In a March 2009 Total Landscape Care readership study, 15.9 percent of respondents said they plan to add hardscaping to their service portfolio this year. Like any industry, patio paver trends are cyclical, and this is the perfect opportunity to gain new customers or re-sell existing ones. Maybe a customer’s housing needs have changed and they want to go from a more traditional look to a minimalistic one, or they want to include permeable paving.

According to Ken O’Neill, vice president of Belgard Hardscapes, this year there is economic pressure to make pavers more cost effective per square foot. “Our customers want the same functionality they’ve had in the past, but many are trending back to old-style pavers,” he says. “Housing lines are cleaner, architecture is changing, and so to are the products around the home. Regardless, pavers should fit with a home’s style.”

Belgard is ramping up production on more natural-looking products such as its random-cut Mega-Arbel flagstone with a natural texture on top and modular Urbana Stone with a slate texture. Where red/charcoal color pavers were popular several years ago, the company is staying in the buff and earth tone family, which is more natural to many markets.

For Nitterhouse Masonry Products, the use of manufactured slate paving stone is on the rise among its customers. “Because it’s a manufactured product, it’s consistent in size and shape, and is therefore very cost-effective for installation,” says Mark Williams, product manager. Slate stone is being used in a wide variety of applications from outdoor fireplace mantels to outdoor kitchen countertops.

Williams says his customers are looking for stones with tight joints that seldom present a tripping hazard, won’t be a maintenance issue over time and are easy clean. “A lot of homeowners are tying different parts of their outdoor space together: maybe installing a large slate paving stone on a countertop, then using the same colors and shapes on the patio as well,” Williams says.

Techo-Bloc, a manufacturer of landscape and masonry paving stones serving the United States and Canada, is getting requests for larger-scale, natural-looking textures, including flagstone replicas. “Things are much more contemporary and linear,” says Alec Veilleux, director of marketing. “Many people are looking to make the most out of smaller homes and want to create a beautiful exterior living space.”

Education abounds
If you’re thinking of adding hardscaping as a service, now is a great time. Due to the economy, there are fewer people to compete against. According to O’Neill, it’s important to have a local distributor who has a good relationship with the manufacturer. “Nothing’s better than having good local support,” he says. “Once you’re on the jobsite, no homeowner wants to be the test-run, because even small projects might run about $12,000.”

“Nitterhouse slate paving stone is a great product for all installers, but especially new ones, because it installs like a standard paver and the learning curve is very low,” Williams explains. “We also offer many online tools, including a layout program, to help our customers sell and design installations.”