The whole property, lit as one composition.
Outdoor Lighting · Landscape Design $38,000 — $46,000
Essex County
Exterior design–build
in Millburn / Short Hills.
Short Hills is a mature suburb with a canopy — the tree cover is the reason people live there and the constraint on nearly every project. Lots are generous but the good ones are full of specimen oaks with root plates you cannot cut through, so a terrace here gets designed around the trees rather than the trees getting removed for the terrace. Millburn proper is tighter, older and closer to the river.
NJ HIC # 13VHXXXXXXXXXLicensed & fully insured · $2M general liabilityGoogle 4.9 / 5 — 127 ReviewsTecho-Bloc / Unilock / Belgard AuthorizedHouzz Pro
01
Building in Millburn / Short Hills
01
Freeze–thaw
The First Watchung ridge gives Short Hills a slightly milder winter than the Bergen towns, with 35 to 45 shallow cycles and frost rarely past 600 mm. The heavier constraint is shade: a north-side terrace under mature oak canopy may not fully thaw until April, and it stays damp enough that we specify a polymeric with a higher binder content to keep the joints from growing moss.
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Soil
Watchung basalt — trap rock — is close to the surface across much of Short Hills, sometimes under only 450 mm of soil. It is superb bearing and miserable digging; a machine with a hammer is standard equipment here rather than an exception. Down in Millburn near the Rahway the soil turns to river alluvium and the problem reverses completely.
03
Drainage
The Rahway River runs through Millburn and has flooded the downtown repeatedly, most severely in 2021. Anything in the lower village is a flood-zone question first. Up in Short Hills the issue is the opposite: rock close to the surface means water moves laterally rather than down, so a terrace cut into a slope will intercept sheet flow that used to run over it. We put a French drain along the uphill edge of nearly every Short Hills terrace.
04
Approvals
Millburn Township protects trees aggressively — removal of anything over 200 mm caliper requires a permit and replacement, and the ordinance is enforced. The township also reviews impervious coverage carefully. There is no formal historic district, but the Old Short Hills Estates area has deed restrictions on several properties that predate the township’s own rules and are enforced privately. We ask for the deed at the survey.
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Our work in Millburn / Short Hills
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What we build in Millburn / Short Hills
Paver Patios & Walkways 60 mm units · 25 mm bedding course · 150 mm compacted base · polymeric joints Driveways 300 mm base under vehicular load · herringbone at 45° · double soldier course Retaining Walls & Drainage Geogrid every second course · 300 mm drainage chimney · 4″ perforated outlet to daylight Decks Kiln-dried ipe or thermally modified ash · hidden fasteners · joists 16″ o.c. Pergolas & Structures Engineered cedar or powder-coat aluminium · frost footings to 900 mm · concealed hardware Outdoor Kitchens 316 stainless cabinetry · 3 cm granite or porcelain · gas plus dedicated 20 A circuit Fire Features Masonry firebox with 25 mm air gap · NFPA 58 clearances · CSA-listed burner and key valve Pools & Water Features Gunite shell · 3 cm granite coping · surround set on 250 mm base with 2% pitch away Landscape Design Planting plan at 1/8″ = 1′-0″ · specimen sizes called out · three-season succession Outdoor Lighting 12 V · 2700 K · 300 W transformer at 60% load · direct-burial 12/2 · aimed after dark
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Start here
Building in
Millburn / Short Hills?
Four short steps, about ninety seconds. You will get a written range before anyone comes out — and we will tell you what Millburn / Short Hills specifically is going to add to the excavation before you are surprised by it.
201.555.0148 Mon–Sat · 7a–7p
NJ HIC # 13VHXXXXXXXXX · Licensed & fully insured · $2M general liability · Google 4.9 / 5 — 127 Reviews · Techo-Bloc / Unilock / Belgard Authorized · Houzz Pro