If you’ve carefully curated your yard, the thought of disrupting it for a landscaping project probably makes you uneasy. Digging a trench for a drain, having to grade the land to improve runoff, or bringing in machinery to install a concrete hardscape feature will all have an impact on the ground. Thankfully, there are ways of minimizing the disruption to the area. Even better, it can be an opportunity to enhance your property at the same time.

What Disruption Should I Expect During a Hardscape Installation?

No matter how you go about it, there will be some degree of effect when making alterations to your property. Between ground exposure, material staging, and equipment use, your lawn will undergo a bit of stress. It’s best to go into a project knowing what to expect so that it doesn’t come as a shock or surprise when it happens. You don’t want to come home from a long day at work and see your grass removed if you weren’t expecting it!

Digging up ground is common with projects for landscape drainage solutions such as installing a French drain. In order to get the subterranean pipe in place to adequately remove water from the yard, there’s no way around it. Depending on the extent of drainage needed, this could be a long swatch of the ground, and it may need to be several feet deep. To achieve this efficiently, equipment may be required to excavate. The trench itself creates a disruption to the area, but getting the equipment to the right location in your yard may also affect the landscape. If your grass is young or the ground is moist, it’s less likely to hold up to the treads of the equipment wheeling across it. Being able to choose the right equipment, handle it correctly, and put preventative measures in place will help to minimize effects on the grass and soil.

If the hardscape needs to be installed where there is existing shrubbery or flowers, those will need to be removed to make room. It’s possible the plants could be placed elsewhere in your yard, but that will depend on their health, the kind of plant, and whether there’s another area that will provide them with the right environment. If you’re putting a patio in the only sunny area of the yard, light-loving plants like black-eyed susans may not have another location to be transferred to.

“Work with skilled Nashville hardscaping and outdoor construction professionals who understand your vision and respect your schedule. Contact us for a free quote!”

Are There Hardscape Installers Near Me Who Can Minimize Yard Disruption?

We’re homeowners too; we understand the pain of seeing your cultivated yard in disarray. Greenway of Nashville takes pride in minimizing the impact as much as possible through a few approaches.

So how do you prepare a yard for hardscaping? Greenway of Nashville starts with thorough planning—we’re able to prevent errors that would lead to unplanned areas of disruption. We think ahead to determine what approaches can be taken. Is there an alternative route equipment can be transported to minimize disruption of grass? Is there a less invasive way to achieve sufficient drainage for water retention problems in your yard? With a “measure twice, cut once” mindset, we reduce the need to add extra work to achieve your desired results. This means no digging a trench for a drain only to realize it needed to go somewhere else entirely. We also look to reduce the areas in which equipment or materials are held. If there is an area free such as a driveway where bricks, machinery, or other items can be staged, this reduces the damage to the lawn during the process.

Lawn mats or plywood can be used to protect the ground in areas of high traffic. This provides a surface to walk on and move equipment across while having some protection for the ground beneath. It’s not going to be perfect, but it does relieve some of the stress your lawn will undergo. At Greenway we use rubber tracks on most of our equipment to help minimize damage to lawn areas where we have to move our equipment through.

Communication is another crucial aspect when planning and executing a hardscape installation. If you have specific areas of the lawn you want to avoid disrupting, the planning stage is the best time to bring this up. Knowing in advance that there is consideration to protect a specific area makes it easier to plan around that location if possible. If that isn’t brought up during the early stages, your contractors won’t know to focus on sparing that spot. On the flip side, we will help ensure you have a clear picture of what to expect during the stages of the project by explaining what we anticipate needs to happen to achieve your goals.

Restoration of any damage to the lawn is another component Greenway attends to as part of any project. When the hardscape installation is done, that doesn’t mean our work is over. Our next steps would be to repair any resultant defects to the yard such as filling in holes or leveling out uneven areas. If grass was removed we reseed the affected areas and lay straw to help the grass seed grow and lower muddy areas. Additionally, we can help restore the lawn by installing new sod. This would make the lawn look like it was never even disrupted.

In some instances, Greenway not only restores what is affected during a hardscape installation but also improves upon it. If your grade around the new structure was incorrect due to issues with drainage or erosion, grading around the new hardscape will leave the ground looking better than ever—and the new drainage system will keep it that way.

If an area is going to be disrupted anyways, why not make the most of the opportunity? It can be an ideal time to add in a patio, update a driveway, or put up a retaining wall. Just like with baking, it’s easier to make a single mess and get a lot done without having to go through it repeatedly. This is the perfect chance to knock out all the projects that have been on your list. Being able to attend to multiple projects will depend on your budget. Part of the planning process when you partner with Greenway of Nashville is being able to discuss your needs and goals, get a guaranteed quote, and make the decision that works best for you.

Just like you, we understand how little time there is in a day. Save yours and trust Greenway of Nashville to get your hardscape project done without long-lasting impacts to your lawn. Backed by years of experience, we guarantee results that you’ll love and that will last for years. We serve homes all around the Nashville area, including as far south as Franklin, and as members of this community, we love to make it easy for our neighbors to have beautiful homes and yards. If you want to explore options for hardscape installation near you, get a free quote by reaching out through our website or by calling us at (615)-238-4574.

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