In this episode of The Landscaper Grow Show, host Mark Lamberth talks with Adam Seim of Urban Exteriors in Brooklyn, New York, about how he turned a background in finish carpentry, cabinetry, and metalwork into a niche business renovating tight, hard‑to‑access backyards behind 100‑plus‑year‑old brownstones.

Adam explains what makes NYC row‑house yards so challenging—no alleys, 20×40‑foot spaces, everything carried through high‑end kitchens and living rooms—and how that’s forced him to operate as much like a white‑glove service company as a contractor, with meticulous dust control, protection, and logistics.

He dives into why he prefers welded steel frames with Ipe, concrete curbs, and permeable resin‑bound stone over traditional pressure‑treated framing, how sun, shade, mildew, and freeze‑thaw cycles punish outdoor work in New York’s climate, and what “sustainable” really means when you want a deck or fence to last 30+ years instead of rotting out in ten.