A long career in outdoor living isn’t always what makes a HARDSCAPE HERO. Instead, a willingness to listen to a homeowner and their needs can take a patio project from a simple outdoor space into an extension of the home. For Andy Welch and the team at Oriole Landscaping, that communication was what won them November’s HARDSCAPE HERO award.
Oriole Landscaping is no stranger to the HARDSCAPE HERO Program. As a company, they have a total of three wins under their belts, and this month’s win is Andy’s second at the helm. While Kenny Oriole started the company 19 years ago, Andy’s been working with him for six years now. While many of the contractors we talk to got their start mowing lawns, Andy had a career in customer service working for a large bicycle company. After years of deskwork, he needed a change, which is when he met Kenny and the rest is history.
Andy’s winning job included multiple tiers: a step-down to the shed, the pool deck and surrounding retaining walls, walkways and the elevated fire pit. The patio was largely based around the pool and expanded out from there. Each of the areas uses a different paver, giving them their own distinct identity while blending together into a cohesive whole.
This project was one of the first we’ve seen that used our new Papyrus paver line. “Funny that you ask about that,” says Andy chuckling, “that firepit area was originally supposed to be Mega-Arbel. I went to Contractor Day at the factory last year, and they were showing us that new paver, I liked it so much that I snapped a picture and sent it to the homeowner, suggesting we change that top area to Papyrus. He said he trusted me and just like that we made the design change. In the end, he loved the way it turned out. He was ecstatic.”
Andy’s winning project was many years in the making. During the initial design stage, a storm damaged a few of the trees, which then had to be removed and opened up more space. This allowed for the fire pit area to move from the shed side of the pool to where it stands today. “So we finished the initial design and then the Pandemic hit,” says Andy, “and the homeowner is in the tourism industry so he had to shelve the project. So that was 2020, and in late 2023 Kenny texts me saying the homeowner had called the pool company to ask if I still worked for Oriole. Turns out he wants to pick the project back up, and only wants to work with me, and here we are.”
When asked how his work in customer service carries over into hardscapes, Andy thinks his experience translates into a design process that puts the homeowner’s needs first. “I’m very big on communication. I start every job by interviewing the client, I ask them how they envision using the space, about their family, whether they plan to have a lot of people over, whether they want to spend time outside in the winter, all questions to paint a bigger picture. I think it’s important to figure out their needs and wants instead of forcing a design I like on them. I want to make a space that’s an extension of their home instead of simply an outdoor space.”
Andy wanted to tell the homeowner that his project won in person, but he was out of town so he had to do it over the phone. “He sent me this really great text,” Andy says smiling at his phone, “when I told him we won he responded ‘I love sitting out here more than I ever expected. Even when it got cooler and we closed the pool I kept coming outside to sit by the fire pit. It feels like having a few extra rooms in the house.’” Andy was so happy to hear his client was using the space to its full potential, and we couldn’t be happier to see Andy and the team at Oriole scooping up another HARDSCAPE HERO win.
Want to be a Belgard Hardscape Hero? Submit your project here or talk to your sales rep. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more beautiful photos from Hardscape Hero winners.
JT
The following Belgard products were used in this project:
Highland Retaining Wall – Potomac
Highland Freestanding Wall – Potomac
Marina Copingstone – Sable
Origins 12 – Potomac with Durafusion
London Cobble 6×9 – Sable
Mega-Arbol – Sable
Papyrus 18 – Scandina Grey with Durafusion
Ashlar Tandem – Silex
Melville Cap – Cheswick