Pasadena, Calif.-based landscape designer Laramee Haynes often reuses pieces of broken concrete in gardens as an alternative to pouring a slab of concrete. “Broken concrete can be reused over and over again,” Haynes said. “It has a very organic quality.” Here, he offers a look at his techniques:
Where do you find concrete, and how do you break it apart?
I try to use anything that is on-site. The stone yards are now selling broken concrete. See when the city is taking out a segment of sidewalk. They don’t mind you picking it up. Another place is Craigslist. We use an electric jackhammer to break the concrete apart. People can rent one from Home Depot. We use pieces of broken concrete that are a little bigger than 1 foot square. That’s manageable. Any bigger than that is hard to pick up. This isn’t the easiest DIY project because of the weight of the materials and the fact that the hammer has to be lifted.
Can you give an example of a lighter alternative?
Stepping stones. They are often odd colors like pink and are octagonal-shaped. They make pretty good paving when they are pushed up against each other with some sand. I often use them for trash enclosures and storage. That way it is permeable and reused material. Other times we’ll break up the pieces and do something a little random like a mosaic. I don’t use them for driveways because they are not strong enough.
What are some of your favorite ways to use broken concrete?
I love to create loops for children. We’re working on one now where there is an existing driveway and very little garden. We’re making a broken concrete pathway to connect the driveway to the back of the property. The effect is a loop so the children can ride their bikes all the way around the house in a circle. We mix the pieces of broken concrete from different sources so they have slightly different textures and colors. This makes it look like natural stone, there’s no tripping, and it’s perfect for rolling toys. We set it in cement and grout it. It expands the utility of a garden and makes it accessible to the parents. But it’s expensive and a lot of labor.
