When people think of "landscaping," most bring to mind images of lush shrubs, trees, and sprinklers watering verdant green lawns. There's more to it than that, however, and in some cases, less-typical landscaping elements can not only set an association apart visually, but can add value and durability to heavily trafficked areas or those with heavy exposure to the elements.

One option for community associations that are looking to update and upgrade their landscaping scheme is the use of decorative stonework. Stonework has come a long way since the days of drab concrete slabs and 1950s Formstone siding, and the options available today are both naturally attractive and durable.

Element of Style

Stonework can be worked into your HOA's landscaping scheme anywhere a strong, low-maintenance, surface or ornamental element is needed. There are a number of products and applications that can be installed to give your community a new look, whether you decide to work with brick, stone or concrete.

"For co-ops and condos in New Jersey, there are all kinds of options," says Jeff Britt, manager of business development for the Woodbury, New Jersey-based EP Henry, a provider of concrete products for a wide range of masonry, paving and landscape applications.

"We can provide walkways, pool decks and walls in an unbelievable selection of styles, colors and patterns."

Several New Jersey stonework companies offer something called Devon stone, which is an alternative to bluestone—a hard, sedimentary sandstone found in Northeastern Pennsylvania and named for its color. Bluestone and Devon stone are used for building and as flagstones because both can be easily split into square or rectangular slabs and impart a classic, natural look to a sidewalk or walkway of any kind. Devon stone, however, tends to have more consistent coloring and resists cracking somewhat better than bluestone does.

"We have a lot of excitement about this from architects and designers who work with bluestone, but are looking for a more consistent product," Britt says. "Devon stone is easier to install because it's all one height. Which, if you're a contractor, is an issue. The quality is great, and [the material] comes in four different colors that are all popular among condo communities."

If you're looking for the look and feel of brick, there's also a product available called Bishop Stone, which just came on the market for 2005.

"Bishop Stone is an alternative to faux brick, and it gives a project a real Old World feel," says Britt. "This is a very attractive design and we are getting a lot of good response from it. I think that more and more condos will change over to this to get a different look."

Jarvis is an Atlanta-based company that also offers decorative paving options for condos and co-ops and has done a great deal of work for New Jersey's community association market.

"We have two products that we often use in the decorative paving market," says Glyn Owen, Jarvis' general manager. "One is a product called Imprint–which is a synthetic asphalt–and the other is called Stonegrip."

According to Owen, the Stonegrip starts with a layer of synthetic resin (like asphalt tar or bitumen, but much more attractive and less sticky in hot weather) which is laid down on the area to be covered, then topped with the association's choice of decorative stone.

"That could be plain gravel, or an aesthetically pleasing variety of stone," says Owen. "You paste down the resin, spread the stone on top, sweep off the excess, and it sets hard. It's a quick way to enhance an area that perhaps was not looking its best and needed a more pleasing surface that doesn't require a lot of money."

By contrast, Imprint is a synthetic resin compound applied hot to a new or existing surface, then imprinted with a mold to create a durable, decorative surface in just about any pattern, texture, or color the customer desires. Imprint is impervious to water, can be jet-washed or vacuum swept, and needs very little maintenance. The imprint color or pattern goes all the way through the resin layer, so fading and wearing off aren't serious concerns.

"Both of those products are very popular," Owen says. "They address a lot of the problems that are associated with brick pavers and [less sophisticated] imprinted systems. Imprint goes over existing surfaces very quickly and easily and sets in half an hour, so the disruption of traffic is minimized. You can incorporate any color and any pattern. Imprint has long-term life expectancy—Stonegrip has a slightly shorter lifespan and can't be printed on, but the output is far greater. It sort of looks like a gravel or driveway effect."

Yet another option for those desiring the look of stonework but also desiring a minimal impact on their association's funds is cultured stone. Cultured stone is a product that looks like natural stone, but that, depending on the manufacturer, is either fabricated from crushed rock with a veneer of real stone on top, or molded from smaller stones to mimic the appearance of one large piece of rock. Some companies use textured concrete with a surface treatment to achieve the desired effect, and others mix different-colored resins and ground-up natural stone to create marbling, veins, and natural-looking color variations in their product.

As a rule, cultured stone generally costs about half as much as natural stone, and is much lighter-weight, which makes it easier to transport and work with. Some lines of cultured stone are pre-cut to fit together, eliminating the time and expense involved with cutting natural stones.

Then, of course, there's the old stand-by: concrete. While concrete is generally thought of as the drab, gray building material of depressed inner cities and sprawling suburban jungles, it's an inexpensive, easily accessible material that does have its place in an association's overall landscaping scheme, according to Leonard Liberto of Rusling Concrete in Trenton. Concrete is a convenient material for foundations, and works very well for forming the underlying structure of terraced retention walls, or retaining the water in garden ponds. Concrete also works very well for building steps, either in front of association buildings or as part of a landscaping scheme.

"A lot of co-op or condo operations have used railroad ties as steps–especially some of the older developments," says Liberto, "and now they're asking us to upgrade them a little bit and do something a little more permanent. In cases like that, we can just do a concrete pour-and-place type step. [Some clients] aren't looking for much in decorative issues; they're more money-conscious with steps and so forth than with other aspects of their landscaping. There are decorative products that can be imprinted and colored, but for some customers' needs, the expense is really not necessary."

For those who are looking to spruce up their stairways or add visual drama to a terraced common garden, EP Henry also offers a product called TerraceWall, which comes in 16 decorative stone patterns and is used by many associations in their garden walls, raised patios and steps.

