Turn to EJ’s Patio & Landscaping when you plan your outdoor summer projects

Written by Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor

It’s warming up outside, which means it’s time to start planning your summer projects. You can turn to EJ’s Patio & Landscaping, based out of Goodridge, Minnesota. Elroy Johnsrud, owner, can help you plan, design and create the perfect outdoor living space.

Elroy started this business two years ago. He previously worked carpentry for 18 years and is also a full-time Industrial Arts teacher at the Goodridge School. EJ’s Patio & Landscaping is his full-time summer job, which also employes Jacob Tharaldson and Kaleb Sjulestad.

If you’ve got an outdoor summer project in mind, Elroy says he’ll sit down with you and go over the ideas, providing you with a free quote, as well. You can expect him to give his customers books and websites to look at for inspiration. It also gives the person an idea of the different kinds of materials available. After looking at books, he’ll offer his suggestions and brainstorm some ideas together. “I try to make the project authentic to the customer,” Elroy said. When it comes to drawing up a plan, that’s a design project Elroy does himself. As for materials, he goes through Hebron Brick in Grand Forks, ND.

The local business offers a wide range of projects, which include: patios, decks, sidewalks, house & garden borders, hardscapes and retaining walls. For those of you not familiar with the term “hardscapes” – that can be your normal patio, but mostly bigger stuff such as fireplaces, freestanding walls, pizza oven for your patio, benches, etc. Elroy added, “They have so many nice looking things out there. In one of the pictures shared here, you can see a basketball court in the background. We also built that for a future Charger basketball player during one of our jobs.”

EJ’s Patio & Landscape has mainly done projects around Grygla, Goodridge and Thief River Falls. To date, the business has taken them as far as Fertile, but the crew is willing to travel farther, if needed.

Elroy stays busy with his full-time teaching job during the school year; he is also the Head Coach for the Chargers Varsity Girls Basketball team. 

He and his wife have four kids (ages 7, 5, 3, and 10 months). To say he is a busy man might be an understatement, but adding in a landscaping job seems to fit right in. “I enjoy doing landscaping because of the final product. There are so many nice materials out there to choose from. It’s nice to see when it is all finished. When it is all done, the customer has a nice place to go to. Whether they want to relax by themselves, with family, or have friends over. It makes the house and property look complete.”

You can check out the EJ’s Patio and Landscaping Facebook page where photos of projects are posted for people to check out and maybe get some inspiration from.

If you are looking to create or update an outdoor space, Elroy Johnsrud can be reached at 218-686-7262 or by emailing elroy218@gmail.com