Outdoor rooms built with hardscape materials can be an affordable option.
Instead of packing up the patio furniture and putting it away in the shed, tying down the barbeque grill, hanging up the barbeque apron, and saying goodbye to the many facets of backyard family activities, outdoor living aficionados are stretching the creature comforts of the summer season thanks to the wide range of products that are readily available in the marketplace. With the advent of the outdoor room came a spectrum of amenities ranging from elaborate open-air kitchens, pizza ovens, outdoor fireplaces, professional-quality refreshment bars, pergolas and covered pavilions to simple but rewarding multi-use fire pits. As a result, families and friends will be dashing in and out the back door well into the winter.
Image courtesy of Cambridge Pavers, Inc.
One factor that can easily raise the budget for a three- or four-season patio is the cost connected with installation. Manufacturers in the concrete pavingstone and wall systems industry have a solution. Depending on the manufacturer, you can find most of the most-wanted patio enhancements within their portfolios either to be custom built using their hardscape products or complete and ready to install using pre-packaged kits. The kits enable landscape designers and professional contractors to cost-effectively address current trends in outdoor living and to turn homeowner “wish lists” into reality even within budget constraints.
Image courtesy of Cambridge Pavers, Inc.
For example, fire pits, round or square in coordinated colors and styles, can be made from wall stones. Packaged in kits, they have metal inserts, dual cantilevered grills and optional fire spark screens and galvanized steel covers. Consider nesting a wood-burning, outdoor fireplace as the focal point in your patio or outdoor room. You can find models in pre-cut, pre-packaged kits as well with decorator inspired features such as cast stone surrounds and ornamental pieces, polished granite accent tiles, stainless steel pull screens and optional firewood boxes in addition to air-cooled chimneys and termination caps.
The patio appointments have changed further as freestanding barbeque grills gave way to built-in, multi-purpose cooking stations constructed primarily of manufactured wallstones, which are available in various natural colors and rock face textures. Configurations and sizes can vary but are commonly rectangular or L-shaped so that they can be positioned in the most utilitarian position in the overall patio design.
Image courtesy of Cambridge Pavers, Inc.
Even an open-air pergola or pavilion can be constructed from hardscape materials. Support columns (pillars) for pergolas and pavilions can be anchored into the pavement or set on columns (pedestals) a few feet above ground level. The structures themselves can be custom built or assembled from a kit.
This article was contributed by Cambridge Pavers Inc.
