SALISBURY - Do your weekend plans include mowing the yard? With the rain we've had lately grass is getting high, but there's a way to have a beautiful backyard that you never have to mow.

It's a new trend called "hardscaping."

Sherry Beck of Johnson Concrete designed all of the model on display at the Johnson plant on Klumac Road.

"People are not selling their homes now," Beck told WBTV.  "What they're doing is creating a new backyard outdoor environment for their landscape."

SALISBURY - This week's high temperatures mean many folks in our area will be turning on the air conditioner for the first time of the season.

On Wednesday WBTV spoke with Mark Stout, owner of Stout Heating and Air of Salisbury about turning on the AC for the first time.

"One thing they need to check is the air filter," Stout said. "Dirty filters keep the unit from cooling and can also cause it to freeze up and be inefficient. Keep your ac serviced yearly.  It doesn't matter when, but clean the coils, the electrical connections, the refrigerant, and make sure that everything is in good working order because they are going to break on the hottest days of the year."

SALISBURY - The first really cold snap can cause an even worse cold snap, the kind that causes pipes in your house to burst.

It's a messy and expensive problem, but one that can be easily avoided.

"You will not notice a busted pipe until it does defrost," said Tony McDaniel, a supervisor with Carolina Pipe Cleaning in Salisbury.  "By that time everything under the house is getting wet, possibly ruin air condition ducts, foundation, anything like that."