A neatly organized and well-maintained outdoor space is always welcoming. Clean, well-defined landscaping is not only pleasing to the eye, but also enhances the value of your property. If you want to create flower beds, set clear borders around your lawn, or separate gravel paths, cortensteel edging is the way to go. It creates clean, sharp lines and is durable, making it a smart choice for your landscape design.
At AHL Corten Group, we understand the importance of quality and design in every landscape. We specialize in creating high-quality, durable stainless steel edging systems. When you choose AHL, you get durable, easy-to-install decorative metal garden edging that can be adapted to any garden edging design.
I. Why Choose Metal Edging?
Durability First:Metal edging (such as corten steel) resists weathering and soil compression and lasts much longer than plastic or wood edging, making it especially suitable for high-traffic patio scenes.
Aesthetic Versatility: Clean metal lines can be adapted to a variety of styles, including modern, industrial and rustic. For example, the rust-colored texture of corten steel formed over time can be naturally integrated into the green landscape to create a retro atmosphere.
Functional and Practical: Corten lawn edging effectively blocks lawn grass from spreading into flower beds, fixes mulch (e.g. gravel, humus), and provides clear boundaries for walkways, reducing routine maintenance costs.
No paint is required for decorative metal garden borders, and after 3-6 months of exposure to the outdoors, a dense layer of rust forms on the surface, which not only enhances corrosion resistance, but also gives it a warm orange-brown hue. This “breathing material” is particularly suitable for gardens with a naturally aged aesthetic, such as wildflower meadows or industrial-style sculptures.
II. Tools & Supplies Needed to Install Metal Edging for Landscaping
Required Tools
Marking tools: stakes, nylon rope (avoid fishing line, insufficient visibility) or landscape spray paint to mark the outline of the trim.
Digging tools: pointed shovel or half-moon trimmer (for precise soil control and to avoid over-digging).
Installation tools: rubber mallet (to prevent denting of metal trim), screwdriver, hacksaw or cutter (to trim trim), tape measure, chalk.
Auxiliary materials: 5mm coarse sand (for drainage layer), fixing stakes (made of metal or plastic), connecting clips (if the corten steel edging needs to be spliced).
Material Selection
Edging type:Rusty steel garden edging with fixed stakes is preferred. 12cm (5 inches) is recommended to ensure deeper burial for weed control and to accommodate mulch.
Material recommendation: corten steel or thickened hot-dip galvanized steel (1.5mm thickness or more) when budget allows, and stainless steel for coastal areas to prevent salt spray corrosion.
III. Step-By-Step Guide to Installing Steel Garden Edging
1. Planning and Delineation
Determine the zoning: Define the borders of the flower beds, walkways or lawns and outline them with spray paint or nylon string. For example, mark out a 10-15cm wide border area along the edge of the lawn.
Handle curves: If the design includes curved borders, test the curvature of the edging in advance or choose a flexible metal material (e.g. corrugated steel).
Accurate Measurement: Calculate the total length with a tape measure, allowing a 5%-10% margin for cutting and splicing.
2. Excavating the Boundary Trench
Depth of trench: The depth should be 3/4 of the height of the corten steel lawn edging (e.g. (for a 12cm border trim, the trench should be 9cm deep), make sure the top of the border trim is exposed to the ground by 3-4cm to form a visual border.
Trench width: 2-3cm wider than the width of the trim to allow for sand filling and fixing. Use a half-moon trowel to dig vertically to keep the trench straight.
3. Laying The Drainage Sand Layer
Role of sand layer: lay 5mm thick coarse sand at the bottom of the trench and scrape it with a wooden board to ensure the level and stability of the metal lawn edgingafter installation, and at the same time enhance the drainage to avoid water accumulation which will lead to corrosion of the side trim.
4. Install the Main Body of the Metal Siding
Splicing and cutting: Insert the corten steel lawn edging into the trench and fix the splices by connecting clips to ensure the joints are tight. Use a hacksaw to cut the corners or ends, and smooth the cuts with sandpaper to avoid scratches.
Curvature treatment: when bending the weathering steel edging, press lightly in sections (with the help of a rubber mallet) to avoid sharp bends leading to metal cracking.
5. Fixing and Tamping
Staking: Insert fixing stakes every 60-90cm, and use a rubber hammer to knock them in vertically to make sure the edge trim is flush with the ground. Encrypt piles at corners (one pile every 30cm) to enhance stability.
Backfill and compaction: backfill soil or gravel on the outside of the sideinstalling metal edging, tamp it with feet to fill the gap of the trench and prevent the side trim from shifting.
IV. Tips For a Successful Steel Edging Installation
1. Section Construction Method
It is recommended to advance the installation with 5 meters as a section, which is convenient to calibrate the straightness at any time, especially in the long-distance boundary construction, and can avoid the accumulated error.
2. Material Selection Mistakes
Avoid ultra-thin steel:steel garden bed edging below 1mm thickness is easy to deform and may bend and arch in long-term use.
Pay attention to the connection design: prefer edge trim with locks (such as AHL Corten's embedded splicing system), avoid the use of exposed screws, which will affect the aesthetics.
3. Corten Steel Tips
If corten steel edging is used, care should be taken at the beginning of installation:
Avoid contact with light-coloured paving: during the first 3 months when the rust layer has not stabilized, rainwater may cause staining of the rust, it is recommended to leave a 5cm buffer zone between the metal lawn edging and the stone / wood.
Natural conservation principle: no artificial acceleration of rust, the natural formation of the rust layer over time is more uniform and solid.
Install 10cm high black powder coated steel edgingon the edge of the flower bed and match it with crushed woodchip mulch, which not only prevents the intrusion of lawn grass, but also creates a clear color contrast and highlights the main body of the plant.
2. Gravel Walkway Edging
Choose corten steel edging to wrap the gravel walkway, using its rust color to create a textural contrast with the grey gravel while preventing gravel scattering. Metal garden bed edging can be raised to a height of 15cm to enhance the retaining function.
3. Vertical Green Edging
Install metal edging at the bottom of a three-dimensional flower wall or vertical planting tank to prevent soil from slipping, and match with LED light strips to outline the contour, creating a focal point of the landscape at night.
Zero Maintenance Feature: After the corten steel rust layer is formed, no painting or anti-corrosion treatment is needed, only annual rinsing of surface dust with high pressure water gun is required.
Repair Suggestions: If the rust layer is broken due to accidental collision, it can be left to natural repair (about 6 months to re-form the rust layer), or cleaned up with steel wire brush and then coated with special protective agent for corten steel.
VII. Defining Order In The Garden With Metal Edging
The installation of corten steel edging is not only a technical job, but also a design tool to enhance the sophistication of the garden. From the sharpness of straight lines to the softness of curves, precise boundary delineation can give a sense of spatial structure, while the choice of materials such as corten steel infuses the landscape with vitality that grows with time.
Visit the AHL Corten website to explore multi-colored metal edging(black, corten steel, and primary colors) and customize a border solution that fits your garden's style, so that every inch of your property is expertly designed.
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