AED Foundation & SkillsUSA Illinois Support Skilled Trades
Jessica Schwartz
Get Equipped: Hardscape Projects
This assortment of equipment and solutions for hardscape projects can add value to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. ClifRock™ Panel System The ClifRock™ Panel System utilizes engineered molds that save money and time, while preserving the same strength, aesthetics, and durability of natural stone. ClifRock precast panels are taken from exact impressions of real stone pieces that were hand-selected by a stone mason with 20 years of experience. Featuring the natural texturing, color, and finish of real stone, they can be made in almost any color and profile—from rough-cut sandstone to chunky river rock. ClifRock collaborated with one of the world’s leading concrete chemists to develop a panel mixture that provides resistance to higher temperatures, stability through freezing temperatures and ensuing thaws, and superior strength. The Panel Masonry™ technology used combines the appearance of stone with simplified installation and lifetime durability. Eco-Promenade® Permeable Paver from Unilock® Unilock’s Eco-Promenade plank-style permeable paver is appropriate for residential or commercial projects, including pedestrian or vehicular applications. The Eco-Promenade paver employs spacer bars to create a 7mm gap between the units. When installed on an open-graded base with a fine stone chip joint infill, Eco-Promenade pavers allow water to flow directly through to the earth and away from storm drains and sewer systems. Utilizing Unilock EnduraColor™ technology, the refined surface is achieved with a two-step manufacturing process that combines a base of coarser aggregates with concentrated color and wear-resistant finer aggregates. This process protects the appearance from fading over time because the ...
Get Equipped: Hardscape Projects
This assortment of equipment and solutions for hardscape projects can add value to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. ClifRock™ Panel System The ClifRock™ Panel System utilizes engineered molds that save money and time, while preserving the same strength, aesthetics, and durability of natural stone. ClifRock precast panels are taken from exact impressions of real stone pieces that were hand-selected by a stone mason with 20 years of experience. Featuring the natural texturing, color, and finish of real stone, they can be made in almost any color and profile—from rough-cut sandstone to chunky river rock. ClifRock collaborated with one of the world’s leading concrete chemists to develop a panel mixture that provides resistance to higher temperatures, stability through freezing temperatures and ensuing thaws, and superior strength. The Panel Masonry™ technology used combines the appearance of stone with simplified installation and lifetime durability. Eco-Promenade® Permeable Paver from Unilock® Unilock’s Eco-Promenade plank-style permeable paver is appropriate for residential or commercial projects, including pedestrian or vehicular applications. The Eco-Promenade paver employs spacer bars to create a 7mm gap between the units. When installed on an open-graded base with a fine stone chip joint infill, Eco-Promenade pavers allow water to flow directly through to the earth and away from storm drains and sewer systems. Utilizing Unilock EnduraColor™ technology, the refined surface is achieved with a two-step manufacturing process that combines a base of coarser aggregates with concentrated color and wear-resistant finer aggregates. This process protects the appearance from fading over time because the ...
Turf June 2022 Issue
Editor’s Letter: June 2022 Issue Not A Drop To Drink I could fill this Editor’s Letter with scary statistics about water shortages and drought, but unless you’re living under a rock within that xeriscape you designed, it’s not news to you. In many areas, we are in crisis with a precious resource not only essential to life, but essential to the landscape trade. “Using clean, filtered drinking water to water landscapes will become a thing of the past,” writes Doug Pushard, founder of HarvestH20 in his article, “Water Harvesting & Reuse.” Though that may seem unlikely, or at least years away, in states blessed with adequate rainfall, landscapers in California are already facing harsh water realities. While smart controllers, drip irrigation, and appropriate plant selection should come into play in any irrigated landscape, firms like CK Landscape in San Francisco are leading the way with fertigation, groundwater use, and graywater systems as standard practices in their stunning designs. It likely won’t be long until many others in arid areas are following suit—by choice or by necessity. Of course, too much water comes with its own set of landscape problems. Storms with deluges of rain over a short time can mean drainage problems. And stormwater runoff is increasingly being scrutinized for its pollutants. I recently spoke with a friend in a neighborhood where his rain garden is a property requirement and subject to municipal inspections and fines. And yet I remember a time fairly recently when few people had even heard ...
Turf June 2022 Issue
Editor’s Letter: June 2022 Issue Not A Drop To Drink I could fill this Editor’s Letter with scary statistics about water shortages and drought, but unless you’re living under a rock within that xeriscape you designed, it’s not news to you. In many areas, we are in crisis with a precious resource not only essential to life, but essential to the landscape trade. “Using clean, filtered drinking water to water landscapes will become a thing of the past,” writes Doug Pushard, founder of HarvestH20 in his article, “Water Harvesting & Reuse.” Though that may seem unlikely, or at least years away, in states blessed with adequate rainfall, landscapers in California are already facing harsh water realities. While smart controllers, drip irrigation, and appropriate plant selection should come into play in any irrigated landscape, firms like CK Landscape in San Francisco are leading the way with fertigation, groundwater use, and graywater systems as standard practices in their stunning designs. It likely won’t be long until many others in arid areas are following suit—by choice or by necessity. Of course, too much water comes with its own set of landscape problems. Storms with deluges of rain over a short time can mean drainage problems. And stormwater runoff is increasingly being scrutinized for its pollutants. I recently spoke with a friend in a neighborhood where his rain garden is a property requirement and subject to municipal inspections and fines. And yet I remember a time fairly recently when few people had even heard ...
