Hardscape Horrors

When you click on this photo to enlarge it, you have to wonder who these guys were who installed this front entry.  First, notice the sloppy mix of materials.  And second, the shoddy workmanship between the walls and the steps.  I also believe the two-inch coping at the top of the piers would have looked much better left alone without those globes on top, which look like they might topple off at any moment.

But there is more: the image to the right illustrates the need to consider scale first and foremost when you are designing anything.  Notice the narrow coping on top of those rather monumental piers. A thicker coping is what's required for a pier that tall.  Also, ask yourself why the coping throughout the project is of two different thicknesses?  If you're going to bother with any of this, at least make the coping consistent throughout the project --  it will help tie the design together.

And then there is the coping itself.  Who on earth would mortar broken pieces of flagstone on top of a brick pier?  To my mind, you're just asking for water to seep down into that mortar one day, causing the entire top to crumble away.  If you insist on narrow coping, even if it is not in scale, why not a solid piece of flagstone?

And finally, although there is an uninterrupted wall around most of this property, you'll note that the wall suddenly stops -- and then starts again along one entire side.  Mulch from the slope is already spilling down on to the sidewalk, and it's anyone's guess why this wall wasn't carried through to the pier with globe atop it in the distance.

All I can say is:  when you're spending this kind of money to put up a brick wall and piers, at least consult a designer before you get started.  (And readers:  in the beginning, the piers had a height about six inches above the top of the brick wall.  The coping was then knocked off, the piers were raised, and the coping was re-constructed).

This is a lesson in what not to do ... but photos of projects like these are a good way to teach students (and clients, sometimes)  to think through a project before they begin.

Comments

[kathleen]

Ugh. This reminds me of a hardscaping experience I went through last year. We hired a landscape architect and a mason and a fence builder who had worked together on prior projects to construct a retaining wall with some piers and fencing. The design fee was in the thousands. Once the wall construction began, they all argued about the measurements and the plans and the wall turned out to be unlike what we'd planned. Out of scale, poor masonry work, incorrect installing of the drainage tile, etc. I'm sure that I'll have to redo it down the road, but can't quite see forking over another $40K very soon to deal with it. Instead, I'll probably cover it as much as possible with trees and shrubs. My wall, while not as bad as the one you've presented, could easily make to the pages of 'hardscape don'ts.'

[John Black]

Yeeesh. This is what happens when homeowners choose price over quality. I'd wager the builders of this monstrosity aren't licensed (and probably were chosen for their low bid), and aren't insured, so if/when the staircase implodes the owner will be SOL. Even for experienced designers, working out the scale and dimensions of features like this can be tricky; I've taken to using SketchUp or even building tangible scale models so that everyone (including me!) has a precise idea of what the finished project will look like.

[Cheryl Corson]

And not even matching the brick color and coping style of the house itself? Great writeup. We always loved those "fashion don'ts' in the magazines. They're fun, and instructive.