Unilock Pavers for Outdoor Masonry Projects

Unilock is a national corporation that provides pre constructed pavers for outdoor landscape masonry projects. The company has regional Unilock Outdoor Idea Centers, including one in New York State, where homeowners can go and see paver options in a real life setting. The company website is full of rich information about hundreds of paver options, suitable for any type of outdoor project that uses pavers, and it displays and organizes photos and information about styles for any type of use. Paver installation is an art form and while the website helps owners design and prepare their project, they are encouraged to use a professional landscape company to complete that actual installation. 

The company offers pavers suitable for all applications including Unilock Select, tumbled pavers, permeable pavement, standard pavers, industrial pavements, garden wall blocks, and retaining walls. Each type of paver is briefly described on the main products page and also has its own page, which presents illustrations and various types of applications for which the company manufactures and supplies stones. The products pages are full of ideas and examples of what the different type of stones are used for and how they can be used.

On a separate page, Unilock presents examples of ways in which their pavers may be used in backyard projects. Homeowners can create outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, retaining walls, patio borders, walkways, driveways, and patios. Unilock stones are colorfast, with a wear proof finish that shields them against dirt and oil. The pavers come in a range of natural colors and textures, and are carefully quality tested. Unilock proudly informs customers that they are the first American company to offer a lifetime guarantee on their stone. They will replace, free of charge, any stone that was properly installed, used as directed and yet became defective.

When potential customers are ready to begin designing their project, they can take advantage of all the online and offline tools the company provides to help customers best visualize how their pavers will look in real life. An online mix and match tool allows homeowners to see how various stone paver styles look next to one another. This can help customers design and plan for borders, and to select pavers that match adjacent stone work. Potential customers can also purchase real life sized color sample sheets they can hold next to garage walls, existing structures, house colors in order to get a better idea of how the finished structure will look in real life. When gathering ideas, potential patrons can take home free sample from their closest outdoor idea center and can see how actual pavers might look in their home setting. Finally, a cost estimator page allows serious customers to determine how many pavers they will need to finish their project and the approximate cost. When they are ready to purchase, their order will be packaged in special containers that insure their stones will get to the house safely and in factory condition.

Qualified landscapers can help homeowners formulate their plans, and can also offer custom modifications of the formulated Unilock plan. From driveway to walkway, creating an outdoor paver project amd using the resources that Unilock offers expands the horizons of the imagination, helping homeowners to get the most out of their paver creation.



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Resource The Turf Barbers LLC; 2929 Quinlan Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; 914 302 2469 Yorktown Heights Lawn Mowing Service

Patios Through History and Today

Patio derives from the Spanish word "patio," and means courtyard, forecourt, or yard. The modern patio is an outdoor space adjoining or partly enclosed by the house. It is usually a flat area covered by a hard surface. The patio is used for dining or recreation.

Historically the patio derives from the Roman atrium. The atrium in ancient Rome was an open central court containing the impluvium, a pool for collecting rain water. The atrium evolved to become the Italian cortile. The cortile was an enclosed inner courtyard typically roofless, surrounded by an arcade, and inside of or attached to a building. The cortile typically was found inside large dwelling houses or other large distinguished buildings.

From Italy the patio evolved into the Moorish and Spanish patio. Moorish patios are known for their enhanced privacy. A Moorish patio is typically an inner courtyard with a beautiful tiled surface, and might contain a central pool suitable for bathing. 

The patio was also a major feature in Spanish architecture. Perhaps derived from the Moorish tradition, the Spanish patio was open to the sky, and had a greater amount of seclusion. Due to the hot climate in Spain, patio arcades took on greater importance as places of shelter from the heat and were richly ornamented. By the era of the Spanish renaissance, the patio had become a standard element of residential architecture. It was exported from Spain to Latin America, where it became a standard part of large ecclesiastic structures as well as larger secular and domestic buildings. 

Unlike the Spanish patio, the contemporary American patio is typically a small paved outdoor area that adjoins or is partially surrounded by the home and often partially sheltered. Patios are typically found in the backyard of modern houses and well suited for sitting and relaxing. They often sit between the residence and the garden. 

Modern patios are often constructed from paving slabs, referred to as paving flags Patios may also be constructed with bricks, block paving, tile, concrete, natural paving stones, or cobblestone.

Synonyms for patio include terrace, veranda, sundeck, deck, close, courtyard, enclosure (also inclosure), court, quad, quadrangle, yard. Related words include atrium, galleria, parvis (also parvise), peristyle; forecourt, place, plaza, square; deck, terrace and curtilage.

Reference: The Turf Barbers is a Yorktown Heights, NY landscaping firm that specializes in masonry work including outdoor patio construction ; 2929 Quinlan Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; Call 914 302 2469  or visit our website at http://www.theturfbarbers.com

Stone Pillars in History and Today

Ancient natural stone formations resulting from geophysical forces sometimes resemble pillars. For example the fabulous Lena stone pillars stand along the banks of the Lena River in Russia and draw people on four day peregrinations from Moscow to see them. Many ancient pillar formations have legends ascribed to them. A large rock sitting on Mt. Sodom in Israel is believed by many to be the wife of the biblical figure Lot, who turned to stone as she looked back at the fire and brimstone raining down on Sodom and Gomorra. A group of stone pillars in Kuklica are supposed to be a wedding party turned to stone by a woman designated to marry the groom on the same day as the first wedding. Massive rock pillars in Utah are said to be "Legend People" who the Cayote Trickster turned to stone because of their evil ways.

