Welcome To Our Hardscape Page

Balance

The Right Mix

You should have an appropriate mix between hardscape and softscape. this doesn't mean that your yard should be half hardscape and half softscape, rather, it should reflect your needs, circumstances and the size and the layout of your yard

A Good Design

Asymmetrical Balance

A good design need not be perfectly symmetrical to be balanced. Think about design balance on a weight scale. The things on each side don't have to mirror each other to balance. A few medium sized rocks, for instance, could balance out one large statue. This is what is called asymmetrical balance. It avoids the blandness of symmetry, but keeps the look within a pleasing design.

Focal Points

Central Features

A good hardscaping design should have a focal point. This is a central feature of the area that focuses and anchors an onlooker's gaze. Some effective focal points can be water features, such as ponds and waterfalls, and large structures, like gazeboes, can serve as effective focal points in a yard design.

Blending

Color Schemes

There's no one correct way to achieve this, generally you should strive to blend the hardscaping structures with their surroundings. If you have an attractive view of a landscape beyond your own yard, you might also like to achieve a fluid transition from your yard to the surrounding natural wood.

The Right Material

A Big Difference

The materials you choose to achieve all these effects make a big difference. If your planning a patio you might want to find a particular kind of stone whose color and texture will work well with the materials that make up your home. Or you might use a special kind of timber that grows naturally in the surrounding landscape.

Concrete

Common and Popular

This is a common and popular material with a mix of cement, a sand aggregate, and water. It's known for being relatively cheep and very durable. Some uses include patios, floorings, walkways, driveways, and retaining walls.

Brick

A Classic Look

These red or white blocks can give your patio or walls a classic look that never goes out of style. Brick tends to be a bit more expensive then the concrete alternative, with the cost more comparable to stone.

Stone

Most Popular

A few different kinds of stone are popular for hardscaping, such as flagstone, sandstone, slate, limestone, and quartzite. Flagstone is a popular choice for patio flooring. For this you lay a bed of concrete to set the flagstone in and connect them with grout joints.

Wood

Fluidity

The use of wood in hardscaping can create a fluid transition into a wooded landscape. It's most commonly in fences and decks. Typically decks are built with pressure treated wood and retaining walls are constructed with treated landscape timbers.

Permanence

Comforting and Durable

An important contrast between hardscape and softscape is that of permanence versus transience. We know plants lose leaves seasonally, grow and die On the other hand a durable stone wall will far outlive the vegetation that grows around it. Onlookers get a sense of comforting permanence from hardscaping features like a stone wall.

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