Your Guide To Stone Profiling For Even More Beautiful Garden Features

Stone Profiling: The Ultimate Way To Add Unique Touches Of Luxury To Your Hard Landscaping Elements

Whats the difference between an OK landscaped garden and a show stopping outdoor space? The answer lies in the small but luxurious elements that create a high-end finish. 

In this article we’re focusing on edge detailing for steps, coping stones, stone insets and unique artistic features that, subtle as they might be, reflect and enhance superb garden design, expert craftsmanship and unrivalled artistry.

Keep reading to discover how our stone masons describe some of the most frequently requested edge finishes and how you too can specify those all important details for your next garden design project.

Why Add Edge Details To Pavers, Steps and Coping Stones?

Aside from the aesthetic, there are several practical reasons for sculpting the exposed edges of pavers steps and coping stones.

Reduces the risk of bumps and scrapes

Some hard landscaping elements are quite vulnerable to mechanical damage. A sharp angle can easily be chipped if it is accidentally hit by a lawnmower, wheelbarrow or even furniture being shifted around the garden. Those chips look ugly and can be sharp to the touch. Edge profiling will Introduce a softly rounded surface deflect objects and reduce the risk of chips and gouges. Alternatively, a tumbled edge is less likely to show any damage and it can create a wonderfully naturalistic look and feel.

Gentle contours offer a more comfortable experience

Have you ever hovered with your body in the swimming pool and your hands or elbows on the side while you chat to a friend? Any angular to the stone work can really start to smart after a while. Likewise, sitting on a stone bench and feeling that sharp ridge digging into the backs of your legs takes all the pleasure out of resting. 

Smoothing those angular edges really does make for a more comfortable experience.

Safety in the garden

Natural stone is incredibly tactile, however, it is also hard and unyielding. Where people or pets are likely to bump against a surface as they pass a smooth profile is less likely to cause scrape and abrasions, particularly for corners and angles. Young children seem particularly prone to bashing into solid features. Remember that whilst a raised planter or a built in seat may only be below waist height for adult,  but any sharp edges on it are perfectly placed to cause a nasty head wound should a kiddie topple on to it.

Water management

Water will gradually spoil the appearance of natural stone if it’s not carefully managed. At the very least it can release minerals from the rock creating unsightly stains or drip marks. A practical solution to this problem is to add a drip groove on the underside of overhanging steps and coping stones.

How does it work? Left to its own devises, water will cling to stone, following its contours until it meets a barrier. The power of surface tension is such that rainwater can even travel along the underside of horizontal surfaces. A drip groove, halts the progress of those water droplets and releases them before they hit important vertical surfaces such as step risers or retaining walls.

At Arbour Landscape Solutions, we can add drip channels to steps and coping stones to prevent unsightly marks and keep your garden features looking fresh and new for their entire lifespan.

What are my choices for stone profiling?

Some natural stone products come with edge profiling as standard. Bullnosed steps for example are normally 900mm long, 350mm wide with shaping along one of the long sides. But what if your garden design calls for a longer (or shorter) one-piece step with beautiful contouring on the corners as well as the front? That’s where you either cross your fingers and hope your landscaper is an accomplished stone mason who can make alterations on site, or, you order bespoke profiled steps.

The same applies to coping stones, plinth caps, base blocks or architraves. To achieve the look you want, with minimal risk and no compromising, it has to be bespoke stone all the way.

This beautiful diagram illustrates the most frequently requested edge profiles for natural stone. You certainly do have a lot of choices, but remember that the beauty of bespoke is that you can specify your own design and dimensions. The team at Arbour Landscape Solutions are very much willing and able to help you do that.

Stone Profiling Inspiration

Diagrams are great, but they are no substitute for seeing materials in real life. Following are some images of stone products in-situ to give you a better feel for various options and how they may work for your own garden design projects.