In landscaping, you hear the term hardscape a lot when talking about urbanized areas, such as the suburbs. Hardscapes generally leave little or no soil exposed, covering all or nearly all of it with pavement, and they come with both advantages and disadvantages. Especially in bigger cities, hardscapes make up much of the features.
In landscaping, hardscapes characteristically leave no part of the upper soil profile exposed. They include most paved areas, such as housing developments, business complexes, streets, and sidewalks. Most industrial areas also fall into this category, so you see a lot of this in NJ landscaping.
Hardscaping also applies to paved areas on a smaller scale. Although zones like building complexes may be what springs to mind, a lot of hardscaping goes into these smaller areas. Both sidewalks and paver patios are considered hardscapes; on this scale, many people are able to do some hardscaping of their own.
There can sometimes be a problem with soil naturally moving downward and compromising the structure of the hardscaping, especially in areas of fluctuating elevation. When this happens, a retaining wall is usually built. These barriers divide hardscapes from what's called the softscape, or natural features.
One of the big benefits of hardscapes is they massively increase a place's population capacity. Soil and other natural features of the earth wear down quickly when they receive high amounts of human traffic. Hardscaping also enables us to build sheer vertical architectural features, something that would have been impossible before and which greatly enhances habitation possibilities.
Besides streets, building complexes, patios and the like, hardscapes also include nearly all of a city's water features. Paved surfaces are inevitably necessary in order to retain the water, so most water features end up falling into this category. Things like fountains, water parks, pools, and other things of that nature are all different types of hardscapes.
Modern landscaping requires a lot of hardscape in order to keep up with the high population densities of urban areas and city centers. Although hydroseeding has a lot of benefits when it comes to optimizing traffic capacity, they also come with the disadvantage of a lowered capacity to absorb and drain water. This means that huge amounts of water much be drained through artificial draining networks, and a depleted water table in the hardscaping and surrounding area, which would usually be replenished with absorbed rain water.
In landscaping, hardscapes characteristically leave no part of the upper soil profile exposed. They include most paved areas, such as housing developments, business complexes, streets, and sidewalks. Most industrial areas also fall into this category, so you see a lot of this in NJ landscaping.
Hardscaping also applies to paved areas on a smaller scale. Although zones like building complexes may be what springs to mind, a lot of hardscaping goes into these smaller areas. Both sidewalks and paver patios are considered hardscapes; on this scale, many people are able to do some hardscaping of their own.
There can sometimes be a problem with soil naturally moving downward and compromising the structure of the hardscaping, especially in areas of fluctuating elevation. When this happens, a retaining wall is usually built. These barriers divide hardscapes from what's called the softscape, or natural features.
One of the big benefits of hardscapes is they massively increase a place's population capacity. Soil and other natural features of the earth wear down quickly when they receive high amounts of human traffic. Hardscaping also enables us to build sheer vertical architectural features, something that would have been impossible before and which greatly enhances habitation possibilities.
Besides streets, building complexes, patios and the like, hardscapes also include nearly all of a city's water features. Paved surfaces are inevitably necessary in order to retain the water, so most water features end up falling into this category. Things like fountains, water parks, pools, and other things of that nature are all different types of hardscapes.
Modern landscaping requires a lot of hardscape in order to keep up with the high population densities of urban areas and city centers. Although hydroseeding has a lot of benefits when it comes to optimizing traffic capacity, they also come with the disadvantage of a lowered capacity to absorb and drain water. This means that huge amounts of water much be drained through artificial draining networks, and a depleted water table in the hardscaping and surrounding area, which would usually be replenished with absorbed rain water.
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Nicola Matera & Sons, LLC is a top provider of hardscape services. Contact them today for more information! (http://www.nicolamatera.com)
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