Summer’s warm temperatures and great weather are ideally suited for a new or expanding hardscape. Whether you’re looking to replace that old driveway or parking pad, cooking out on a new paver patio, entertaining in a cozy paver courtyard, spicing up a plant bed with an accent wall, or simply having an eye-catching paver walkway – a customized hardscape gives you year-round outdoor living experiences every day! Of course, as you and your hardscape contractor are planning that beautiful hardscape, it’s important to consider several factors to ensure a great outcome. While I described some key elements in the March issue of Emerald Isle Living, additional factors to consider are described below.
Design and Material Considerations
There’s an array of design and material elements in any hardscape planning process – most notably, SHAPE, PATTERN, SCALE, TEXTURE, and STRUCTURAL COMPOSITION. Let’s start with SHAPE; take a look at the shape of your property to imagine how a particular hardscape will comfortably and aesthetically “fit” in your existing landscape while meeting your particular needs. Simultaneously, this will help you and your contractor consider the most appropriate shape(s) of hardscape materials used (e.g., squared, rectangular, geometric, coping, etc.) to fit the shape (e.g., squared, rectangular, triangular, diagonal, curved, etc.) of the actual platform. Essentially, well-crafted shape decisions can lead to a hardscape platform truly has a unique “personality” and “classy” appearance – one that is aesthetically timeless and structurally everlasting!
Of course, the shape of a particular hardscape platform essentially influences the PATTERN used in the various physical layout options to consider. Moveover, a particular pattern “defines” the aesthetic (visual) appearance of the installed platform. By and large, pattern options vary considerably – especially in paver platforms – from basic formats such as split seam and running bond –to- intermediate layouts such as plank and irregular –to- more advanced and elaborate patterns such as herringbone, modular, and basket weave.
Another key element to consider in your hardscaping decisions is TEXTURE, which essentially represents the surface structure of a paver, wall block, cap, etc. On a continuum, textures range from smooth and standard to mid-level dimpled, tumbled, antiqued, and cobbled to more irregular surfaces such as slate, sculpted, and distressed. By and large, selecting an appropriate surface is particularly important in paver platforms such as ground-level sidewalks, patios, and courtyards where a safe walking surface is vital.
Another key element to consider in any hardscape platform is SCALE – essentially the shape and size of materials used. Fundamentally, scale greatly influences a platform’s appearance, function, comfort, and surrounding physical environment. As you can imagine, scale varies substantially from brick-size pavers and irregular sized cobble stones –to- standard 6” x 9” (60 or 80 mm) pavers –to- irregular shaped flagstones and grid pavers.
The final element to consider is STRUCTURAL COMPOSITION – in essence the physical compounds that comprise a particular product. While the vast majority of manufactured hardscape materials generally consist of high strength Portland® cement, fine/course aggregates (sand and gravel) water, and mineral oxide pigments, today’s market place is expanding as more earthy products such as travertine, granite, quarried limestone, porcelain, and even natural wood are gaining ground. With this evolving line-up, isn’t this a great time to hardscape!
Any content, resident submissions, guest columns, advertisements, and advertorials are not necessarily endorsed by or represent the views of Best Version Media LLC (BVM) or any municipality, homeowners associations, businesses, or organizations that this publication serves. BVM is not responsible for the reliability, suitability, or timeliness of any content submitted, inclusive of materials generated or composed through artificial intelligence (AI). All content submitted is done so at the sole discretion of the submitting party.
