Hardscaping: Natural Stone
As the foundation of your outdoor living area, your hardscaping project should be well-planned to serve a purpose. Whether it be a dramatic front entrance or a simple spot to eat and enjoy nature in your backyard, there are many different material options to choose from.
JWS Landscaping will dramatically enhance your landscape with professional hardscaping creations.
Examples include:
- Beautiful pathways paved into your garden areas
- Stunning walkway leading to your front door
- Beautiful natural flagstone to replace old concrete patio
- Magnificent pool renovation to bring your old pool environment back to life!
Following is information about some specific forms of natural stone for hardscaping. Click here to learn more about manufactured stone hardscaping.
TYPES OF FLAGSTONE
There are a number of real stone products we use for patios and walkways, but flagstone and bluestone are great choices because they offer a timeless look of beauty.
We are lucky to have some of the largest deposits of flag and bluestone in Pennsylvania. There are two types of flagstone we commonly use; Thermal and Natural Cleft.
- A close look at natural cleft shows some texture in the stone with high and low spots varying up to 1/8th of an inch. This texture is from splitting along the sedimentary grain when it was harvested. This variance is still comfortable for patio furniture, walking and gives a very natural appearance.
- The other type is Thermal, often referred to as bluestone. Thermal is very smooth to the touch and gets its name from the process used to achieve this smooth finish. The stone is wet so water gets into the small crevices. A flame is then applied causing the water to expand and flakes the stone off. This process is continued until a smooth finish is achieved.
Both these types of flagstone can be purchased with “full range” of color which has tans, browns and shades of blue or all blue/gray. Both types also come in random rectangular sizes to make a pattern, or irregular shaped pieces that get installed into a custom mosaic onsite.
INSTALLATION METHODS
The two types of installation methods we offer are dry laid and wet laid.
Dry laid requires installing a compacted stone base below ground level, then setting the stones on top of another smaller aggregate for leveling purposes.
For wet laid we install a reinforced concrete slab then install the stones on top with mortar. Both installation methods have their proper place and should be determined based on your specific property needs.
EXAMPLES
