Ultimate Borders with Brandon Andrews

Meet Brandon Andrews. He has been “curbing” in Georgia for 10 years and loves it even more when it is hot and sunny outside. Interesting? What is even more interesting is Ultimate Borders! Ultimate Borders are landscape edging made from river sand, Portland cement, a dash of Kevlar fiber, a “secret drop “ of liquid mix that makes the edging durable, sunlight resistant and a must have for every home.

Brandon told me about his unique product when we met at a Home and garden show in February and I was very interested in writing about Ultimate borders and introduce Brandon to Hometalk.  Brandon is now a regular on Home talk, posting before/after pictures of his landscape projects and interacting with potential customers about his landscape “Ultimate” edging.

Brandon says the Kevlar fibers added to the mix makes all the difference. Kevlar fiber is the same fiber that is used in military body armor, since it forms a chemical-like, mechanical bond within the concrete for greater stress control during the hydration stage.  It increases the bonding strength of the curb while reducing cracking.  It also increases the curb’s resistance to impact, freezing/thawing, abrasion, corrosion, and weather/UV light.

All this means, a successful recipe to a business that values “Complete Customer Satisfaction” as its primary goal.  “Ultimate Borders is the ultimate landscape border for your home” says Brandon Andrews.  He started out by helping his neighbor mix, finish and stamp concrete for his concrete company back in 2002. Brandon never stopped curbing since then, and is enjoying ownership of his company today.

The curbs are made with a special type of machine called Curbmate. The Curbmate is a custom curbing trailer with a Whiteman mixer mounted on the back of the trailer and a Tygar Bengal TG1000XL curbing machine. On an average, the Curbmate can curb 200 linear feet of landscape beds and lawn areas in 5-6 hours and the beds are ready for gardening and installation of sod after 24 hours.

Brandon guarantees the curbs to not rot, shift or splinter like other landscape edging and will withstand blows and dings from lawnmowers, too. The oldest edging he has seen is 15 years old and is good as new even today. The edging cost $3.95 -$7/feet and can be installed anytime of the year unless the temperature drops below freezing during installation or curing of concrete.

Brandon says, “Like any other concrete, Ultimate Borders can and will crack, but the cracking in the curbs are controlled by expansion joints.” If cracking does occur, it is usually in the expansion joint. Ultimate Borders experience very little cracking and if it should crack out of the joint, the company replaces it at no charge during the warranty period of one year. A concrete sealer that is a clear, non-yellowing, solvent-based acrylic sealer protects the landscape curbing from the sun's damaging ultra violet rays, heavy traffic, oil and other foreign objects. Brandon suggests the concrete sealer be reapplied every 2 years.

The curbs come in 4 different types of shapes: slant, mowers edge, round and square. They are 4 inches tall and 6 inches wide. There are around 25-30 different patterns Ultimate Borders offers and is capable of customizing as per the needs of the customer.