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Jessica Schwartz
Story Of A Landscape: Pervious Pavers Aid Environmentally Sensitive Property
Many landscape clients — and their contractors — have turned to pavers for their good looks and durability without thinking about their versatility as a permeable surface. Still, when designer Chris Rupp of Virginia Beach, Virginia-based Dominion Pavers was called in on a custom home job here, perviousness was utmost on his mind. Not only did the job call for a long driveway, but because of the property’s location in the Chesapeake Bay Protective Area, runoff had to be controlled to meet Resource Protection Area (RPA) setbacks. Rupp explains that he frequently works with Sasser Construction LC of Portsmouth, Virginia, on his projects. In this case, because of the location of the land and its proximity to the bay, as well as the RPA setback, the owners were required to give up a certain square footage of impervious material for their project. “That’s how we came up with a plan to tie the detached garage, which has some parking areas and a turnaround, along with a front walkway, together,” Rupp says. “There’s quite an elevation change, and because the house is on a little peninsula, we couldn’t have the stormwater running off into the RPA.” That’s not to say appearance didn’t play its part in the selection of a paver product, however, “There’s a stone façade on the garage and around the house and the color of that stone was more like a fieldstone,” Rupp says. “That basically drove me to find the product that would marry with the color ...
Sealing And Dealing: Restoring Pavers With SEK-Surebond
Maintaining hardscapes has become a valuable add-on service for many landscape design/build companies as of late. While many surfaces installed these days, whether natural stone or concrete, can last years, if not decades, wear and tear can show through over time. Jim Scocozza, owner of Pennsylvania-based The Paver Savers Inc., said he’s started using a sealer on his projects. “We’ve worked with new installations and hardscapes that have considerable age. For new installs, we can protect the beauty of the surface. We can also restore older hardscapes to bring them back to life,” he says about using a sealer. “Either way, there is a real ‘wow factor’ when we are done.” SEK-Surebond, a 25-year-old company that offers hardscape installation products, acquired Surebond in 2010. This 30-year-old company manufactures sealers, cleaners and adhesive products for hardscapes, as well as joint stabilizing sealers and a line of sealers, cleaners and stain-blocking products in various finishes. Since leading sealer vendors will provide training on the application of such products, savvy contractors can pick up this add-on service to offer customers and extend the life of new installations, but also expand opportunities in restoring older projects. “Generally speaking, homeowners are not aware of the need to clean and seal,” Scocozza says. “Contractors can also be hesitant to offer the services because they lack experience, training and knowledge.” Scocozza acknowledges the learning curve involved. Some common difficulties associated with sealers include over-application of the sealer or applying it in poor weather. Moisture, for example, can ...
Story Of A Landscape: Intricate Design For Concrete Paver Plaza In Raleigh
Sometimes the simplest-looking things can be complicated — and visa versa. Take the concrete paver plaza Morrisville, North Carolina-based Fred Adams Paving Co., did for the Local Government Federal Credit Union in Raleigh. Project manager Mark Tiernan says even the installers like the clean-lined project which saw the company installing some 18,000 square feet of pavers at the front of the building. However, getting it to line up with the designer’s plan was no easy task. Judges for this year’s Hardscape North America competition also liked its looks, and recognized it as the winner in the Concrete Paver — Commercial — more than 15,000 sf category. Tiernan explains that Fred Adams Paving got the job based on more than just its bid. The company had previously and successfully worked with both the general contractor, the local Barnhill Contracting Co., and the landscape installation company, Southern Garden of Apex, North Carolina. “We teamed up with Southern Garden,” says Tiernan. “We work with them a lot, so we teamed up on this project, and Barnhill chose them to do the landscaping and us to do the hardscapes.” And, he adds, the Fred Adams crew did some minor work with the landscaping, mainly installing some precast planter curbs. However, the biggest part of the company’s work at the LGFCU involved the new front plaza that also carried pavers into the asphalt parking lot. The building itself had previously belonged to the city of Raleigh. “They totally changed the building,” he says. “They basically ...
Story Of A Landscape: Anchoring Porcelain Pavers For A Chicago Deck Installation
Regular followers of the Hardscape North America awards may have noticed a new product on the list this year. For the first time, the use of porcelain pavers — both for residential and commercial projects — appeared as a category. And, when it came to the commercial competition, this year’s winner recognized a project that utilized a new way of installing this attractive paver. Warrenville, Illinois-based C.R. Schmidt, Inc., took home the prize for work it did on the 14th floor deck of one of the Windy City’s premier apartment buildings, the Sterling Private Residences. Olivia Lockett, C.R. Schmidt’s president, explains the job was not a typical porcelain paver project in that an important goal of the work was to keep the 2 foot by 2 foot by 3/4 inch pavers where they belong. “Porcelain is a very light material, about nine pounds-per-square-foot,” Lockett explains. “Combatting against wind lift is a big deal for projects like this because the porcelain is so light it can fly around like frisbees.” The fact that the company was willing to take on a new system of installing the porcelain pavers — plus its previous experience working for the prime contractor — is what got C.R. Schmidt the job, Lockett believes. That the company was also recommended by the porcelain paver supplier, Tile Tech Pavers of Vernon, California, as well as the design team, didn’t hurt either. “We really were one of the very, very few contractors in the Chicago area who had any ...
