Product Description

Incorporating movement in the landscape is one of the hot trends in gardening today. As people invest more time and money in their homes, landscaping becomes a primary focus. How can we make the outdoors more inviting? Paths, steps, and footbridges are three key elements that help define a landscape and how people move through it and enjoy it. An inviting path that meanders through a garden, steps that connect terraced outdoor "living rooms," and a footbridge that spans a small stream each serves a utilitarian purpose, but when designed creatively and well can infuse a property with an irresistible sense of wonder and delight.

In How to Build Paths, Steps & Footbridges, builder Peter Jeswald explains how to add practical and visually pleasing elements to any property. He advocates choices that complement, rather than dominate, the home and landscape and recommends natural and manmade materials appropriate for the goals and objectives of each project. Wood, masonry, stone, earth, and vegetation are all options he discusses for building and creating an environment that complements the topography.

Filled with color photographs, How to Build Paths, Steps & Footbridges also includes hundreds of clear instructional drawings of plans and construction techniques. Jeswald provides careful advice for every stage of a project--up-front planning, assessing a site, finalizing a design, and selecting proper tools and building materials for construction--all with the goal of providing a strong theoretical basis that will allow readers to achieve the best possible result: greater access to and interest in their outdoor spaces.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324307 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 248 pages

Review

“With this book, you will learn how to create an eco-friendly landscape that is visually appealing and more inviting.” –San Diego Union-Tribune

“…a step-by-step guide that leads a gardener who is handy with construction tools from concept to finished project.” –Tennessean

“Both novices and more advanced do-it-yourselfers will find his sections on planning a project and selecting the right materials and tools especially useful.”

– Library Journal

“…this how-to book gives you not only inspiration for putting down paths and dealing with grade changes in your yard, it takes you step-by-step through the process of doing it.”   –Homestyle

“A great reference.”  –Homestyle

“For the do-it-yourselfer, each project is clearly laid out with detailed, step-by-step instructions…” – Michigan Gardener

About the Author
Peter Jeswald is a partner at Spectrum Design Collaborative, a construction management business in Northampton, Massachusetts. He lives in Conway, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

A Landscape Architects View
Outstanding selection of photos defining numerous material selections and their designed use.

Paramount to the process is Peter's description of the planning and design process. Easy to follow, thorough, and it leads the amature and professional through the inital idea(s) to a well defined project - bricks and mortar.

The step by step direction tool(s), material(s) and know how should result in a successful project for friends and family to enjoy and rave about. Just look at the pictures. HUNGER!!!

A wonderful book for young and old, amature and professional.

JOHN W. CAMPBELL
Landscape Architect

Paths Steps and Footbridges
A "fresh", well conceptualized and practical book that deals effectively and quite thoroughly with one of the two strategic components of any landscape --- the movement space. The other being landing or gathering space. The book is well illustrated and profusely augmented with simple clear diagrams. It benefits from a strong outline and simultaneous information on how to build paths, steps and footbridges It offers practical implementation tips. Stunning even inspiritational photographs complement the diagramatic graphics. A very good book for the "do it yourselfer" who could benefit from wisdom of those who have constructed well.

Bridges fall short
The author shortchanges the footbridge builder, showing comparatively few variations in design and little in the way of technique.