Backyards Plus: One-Stop-Shopping for Dream Backyards

Steve Walker, owner of Backyards Plus in Colorado, takes a unique approach to decorative concrete, offering turnkey solutions for every backyard need from water features, to decking, to outdoor kitchens and grills, to fire pits, to patio covers, to outdoor lighting, to synthetic grass and putting greens, plus stamped concrete and overlays, landscape walls and pool decks.

We do something very unique in our industry; we eliminate many of the problems people have when trying to decide who they should trust to design and build their backyard, Walker explains. My dream is to create the ultimate backyard experience for families dedicated to spending time together.

Since 1987, Backyards Plus has been serving Colorado under the name ProGreen International, Inc., a synthetic turf company, which Walker has built to a dealer network of 50, including Thailand, Japan and Canada.

But it was while working on local installseverything from residential putting greens to athletic fieldsthat Walkers customers started asking about landscaping and backyard design.

The result of those requests is Backyards Plus, only one and a half years old and already growing quickly. We like the name Backyards Plus, because we feel its all inclusivean appropriate name for a turnkey backyard solution, Walker says. We sell everything to make a dream backyard.

Theres a need for one-stop-shopping, he continues. Its less hassle for the customer, because they dont have to work with several contractors and become the general contractor. There are all kids of nightmare stories Ive heard, with contractors pointing fingers at each other. We eliminated that conflict.

Backyards Plus has an extensive indoor-outdoor showroom, with 2,000 square feet outside displaying water features, decking, putting greens and several examples of stamped concrete. The 5,000-square-foot indoor showroom has more water features, kitchen and grill examples, fire pits, and more stamped concrete and overlay examples. Anyone looking to redesign their backyard will find numerous options at Backyards Plus.

They also create artificial rocks and boulders, and those, along with an impressive water feature, are what catch the eye outside. The showroom is located on busy I-25 right off the freeway, so Walker capitalized on the location by creating a cascading waterfall out of GFRC panels.

A recent commercial job for a nearby Holliday Inn has also taken off. Walker was brought in to bid the job of redoing the pool area, and while other contractors suggested tear and pour, he recommended a concrete overlay.

Holliday Inn was so pleased with the results of the job, as well as the price, that Walker is now overlaying the dance floor for their nightclubhe will install a concrete overlay over the existing wood floor before stamping it in a stone pattern.

Walker says he uses Flex-C-Ment for all his overlay jobs, and has been branching into retaining walls, hearths, walls and pillars with the product.

Backyards Plus can overlay numerous patterns in a variety of textures and colors onto existing (even cracked) patios, driveways, exterior home and landscape walls, interior and exterior fireplaces, and garden walkways.

Ever the entrepreneur, Walker also started making security mailboxes in response to the rise of identity theft. The mailboxes are made of foam blocks glued together and covered with a concrete overlay that can then be stamped and colored to match any house.

Though a lot of Backyards Plus business seems to come from word of mouth, Walker also credits location. A half a million cars go by here every day, he says, adding that he also targets newly-constructed homes with direct mail brochures.

Currently covering the Denver metro area, which spans seven counties and covers a large area, seems to be enough for Walker. I dont want to grow too fast, he explains, adding that he recently went from eight employees to 30. Quality is my number-one priority.

Backyards Plus
Joe DeBaisio
5010 Acoma St
Denver, CO 80216
(303) 635-0085 Office
(303) 484-3646 Fax
Send Mail Now - Click Here
http://www.backyardsplus.com

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