Is It Time for an Overhaul?
Sure, the hot months are almost done, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get started on your landscaping project, ensuring next summer is peak, and your yard is primed and ready for next summer!
And sure, you’re doing your research. You’re pretty handy, after all. But wait, what the heck is a hardscape? Or a softscape? You just came here to landscape!
Hauser Contractors would like to show you how integrating hardscapes into your yard’s landscaping can enhance the aesthetic of your home!
What Are Hardscapes?
Landscaping is largely split between two elements: hardscapes and softscapes.
The easiest way to differentiate between the two is this: hardscapes consist of the nonliving elements of your landscape, such as stone, brick, outdoor kitchens, walkways, and other features. Softscapes are the living elements that bring vitality and life to your landscaping. Things like plants, trees, shrubs, grass, flowers, and ground covers are considered softscaping.
It is easy to get excited about the softscape elements you are eager to bring to your yard. Flowers that will encourage pollinators and other beautiful fauna to visit your yard. Well-sculpted bushes that afford not only curb appeal but also privacy. Who doesn’t want a piece of property that feels like they are right in the middle of nature, even when they are in the middle of town?
But hardscapes are the elements that bring longevity and aesthetics to your yard. Hardscaping with purpose can increase the natural beauty of your yard and home and can serve a purpose deeper than simple elegance.
What Are the Benefits of Hardscaping?
Consider the purpose of adding an addition to your home: more space, increased property values, accessibility, and more. Hardscaping can have similar benefits as well as perks you might not have thought of. Here are some advantages to integrating hardscape elements into your landscaping:
- Enhances aesthetic: This is the most obvious benefit when adding hardscaping elements to your property. It boosts your curb appeal and improves the overall look.
- Allows improved accessibility: Adding walking paths, decks, and patios to your property can improve its accessibility, minimize hidden hazards, and result in an overall safer home.
- Reduces maintenance: When you integrate well-thought-out hardscapes into your landscaping, you introduce a feature that requires less upkeep than living elements. There is no need to water, weed, mow, or trip a pleasant hardscape feature.
- Increases the longevity of your property: You bought your home with the goal of living there forever. Why not increase its durability with things like retaining walls that help ensure the stability of your landscape?
- Expand your living space: When you add hardscapes to your backyard, such as an outdoor kitchen, patios, or a beautiful place to hang out around the pool, you increase the square footage of your home’s living space!
- Increase your home’s value: Well-planned hardscaping adds value to your home, making it more attractive to buyers who may be hunting for a home with family-friendly decks, patios, and walkways.
What are Some Unique Hardscapes?
When you consider the idea that just about anything made of stone, brick, cinder, or concrete is a hardscape, it becomes easier to identify what is and isn’t a hardscape. But what about some hardscape options you may not have thought of?
Freestanding structures, such as gazebos, trellises, and pergolas, are all considered hardscaping. These beautiful structures can serve as a focal point, adding luxury and character to your yard.
Why not add a beautiful water feature to your property? Not only are water features pleasant to look at and add the sound of flowing water to your yard, but they also encourage wildlife to visit you and your family!
It’s cooling off already, and dreams of sitting around the fire pit with friends and family while the kiddos roast marshmallows are just around the corner! Adding a fire pit to your property can serve as a great hangout place for the gang when everyone’s done with their food and ready to just sit back, warm up, and chat. A fire pit is a great way to enjoy your yard, even when it starts to get chilly.
Don’t forget the cookout! An outdoor kitchen can make you and your guests feel like they are living in the lap of luxury. Your outdoor kitchen can be something as simple as a brick patio for your grill all the way to a weatherproof countertop, outdoor sink, and four-burner gas range. Just remember to stock the beer fridge!
Should You DIY Your Hardscaping?
When you bought your property, you probably had planned to do all of the repairs and landscaping yourself. You’ve been watching videos online since you first laid eyes on that yard, which was full of opportunity.
You have probably already started buying the necessary tools and materials.
But then life started to take over, as it usually does. You’ve got a kid or two who are in afterschool sports, and you can’t miss that. Or work has picked back up, and your attention has been pulled back into the office.
You just don’t have the time to tear up your yard, mix concrete, and lay down some paving stones.
That’s why you should call Hauser Contractors at 610-510-6020.
With over 39 years of contracting experience, we have the skills necessary to turn your yard from a planned project into a gorgeous oasis that will make you the envy of the neighborhood and the BBQ hero!
Give us a call or click here to start your free estimate!
