Page 12 - March 2013 ~ Lafayette Today
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Life in the Lafayette Garden Surface Trends By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect One of many important decisions you will make while designing your Lafayette garden will be regarding what kind of surface materials you will be using for your patios, walkways, decks, and hardscape. Today, the choices in materials are numerous. Sometimes they’re overwhelming! When you think of what has been available in the past, you think of dull gray broom-finished concrete, tanArizona flagstone, and red brick. When you think of decking materials, redwood has dominated the industry for the past fifty years. Today, a myriad of hardscape materials are now available. Natural stone products such as flagstone, slate, wall ledger, and rock have dominated current trends in hardscape materials. In the past ten years the natural stone industry has grown by leaps and bounds. When considering natural stone as your primary surfacing material, you must understand this is the most expensive approach. Generally, natural stone surfacing runs $15 to $35 a square foot* when mortared over a concrete base. *Prices indicate current market averages including material, labor, and profit by licensed contractors. With the awareness of “Green” building methods, manufactured surfacing material choices have also gone off the chart. There is an abundant choice of manufactured stone and pre-cast concrete products in a multitude of colors. These products make long-lasting affordable surfaces for patios, walls, and veneers. They are less expensive and less labor-intensive to install, and prices range from $12 to $25 a square foot, depending on your surface and product. A very popular trend that came into the industry about 15 years ago is interlocking concrete pavers. When first introduced, the shapes, colors, and surface choices were limited. Today, interlocking pavers span a wide range of colors, textures, and shapes. Pavers have become the new “cheaper” solution to large expanses of surfacing, such as driveways, patio, plazas, and streetscapes. Concrete once dominated the industry as the number one choice of surface materials. Recently, pavers have taken over because of effective costness, ease of installation, sustainability, and a more creative design detail. Interlocking paving generally ranges from $9.50 to $15 a square foot, although large, expansive streetscapes can be
installed for as low as $3.50 a square foot. Concrete is still one of the most popular choices for hardscape. It is cost effective, although concrete prices have sky-rocketed over the past five years as petroleum prices increased shipping costs. Concrete’s versatility is its strong point. Innovations in concrete treatments have soared in efforts to keep up with the natural stone industry growth. New treatments such as dust-on color hardeners, pigmented acid stains, multi-colored stamped concrete, and creative designs have given concrete a new lease on life. These new treatments have replaced exposed aggregate, salt finish, and broom finished concrete. Concrete prices range from $9 to $25 a square foot. Other uses include lightweight concrete counter tops for outdoor kitchens. A specialized product that I have been enjoying lately is a product called “ArcusStone™.” This product is very attractive and durable. It adds an element of elegance and uniqueness that other hardscape materials don’t have. Basically the material is an overlay of a cementitious limestone with natural mineral pigments that can be customized into any design and color range thinkable. When you think of “Old World” techniques, this is exactly that. It takes a trained craftsman to apply it because it is totally shaped, colored, and created at your project site. It runs $12 to $25 a square foot when overlaying concrete or a wall, and it can be used as a patio, walkway, wall face, cook center countertops, fireplace, or bar top. Wood surfaces have fallen in popularity because of rising costs, maintenance
concerns, and environmental issues. Redwood was once abundant locally but has now become expensive and marginal in quality because of the halt in foresting and environmental concerns. If a natural wood product is what you’re looking for, redwood has been replaced with Ipe (e-pay), or ironwood, and other sustainable woods. Manufactured wood products such as “Trex” and “TimberTech” have also become extremely popular because of their environmental approach and low maintenance. If you are looking for a wood-look as a choice in hardscape, there are many choices ranging from $25 to $35 a square foot. One of my favorites is the use of gravel or decomposed granite for informal patios and paths. This is the lowest cost solution, ranging from $3-$5 a sq ft. When I work with my clients in the creation of their garden environment, choosing the hardscape material can sometimes be one of the highest hurdles to get over. With adherence to the design process, the choices are narrowed by the design goals and budget decisions to an appropriate choice that you will be happy with for many years to come. A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Don’t order catalogs; the internet is a great place to start your search for hardscape materials. A lot of suppliers and manufacturers have good pictures of ideas on their websites. Check our new HOUZZ profile. www.houzz.com/pro/jmla/john-montgomery-landscape-architects Gardening Quote of the Month: “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” ~Thoreau If you would like me to write on any particular subject email your ideas to jmontgomery@jm-la.com or for design ideas visit www.jm-la.com. Advertorial
St. Perpetua’s 3rd grade boys basketball team capped a successful season by winning the American Division in the West Diablo CYO league championships. Back row, from left: Brady Burman, Will Stryker, Aidan Mahaney, Marco Chao. Front row: Harry Llewellyn, Joe McCauley, James Frye, Jack Wood, Luke Souza, Mike Kostolansky. Photo by Jamie Frye.