Drive it Home

While most associations stick to basic materials like concrete or asphalt when it comes to paving walkways, sidewalks, and driveways, says Britt, there are other, less-common materials that can add more visual appeal to a community–as long as the board and residents are willing to foot the additional cost of using them. There are four main natural alternatives to paving that some associations feel are well worth the extra investment.

Of those four, stone is the probably the most desirable, both for its aesthetic impact and its sheer durability. Sandstone, limestone and granite are all readily available in the Northeast and can be cut into large square or rectangular slabs called "flags," which are laid end-to-end to create expanses of pavement, either with mortar spread between the flags, or without. Stone-flagged sidewalks, garden paths, and pool decks last for decades and come in dozens of different colors, textures, and polishes.

Wearing almost as well as stone (and for a fraction of the cost) is gravel. Gravel is thought to be the oldest paving material, and has the benefit of great flexibility, along with the bonus of excellent drainage of rainwater and other moisture. Like stone, gravel comes in a vast array of colors and textures, from smooth, rounded river pebbles to craggy limestone or granite chips, to everything-but-the-kitchen-sink "pea-gravel." Gravel can be raked back into place if it gets scattered and easily replaced if it gets thin in spots.

Next to gravel, bricks and cobblestones are probably the world's oldest paving materials. Calling to mind the days of horse-drawn carriages and carts, brick paving imparts an old-fashioned, homey texture to driveways, paths, and plazas, and can be executed in any number of patterns and layouts.

Terracotta tiles—which differ from bricks and cobblestones in size (they're smaller and thinner) and color (they can be glazed almost any color, from green to orangey-red)—can be used to pave gardens and sidewalks, though because of their expense and relative fragility, they're not often used in this part of the country. Terracotta is a lovely option for enclosed or roofed sunrooms or gazebos, however—anywhere they can be sheltered somewhat from the elements.

Despite the availability and charm of these alternatives, however, the truth, according to Liberto, is that most driveway surfaces and parking lots in New Jersey communities just use normal asphalt or concrete.

That said, it's still important to keep paved surfaces looking new by fixing cracks and making repairs on a regular basis.

"After the first seven years some minimal maintenance and crack repairs are needed," says Liberto. "With driveways and parking lots, we give them a couple of years and tell the associations to put a sealer on it to help preserve the asphalt."

Stone-Cold Conflict

With all the beautiful and exiting materials available, landscaping committees and individual unit owners alike sometimes wish they could incorporate some of them into their community or their front yard, but because of their own association guidelines, they're obligated to keep their property in sync with all the others.

"Most HOAs have certain restrictions on what they can do," Britt says. "People might like to do more with decorative designs, but they can't."

"Most of the co-ops and condo developments we work with just have flat concrete patios," says Liberto. "A lot of the owners in the housing communities would like to upgrade to brick, but it usually doesn't get approved because it's not synonymous with the rest of the neighborhood. We're approached all the time about putting in a brick driveway or a brick patio, but often, the customers don't get the necessary approval."

Warranties and Cost

With the expense and initial investment natural stonework represents, it stands to reason that any association that is willing to shell out the money for a major stonework project would want to know the materials they're paying for are going to last–and that the companies that sold and installed them stand behind their product.

According to Owen, Jarvis products like Stonegrip and Imprint carry a warranty of three years in New Jersey, but the company itself doesn't offer a warranty on the installation because that is done by individual contractors who may or may not warranty their work.

"Once [the material] is down, as long as those utility companies stay away, there should really be no maintenance needed," Owen says. "Our products offer long-term life expectancy–particularly Imprint, which is made to last 10 to 20 years. With Stonegrip, it depends on who's running or driving on it, but it will last many years as well." Weather also plays a big role in the preservation of driveways, sidewalks, and decorative stone elements, says Owen.

"Concrete is a victim of Mother Nature," says Liberto, "so there's not much of a guarantee on it because the freeze-and-thaw cycles that we have in this area create a lot of stress on it. It can be four inches thick, or 10 inches thick, and it will still crack in the same spot. In this part of the country, it's more of a climate issue."

For his part, says Britt, "There's really no maintenance needed on a lot of these products because they're designed to take care of themselves. Sometimes they need to be cleaned and re-sealed, but for the most part they really don't need to be. That said, we do put a lifetime guarantee on the structural integrity of the products–we'll replace it if it fails."

Guarantees aside, there are still significant costs to stonework projects, large or not-so-large. Some say you can't put a price on increasing real estate value, but when association members are faced with the bills for an ambitious landscaping project, you can be sure they'll want to make sure they are getting the best value for their dollar.

"Pricing is all over the map with decorative stones because some are standard while others have a more ornate, Old World look, which means there is an extra process that goes into their production. People are often willing to pay for that, but it depends on the project," says Britt. "With decorative pavers, the industry says the range is now $8 to $12-a-square-foot installed. That's a safe number."

At Jarvis, the products seem to fit within that range as well. Imprint is about $11 to $12-a-square-foot, and Stonegrip is significantly less expensive, going for about $2-a-square-foot, including installation.

With natural stone, many factors can impact the final cost of a project, says Britt, such as whether or not existing pavement or stonework has to be torn up, or can simply be covered over. Bishop Stone and Devon stone can simply be placed over existing concrete or asphalt, as long as the product underneath isn't in terrible shape. This will save when costs come in to play. Drainage at the installation site is also a consideration, as is the area's traffic level.

In the end, it's up to individual associations as to what kind of decorative stonework works best with their layout, their overall look, and their budget. Sometimes a landscaper and stone specialist can work out a compromise that includes both less-expensive and more costly elements, giving the association the best of both worlds. In the end, the final product is limited only by imagination and the bottom line.

Keith Loria is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator.