Researching Stone Landscaping
Bart Flegg on January 18, 2010, 1:43 pm

People can’t help but love the look of stone in their landscape.  It seems that over the past couple of years stone had emerged as the landscape material of choice. We are seeing large boulders more and more and an increasing amount of thin stone veneers. As well as natural stone the market has been flooded with ‘fake’ stone or cast concrete.  We will discuss further the different type of stone currently popular in the landscape market.

Thin stone veneer is stone cut to approximately 1” thick for the purpose of veneering masonry walls. The advantage of this thin stone over contemporary wall stone is that it is much lighter and therefore does not require a footing. This makes installation faster and more cost effective.  Thin stone veneers are commonly sold by the face foot and corners are sold separately. The benefit of choosing a thin stone veneer that comes with corners is that you don’t get unsightly mortar lines near the corners, nor do you see the side of the veneer. Cut corners are created to give that full stone look that you are trying to accomplish.    

Large boulders are great additions to a landscape project. From moss covered rock to weathered limestone there are many different choices out there. The most popular stone we use is limestone because it tends to come with a flat top which is ideal for sitting on or creating different levels. The most important thing to consider when thinking of using large boulders is how large is too large? Boulders can weigh a whole lot and many get discouraged when they think about moving around these large rocks. Plan out your approach! Tree dollies and rented equipment can make the placing of these large stone a breeze. Many stone yard who deliver these large boulders often do so with a  boom truck. The advantage of this is that many booms can reach 20ft or more away from the truck. This just might be far enough if you are landscaping your front yard.

Now the last stone we are going to discuss is ‘fake’ stone. I call it fake stone because this product is actually cast concrete with a color coating. A popular manufacturer of this type of product is Stone Link. I personally have a few problems with these products. The first is that when it gets scratched it leaves a large gouge and the concrete shows through. Another is durability and the last issue is the fact that these products tend to get really slippery when they are wet.  Despite their down falls the price point of this product is a major factor when selecting it. Cast concrete is significantly cheeper than natural stone and for a while at least you get the look of stone that you crave.

When choosing stone for your Toronto landscape project always do your research before purchasing anything. Some stone is slippery and other stone discolors with age. Other stone gets really hot in the summer time and is uncomfortable to walk on in bare feet. Doing your research can save you time and most importantly money. Or you can let us do your research for you and create a new stone landscape creation for your backyard or front yard.

Stone, Landscaping, Rocks, Landscape Design, Etobioke, Contractor, Toronto
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