Creative uses for old curbing

Old granite blocks and curbing are a fantastic material to utilize in the landscape.  Reclaimed from road projects, railroad bridges and seawalls, antique granite comes in many forms; from large rectangular blocky pieces to narrow curb pieces in many different lengths.  Below is a picture of Old New England granite’s yard in Lynnfield:

I have been using these and other recycled materials in the landscape over the past few years.  Old New England Granite carries reclaimed curbing, posts, landings, antique face brick, vintage roof slate and more.  They also find and stockpile a large assortment of unique granite pieces of all different shapes, sizes, and color variations.  Some of which can be seen in the photo below:

And palletized reclaimed antique brick:

The benefits of used granite are many:

• Lower materials and installation costs
• Historical significance:   Many of these pieces are hundreds of years old, with an ‘old world feel’
• Installs relatively quickly with large equipment
• This is a ‘green’ material:  It is reclaimed locally thereby reducing shipping and eliminating production costs.
• The creative applications are almost endless:  I continue to come up with new ways to use this material.  As a paving surface, laid flat as steps, tipped on edge as steps, as a random pattern wall (see below), firepits, seating, accent posts…..

The photo above is a project  designed in 2007.  The raised terrace joins the main house to the detached barn.  This project was completed with the help of The Reed Corp whom we rely on for much of our site work and heavy wall installations.  Nice job to Biz, Mark, and Wes Reed on this one!  Check out The Reed’s website link at the right; their new granite farm is a great place for materials visits with clients.  There are also more pictures and information about this project on my website:  www.matthewulrichdesign.com