Brinker's Restoration Contractors

10/14/2026

10/13/2026

The Brinker’s crew is working hard to save these beautiful, brand new hardwood floors after water damage!

08/22/2026

Turn a bare patch outside the back door into a comfortable outdoor room with a stone patio, pergola, seating, and layered landscaping.

Start With the Patio

Mark out enough space for both a dining table and a small conversation area without crowding the doorway. Remove the grass and topsoil, then build a properly compacted gravel base before installing stone or pavers.

Slope the finished patio slightly away from the house so rainwater cannot collect against the foundation.

Build the Pergola Around the Space

A pergola gives the patio height and makes it feel like an intentional outdoor room. Set the posts outside the main walking and seating areas so they do not interfere with furniture.

Use properly sized posts and beams, secure footings, and exterior-rated hardware. If the pergola will attach to the house, flashing and structural attachment are especially important to prevent leaks or damage.

Plan for Shade

Traditional pergolas provide filtered shade rather than complete cover. Position the rafters to help block the strongest afternoon sun, and consider adding a retractable fabric canopy or shade cloth if the area receives intense summer heat.

Climbing vines can eventually provide additional shade, but choose varieties carefully so they do not become too heavy or difficult to maintain.

Create Two Seating Zones

Place the dining table toward one end of the patio and use the area near the back door for lounge seating. This gives the space more than one purpose without requiring a huge patio.

Leave clear walking routes from the door to the yard and around the furniture. Outdoor rooms feel much larger when people can move through them easily.

Add Landscaping Around the Edges

Instead of leaving the patio surrounded by lawn, create curved planting beds that soften the hard edges.

Use shrubs and taller perennials near the pergola posts, medium plants through the center, and lower foliage along the patio. Hydrangeas, hostas, heuchera, ornamental grasses, compact evergreens, and flowering perennials can work well depending on the sunlight.

Keep Plants Away From the House

Leave enough room around the siding, foundation, and door for airflow and maintenance. Avoid piling mulch against the house or pergola posts.

Choose plants by mature size so shrubs do not eventually crowd the furniture or grow across the walkway.

Add Simple Lighting

Low path lights around the planting beds improve visibility without overpowering the space. Soft lighting under or around the pergola can make the patio usable well into the evening.

The transformation works because the patio, pergola, furniture, and landscaping are planned as one space. Instead of simply adding a few chairs outside the door, the yard gains a defined outdoor room for meals, relaxing, and entertaining.

08/20/2026

08/20/2026

08/18/2026

Turn Old Window Frames Into a Beautiful Garden Trellis

Old window frames can become an inexpensive garden feature instead of ending up in the trash. Remove the glass, mount the frames securely between posts, and let climbing flowers gradually turn them into a living garden wall.

Remove the Glass First

Use old wooden window frames with all glass completely removed. Empty openings are safer outdoors and give vines plenty of places to climb.

If the frames have very old paint, test for lead before sanding or scraping. You can preserve some of the weathered finish while sealing the wood with exterior-grade clear coat or paint.

Give Each Window Its Own Support

Set sturdy posts into the ground on both sides of each frame and attach the windows with exterior-rated brackets, screws, or hinges.

The posts carry the wind load and eventually the weight of mature vines. Leaving the posts slightly taller than the windows also gives the finished project a more intentional look.

Mix Different Window Shapes

The windows do not have to match. Combining tall, short, arched, square, and divided-light frames makes the installation feel collected over time rather than like a conventional fence.

Keep the spacing fairly consistent so the overall design still looks planned.

Plant Climbers at the Base

Clematis works especially well because it can weave through the open frames. Climbing roses, honeysuckle, sweet peas, and other vines suited to your climate can also work.

If the openings are too large for young vines to grab easily, add thin wire, twine, or discreet garden mesh.

Train the Plants Early

Guide young stems toward the frames and loosely secure them with soft plant ties. Spread vines across the openings rather than allowing everything to climb one narrow section.

Once established, the plants will need much less help.

Fill In the Bed Below

Plant lower flowers and foliage beneath the windows to connect the structure to the rest of the garden. Salvia, catmint, hostas, heuchera, compact shrubs, daisies, and ornamental grasses can provide layers of color and texture.

Leave enough room for everything to reach its mature size.

Let It Improve With Age

At first, the old windows provide most of the character. Over time, vines weave through the empty openings and flowers soften the posts until the whole row becomes a living garden screen.

It is a creative way to reuse old windows while adding vertical growing space and a unique backdrop to an ordinary flower bed.

04/02/2026

What a beautiful solution to help drive water away from your home! Here in Oregon, we are no stranger to rain. If your home and gutter system isn’t effectively diverting the rain away from your home, you can end up with damage not only to your landscape, but also your home and its foundation!

Building a beautiful dry creek bed stops your downspout from washing away your grass and fixes the muddy sinkhole next to your home foundation.

Heavy rain pouring out of a standard gutter acts like a pressure washer that destroys delicate grass roots and carves a giant trench across your yard. Bare dirt left near your house quickly turns into a swampy mud pit that invites mosquitoes to lay eggs right next to your front door.

Routing the water through a decorative rock channel slows the heavy flow down so it can safely soak into the deep soil. This smart drainage solution turns a stressful flooding hazard into a stunning rain garden that actually loves getting soaked. You get to fix a massive erosion problem while giving your front yard a custom landscape feature that completely transforms your curb appeal.

Start by using a shovel to dig a shallow trench that slopes smoothly away from your house foundation to guide the water downhill. Lay down a thick sheet of professional non woven landscape fabric over the bare dirt to keep your decorative rocks from slowly sinking into the mud. Place large natural fieldstones along the outer edges to build a strong border that holds the shape of your new creek bed. Fill the middle of the winding channel with two inches of gray river rock so the storm water has a clear path to follow.

Plant bright yellow Goldsturm black eyed susans and pink Swamp Milkweed along the borders to create a beautiful pollinator habitat that drinks up all the extra moisture. Add some green creeping thyme near the edge of the rocks to soften the hard stone border with tiny leaves.

Clear any dead leaves and sticks out of your river rock channel every fall to make sure the water can still flow freely away from your house during heavy spring rain storms.

04/01/2026

Florence’s planned new Amerigo Vespucci Airport terminal is set to bring Tuscany’s landscape directly onto the roof. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the project includes a real rooftop vineyard covering about 7.7 hectares (19 acres), with 38 rows of vines growing above the terminal.

More than a visual statement, the vineyard is part of a broader design strategy. The new terminal is intended to handle over 5.9 million passengers annually, integrate improved transport links including light rail, and support a targeted LEED Platinum sustainability rating.

A vineyard on an airport roof sounds surreal, but in Florence it feels like an architectural extension of Tuscany itself.

04/01/2026

Check out the before and after! Vehicle ran into this home causing extensive damages.