Hardscaping Tech Through the Years
When we think of “technology,” we often think of innovations like the airplane, the personal computer and even artificial intelligence. But technology can include anything from eyeglasses to crowbars and even the written word! In the 3rd century BC the Greek philosopher Archimedes became the first to define what we call “simple machines,” which include the lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge and the screw. These simple machines use what’s called a “mechanical advantage” to make work easier. When it comes to hardscaping, some tools have made leaps and bounds over the years, while others look quite similar to the way they did hundreds of years ago.
Take the mason’s hammer, for example. While the materials and production process may vary slightly, the general design has changed very little for centuries. On the other hand, where people once used animals to help them haul and plow, today we have gas-powered track loaders.
While some designs are timeless, new innovations can help a contractor work smarter, not harder, even if the technologies’ concepts are ancient.
Belgard University Has Your Back
March brought us 2025’s Belgard University, where contractors and dealers from around the region gathered for education, networking and to test out new hardscaping tech. We were lucky to have some incredible vendors who shared their latest products to help contractors create beautiful outdoor spaces with less effort and in less time.
Pave Tool Innovators shared some of their hardscaping tech to help hardscapers avoid breaking their backs just to move some block. They demoed their Quick-E-Lifters for dealing with the sometimes awkward task of carrying stacks of pavers. This paver lifter uses some of those simple machine concepts to clamp down a stack of blocks with an easy-to-hold handle on the top. The contractor can then distribute the weight evenly on either side of their body to lift more pavers with less strain on their back.
Repetitive pressure can wear on a hardscaper’s back, and bending over to pick up and place single pavers is an excellent way to accelerate back pain. At Belgard University, Pave Tool Innovators also showed off their ES T-Handle Paver, which uses suction power to ease the impact of bending down on the contractor’s back. The long T-shaped handle and compressor-powered vacuum seal allow the user to stay upright while lifting and moving heavy pavers, avoid repetitive bending, and allow a straight back to generate pain-free strength.
Speaking of back support, Biolift came to Belgard University to share one of their exciting products: the Biolift Exoskeleton. This tool straps to a contractor’s back and uses spring power to store energy as the user bends down, then uses that energy to help redistribute lifting strain from their lower back to their legs. Where the ES T-Handle helps by keeping the hardscaper upright, the Biolift Exoskeleton bolsters the user as they bend down to lift heavy pavers.
“We were so excited to have our awesome partners at Pave Tool Innovators and Biolift at Belgard University,” says Cole Lineberry, Sales and Marketing at Belgard Mid-Atlantic, “they had so many awesome new tools to help our contractor partners continue creating incredible outdoor spaces for years to come without breaking their backs in the process.”
As long as humans have been making things, we’ve used tools to help craft objects and spaces to improve the quality of life. Many of our modern machines, while progressively becoming lighter, stronger and faster, draw on basic principles that our ancestors used to make their lives easier, safer and more beautiful.