Elevating Stormwater Management
There has been a generational shift in the way our communities perceive, understand, and value the benefits of stormwater management. Gone are the days when the only mention of stormwater were decals on curb storm inlets. Gone too is the idea that low impact development measures are merely an option. As major storm events occur with greater frequency, often with infrastructure damage, people can see for themselves the ripple effects created by inadequate environmental measures and thoughtless development. “Optional” to “Required” During my two decades as a landscape architect, I have seen growth in the public’s understanding and appreciation of sustainable development practices. As jurisdictions increase requirements, developers continue to evaluate the cost-benefit of stormwater management measures such as bio-retention facilities, rain gardens, green roofs, and retention/detention ponds, to name a few. These measures: reduce runoff, slow rainwater to mitigate erosion, and filter contaminants. And, while a civil engineer typically designs stormwater systems, the job of those in landscape is becoming more robust than ever before. The basic idea of balancing hardscape with the right amount of landscape maximizes usage, value, flexibility, and performance. Not only are these projects some of the most cost effective, they can bring additional value. The recognition that landscape design can change the positioning of otherwise utilitarian stormwater functions opens up possibilities. Stormwater management becomes an opportunity for enhancement, rather than a byproduct of construction. With appealing plant palettes and layouts that enhance the pedestrian experience, stormwater elements can often do double or triple ...
Inspire Customers With Hardscape
Fresh air and natural, healthy surroundings can be a powerful motivator. Months of pandemic-related self-quarantining and work-from-home routine have ushered in tremendous interest in improving home environments—particularly those that let homeowners enjoy their outdoor spaces. At the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI), what we see now is a sharp increase in demand for outdoor living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, and more. It is all about converting unused outdoor spaces into comfortable living and entertainment spaces. The goals for most of these projects, both small and large, are familiar. Enjoy The Environment An easy and elegant way to bring a home up to date and expand the outdoor living area is with the many options that colorful, durable concrete pavers provide. Professionally designed and installed hardscapes can improve quality of life now and curb appeal later when the time comes to sell a home. Wherever pavers are installed, real estate experts say, it can be easy to recoup the cost when a home is being sold. Many homeowners and prospective homeowners consider pavers a much more attractive option than other pavement systems. Pavers are also easier to maintain and last longer without needing to be repaired. There are many ways outdoor living spaces can be created using hardscape elements. These include concrete pavers, segmental retaining walls, kitchen and fireplace components, built-in seating, and water features. Pavers also provide a safe, slip-resistant surface in various colors, shapes, and textures, as well as blends with flashed tones to harmonize with a home’s exterior ...
Field To Dreams: Repurposed Limestone Creates Perfect Patio
With Hardscape North America (HNA) right around the corner, Joe Majerus, owner of Sheboygan Falls, WI-based Landmark Landscapes, Inc., knows it will be hard to beat last year’s experience. In 2018, Landmark won HNA’s award for best use of natural stone in a residential or commercial project. The project, incorporating innovative and aesthetic use of limestone found on the property, as well as Mexican beach pebbles, and a seemingly suspended chandelier, was an evolving plan that continues to be enhanced by side projects. An Evolving Plan The six-figure project was one any landscape design/build firm would love. The property sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, and Landmark had previously built a grill area adjacent to the kitchen featuring a dry-stack bar. But Majerus, who sees his role as one of building relationships, initially met the client through their neighbors. “This was a word-of-mouth referral,” he says. “We had done work for their neighbor to the north, the neighbor to the south and the neighbor to the west. We just encircled them.” Majerus says it was nearly preordained his company would take on the job. Majerus describes the home as a mid-century modern with a limestone façade that was built around 1960. Subsequently, when his company was called in to work on the second phase of landscaping for the property, it wasn’t starting with a blank slate. “There garden terrace that part of the original design, but it was never carried out very well,” he says. “It had some ...
WAC Upgrades Hardscape Series of LED Luminaires
WAC Landscape Lighting has upgraded its Hardscape Series of LED Luminaires with Dual CCT and Integral Brightness Control for numerous lighting applications. The Series allows for hardscapes of various materials and designs to be illuminated to suit the customers’ needs and applications. Lumen adjustment control allows brightness to be adjusted in the field and color temperatures can easily switch from warm for lighting granite to pure white for lighting bluestone. These IP66 rated luminaires are factory sealed and watertight for exterior settings and conveniently adapt into existing 12V Systems. They can adjust from 2700K and 3000K quickly and easily and feature tightly spaced and diffused LEDs which stem from standard frosted lens for even illumination. A stainless steel masonry bracket and rotating clips help achieve the perfect angle and eliminate glare. The Hardscape luminaires mount on walls in all orientations. Additionally the Hardscape fixtures are constructed of corrosion-resistant brass and available in bronze, graphite, and sand (in corrosion resistant aluminum) to complement a wide variety of materials such as stonework, concrete, and wood surfaces. Sizes range from three to 18 inches in length, with the controllability features available on the 6-inch, 12-inch and 18-inch models.
