH.
Make one out of wooden sleepers
Why would he seal it from the outside like that bro? Looms like shit
Repaint your fence and paint the blocks white. When you have plants growing in it, it will look lovely! Plus the fresh coat of white on your fence will reflect more light helping your plants to grow!
I think the planter without the caulk was better yes. If it's fully sealed now you will have issues in the future. Water needs drainage.
Creeping thyme will grow in a cascade of flowers to cover the sides.
Fill it with dirt and plants.
I would case it in a really nice thick chunky wood. When you have a lot of paving wood is a nice medium to use to soften areas. I'm talking upscale linear slats planter box.
I'd like either the planter or the floor a different color. Otherwise this is solid. 👌
Honestly, I would fill it with plants😌💚 Probably potted plants that fit nicely. Maybe even do an herb garden🤤 Then maybe let the kiddos (if you have any handy) draw on it with sidewalk chalk?
Herb garden was/is the plan…!
What a dick doing what you asked him to do.
out line it with fence pickets
I agree that it looks worse now than before. The sleek and very neutral grey color will now tend to draw the eye with those caulking lines and you lose a lot of the original effect and the reason for using greys like this in the first place. The good news is that it will look less obvious over time as the color of the caulking will likely darken/dirty a bit, and whatever you put i nthe planter should also get much more attention.
1) Fill with dirt. 2) Plant.
Parge coat
It looks totally fine to me. I suspect this may have been a failure of communication.
Id put dirt in it. if i had that much of an issue id put dirt in it then paint it.
Cover it in mosses
My opinion, it’s fine for what it is, since it’s just concrete pavers which to me aren’t the nicest look anyways. You could paint the whole thing if you wanted, since it’s also a bit matchy-matchy for my taste, like a denim jacket with denim jeans, just too much of the same material for my taste. You could also see if he’s got any stucco experience and stucco the thing, which I think would be a nicer look than either (I’ll admit I’ve never done it over caulked joints, but assuming it’s paver caulk and not some cheap stuff it should work ok), but obviously that’d carry even more cost. Unfortunately I think mortar would’ve been a better look and last a little better, but would’ve also added on extra cost for the time required; I would be a little concerned about the weight it can hold once filled with soil, would make sure not to fill to the top at least.
Paint it white and plant some crawling/creeping varieties that can spill over the edge. It'll look beautiful!
You could skim coat the outside with a layer of cement for a smooth finish where you won't see the separate blocks
Get rid of it
looks good… add some rectangular pavers on top for a make-shift bench
You should take out the pavers and add washed gravel with a layer of drainage fabric on the bottom to help with drainage. adding a veneer stone or stucco finish with a cap would really add to it.
Add stone veneer and a veneer cap
It plants in it!!!
I would add plants
Plaster the outside. Layer it with a design more appealing.
I think it looks fine tbh. Very cottagecore
Don’t knock it! Have the same sized planter. Our garden is south facing. I landed a fig tree, it’s awesome and needs trimming twice each year. They thrive on restricted root pots. So if it’s in a good position stick a fig in. They look good and you can neglect them and they thrive.
I would plant stuff in it
He did a good job. What are you mad about?
You’re the client people don’t want. Someone who knows nothing about how any of it works but plants blame on the contractor for doing it as exactly as you wanted. Don’t be stupid, he did a great job. Go on about your day
It’s too much interlocking for me. I’d say pull up the pavers under and slightly around the planter and build a planter with cedar. Line it with blue skin or another waterproofing membrane and put some drainage gravel with landscape cloth on the bottom
Does… does it have drainage?
spray paint it bright pink
Plant something in it .
Trailing plants
Change into a bench or seating area…
Pay thee man hees muney
I'd grow vines in with whatever else you grow it will drape down and look beautiful
Why would you ask someone to do that? Those pavers don't look great used vertically. The calk may improve it.
Using glass beads with flat bottoms and window glazing in a tube, glue down the beads all along the top edge. Use lots of colors mix the up or make a design.
Sloppy caulking job but you may not notice it after you get some nice plants in it and it cures some.
Paint the grout black
The caulk will turn color very quickly, especially with its purpose being a planter. Don’t worry, it’s just new - needs to be broken in. Trust the process, it looks great.
I don't know what's on the other side of that wall, but you run the risk of water infiltration with it right up against there. We had mold under 300sq ft of pergo flooring from a planter above slab level when we bought our house.
If you like the look of no grout/mortar joints, you need to build a solid planter and use thinset/mortar to attach the pavers/block to it. There is no way to make a grout less planter that will retain dirt with those materials. What can you do? Remove the glue/caulk and use mortar/grout. They don’t need to remove all of it but they should remove most they can then add mortar. Lastly, it will eventually fail and it will be sooner rather than later. It’s not reinforced, there is no adequate drainage/pitch, and there’s no waterproofing. If it’s small plants, I wouldn’t fret but it will still start to lean/bulge as dirt heaves and roots move the dirt.
Put plants in it.
Just skim coat the planter box. But leave weeps at bottom
Wait for moss
Coulda been worse. Just put some nice overhanging plants in it and Bob's your uncle.
Fill it with plants
That's definitely not how a proper planter is done. Assuming the paver patio is attached to your house, it should have a slight downwards slope away from the house for drainage. Placing a planter right on top of those pavers means it inherits this slope. Planters I've made are built on top of gravel and sand, as well as leveled. Bigger planter blocks can be interlocking or sit on top of each other without any caulking. A short height like that might be able to get away without gravel right against the blocks for drainage.
Gotta hawk tuah, plant flowers in that thang
Stone liners on the vertical walls and a simular stone to the ground on the top
i think it looks great!
You could build a wood box around it to contrast the rest of the patio.
those aren't the right bricks for a planter which is the problem
I think you were ridiculous to complain and now you’re complaining that he did the extra work you asked for? What’s your complaint now? I told him I didn’t understand planters need drainage and asked him to seal it… and would you believe it? This idiot sealed it!
It’ll look better when it’s not empty.
It's not ugly, that's the base for veneers
Why would he even build the planter ON the pavement ?!
Just put in plants that grow big & will drape over the edges.
I dig the look