Stone pillars were sometimes set up to commemorate religious occurrences, such as the stone pillar erected by the Biblical Jacob, or were erected to commemorate historical events, such as the Allahabad Stone Pillar, erected during the reign of King Samudra Gupta, which contains inscriptions of stories about his reign.  In England, stone pillar formations at Stonehenge and Mitchel's fold were ancient astronomical indicators and places of religious ritual. The Katskhi Pillar in Georgia, was used by stylites (pillar saints) - Christian ascetics who lived on its top and eschewed worldly temptations –The practice was stopped late in the 15th century, but recently revived by locals. Modern stone pillars in Snowdon, England are used to guide hikers in the winter months through the treacherous snow covered trails.

Throughout the ages, stone pillars have changed their style and appearance and function. In modern outdoor masonry, stone pillars are used for a number of functional and decorative purposes. Stone pillars in residential homes may be used to decorate and or embellish a gate made of wood or wrought iron. Pillars can support a mailbox, and will include an attached address sign. Pillars are used to accent a driveway entrance, and may stand alone or with a light on top and or an attached  fence. Pillars can help decorate and or support a portico.

Pillars may serve as supports for a pergola. Pillars may stand under a deck as supporting columns or on top of the deck as decorative markers of the deck's border or as support for an awning that sits over the deck. Pillars can decorate the front of a home, enhancing its curb appeal and value. Stone pillars may also be built into a home adding ambience to basements, dining areas, and can frame fireplaces, cooking areas and televisions.

Stone pillars can be round or square, straight up and down, or tapered. They may have a capstone, such as of bluestone or granite, or they may be topped by a light or decorative piece. Stones used for making pillars include fieldstone, sandstone, brick, natural stone, river rock, brown granite, silver granite, limestone, or quartz. Limestone and fieldstone are easier to work with than granite because they are softer and more easily shaped.

Stones come in many colors, which the mason can arrange within a pillar to form attractive color patterns. The mason may fit colored paver stones into the stoneworks to add attractive accents, and pillars can be made to match the stone work in a nearby wall, walkway, or patio. Modern pillars can also be made of veneer stone. There are many durable types of veneer columns, the common factor being that the stone or faux stone is fitted around a pre-made concrete inner base and held in place with mortar.

Custom pillars add boldness, ambience, and distinction to any home's architecture These important, hardscape features add texture and form to the home's outdoor landscaping. From patios, to walkways, to decks, stone pillars can add accent and character to any existing outside feature.

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Resource The Turf Barbers LLC; 2929 Quinlan Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; 914 302 2469 

Hardscaping Theory and Practice

Hardscaping relates to inanimate parts of the landscape, whereas softscaping refers to animate parts of the landscape, such as grass, plants, shrubs, and trees. Hardscape is inclusive of decks, patios, floors, stone or concrete paths, pillars, stone or concrete walls, stone or rock ornaments, and rock gardens. Masonry landscaping is like a subdivision of hardscaping, and is inclusive of traditional masonry projects such as walls, walkways, driveways, patios, and pavers. Some outdoor masonry projects land outside the scope of standard hardscaping and include outdoor fireplaces, brick ovens, and gas barbeques.

Hardscaping has been described as the structural frame of a natural landscape and proper application of hardscaping or masonry improves the natural look of a backyard. Aesthetically speaking,, lifeless hardscape makes the softscape more meaningful. Hardscape also serves a psychological purpose. It's presence in the garden serves as a touchstone for modern man, who lives surrounded by hardscape like objects.


Certain basic principles of design help explain the role hardscape plays in the garden.

1. Hardscape is intrinsically familiar to modern man and serves as a center on which he can focus his attention, while in the natural environment.
   
2. Hardscape features are simple whereas softscape features are complex.
   
3. Hardscape features are relatively permanent compared to softscape features, which change with the season.
   
4. Hardscape features are durable whereas softscape features are vulnerable.

Below are added some additional ideas about hardscaping.

Because hardscape contrasts so well with softscape, even one figure or feature may be effective. Sometimes hardscape serves as accentuation, such as hardscape figures in the landscape, whereas sometimes the hardscape is more about functionality. Functional hardscape requires attention to the details that will enhance its functionality. Hardscape features that appear to cleverly imitate nature may at times be especially attractive, for example, a water fall feature that is built on a slope. At times hardscape features can be designed to imitate nature, and this can be especially attractive, i.e. a waterfall feature built on a slope.

Proper application of these principles can aid the homeowner or professional gardener to introduce attractive hardscape additions to his landscape.

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Resource The Turf Barbers LLC; 2929 Quinlan Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598; 914 302 2469 Yorktown Heights, Landscapers