By listening to and talking to designers, architects, and guests, we have come to realize that there is ever increasing demand to be able to use natural stone to deepen thematization.
Boymans Rocks & Boulders
We supply natural stone to the recreational industry and amusement parks.
Boymans Rocks is a major supplier of natural stone to the recreational industry and amusement parks – encompassing a divergent range of gravels through to large boulders. Using ‘real’ materials dovetails well with guests’ desire to find authenticity.
Boymans Rocks is a specialist in the supply of natural stone based on colour, shape, and use.
When ‘guests’ walks through your park, everything is about the experience. You want to give your guests the right feeling – the feeling that everything is right. In many cases, a guest doesn’t need to know why something is right for them to be able to enjoy what they see, hear, and experience around them.
Choosing the right stone can help you to positively reinforce a theme, as each variety has specific properties and responds to its environment. This is not just about appearance, but about the composition of the minerals and the origin of the stone, or where it came from.
Questions and answers
In what way can stones be used in a holiday or amusement park?
Natural stone has a wide variety of uses, including some that most people won’t have even considered. One obvious use is under play equipment, as a surface onto which people can fall safely.
Crushed slate is an interesting option for park designers – in addition to its decorative character, the nice, flat stones are very good at inhibiting weed growth. This helps to create a nice appearance, reduces the need for weed killer, and lowers maintenance costs.
In addition, all rounded gravel and crushed stone that we sell can be used for footpaths, parking areas, and driveways.
Our irregular-shaped chunks of stone can be used as solitary stones to add more beauty to the park, residence, or themed area.
Chunks of stone with a more regular break are flat on the bottom and top, which makes them good for stacking. They are ideal for use in walls and/or terraces.
Cobbles are naturally rounded stones and are often used as play stones in playground environments. In addition, they are also used by designers when creating rivers and streams in a park or themed area.
On what is the advice that we give on suitable stones for a park based?
Listening to the client is always the first priority – what does he or she want to achieve? The advice that we give is based on a number of criteria, including:
- The theme of the project
- The type of rock
- The colour
- The property of the rock in relation to the use
- The budget
Is buying real stone not considerably more expensive than replica stone?
This is a persistent misunderstanding. In most cases, natural stone will be a better investment. Artificial stones take many hours to create – you need to construct the supporting structure, apply the base, then spend many hours decorating, painting, and spraying. Natural stone is formed naturally so it’s ready to be used. In addition, you mustn’t forget aspect – if used wisely, natural stone can be reused over and over again. Cradle to cradle. Contrast this with artificial stone which has a limited lifespan.
Boymans has more than 85 years of experience in decorative natural stone aggregates. We are passionate about what we do, and are happy to advise clients on the best products for a project.
What are the costs of placing stones?
Naturally, the costs for the stone, transport, storage, and/or processing. There are also additional costs for the processing of the stone. Depending on the stone selected (gravel, pebbles and/or chunks), choices need to be made to select the right equipment to process the natural stone in the project. Something mad need to be done to the subsoil on which the stone will be placed. For example, factors to think of include water permeability or the need to prevent a heavy stone from sinking into the ground.
To make it easier for the purchaser, we can deliver the natural stone in various ways.
- Deposited by tipper lorry
- In big bags, which can be filled to any desired weight
- On specially developed pallets, which are suitable for a wide range of stones
Can Boymans Rocks & Boulders guide us through the design process?
Yes, Elja is our designer. She can make a perfect design for you or guide you while you create your own design. She is a graduate of the Amsterdam University of the Arts. Elja also specialises in Land Art.