Spring has sprung in Emerald Isle, and what better way to usher in the new year and season than with a beautiful, low maintenance, and ever-lasting hardscape. Whether you’re looking to replace that old parking pad with a permeable paver driveway, cooking out on a new paver patio, entertaining in a cozy paver courtyard, enhancing a plant bed with an accent wall, or simply having an eye-catching paver walkway – a customized hardscape provides you with year-round outdoor living experiences every day. Of course, proper planning is essential in bringing your hardscape plans to reality.
Putting Your Vision Into Reality
Establishing a clear-cut vision of what type of hardscape platform you’d like to achieve is the first step in planning a successful “game plan” – one that is customized to:
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- Your lifestyle and how a new hardscape can enhance daily platforms for relaxing, entertaining, parking, walking, etc.
- Areas of your property that need a “facelift,” an expanded outdoor living area, and/ or a brand new addition.
- Any existing property issues such as drainage/flooding, erosion, etc.
- Property size accommodations for a new hardscape that preserves existing natural/sensitive areas, septic tank lines, underground utilities, etc.
- The desired aesthetic appearance of a hardscape – which is primarily influenced by a product’s color, texture (smooth, cobbled, sculpted, etc.) and size & shape (“scale”).
- Property regulations – Town of Emerald Isle, HOA, in-ground utilities, State of N.C., CAMA, etc.
- Enhancing your property’s appearance, curb appeal, and real estate value.
- Your personal budget considerations and how affordability is affected by a particular type of hardscape installation (e.g., size, design, products, etc).
Although hardscapes of all types can be installed in any season, Spring is ideally suited for a new patio, courtyard, driveway, accent wall or walkway because (1) warming ground temperatures allow Emerald Isle soils – from sand-dominant to partial silt – to soften up for easier manual and mechanical excavation, (2) warming air temperatures foster quicker [labor-driven] prep and installation timeframes than in Summer’s heat, (3) layout specifications (e.g., size, design, etc.) are much easier to perform before the season’s vegetation growth could obscure the area of a planned hardscape and, finally, (4) having quick access to product inventory before the supply chain is squeezed in the summer.
Putting Your Plan Into Action
While you’re considering a new or upgraded hardscape but not sure how to proceed or what it may cost? Consulting an experienced –and- qualified hardscape contractor can provide you with accurate, informative, and timely information that can be integrated into an actual “game plan.” In doing so, the contractor can readily provide you with on-the-spot options, product samples, opportunities to personally view actual hardscapes throughout Emerald Isle, and a relevant cost estimate for a particular platform(s). In essence, investing this front-end prep time and tapping today’s readily-available technical and best practice resources can effectively transform YOUR vision into a beautiful hardscape for years to come!
