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Hardscapes (Continued from page 8) 0!6%23s-!3/.29s",/#+3s2/#+3
Top: Retaining wall construction is under way as limestone step slabs are being installed and covered with fabric for weed protection. The concrete base for the front porch is installed and retaining walls and cheek walls that flank each side of the porch are under construction.
Middle: Sixteen feet of grade change as well as an underground septic field located on ¾ of the total back yard area also made client's wish of incorporation a large swimming pool, raised stone patio terrace and paver entertainment area in this back yard a challenge to design and build.
Bottom: The project included the installation of a precast concrete paver patio with drylaid limestone walls that terrace up to the pool deck. The city required the pool area to be fenced, and due to fencing setbacks as well as interior pool area restrictions, the design and finding the right location was challenging.
Approximately 80 tons of drylaid limestone retaining walls were used on this project. In addition, the project has 25 tons of limestone step slabs, 595 square feet of lime- stone veneer on the terrace and porch surfaces and 215 square feet of limestone steppers on the path areas. The project was not exclusively limestone clad as 6,000 square feet of precast concrete pavers (Unilock Hollandstone and Olde Greenwich Cobble) were used on the driveway and rear of the house.
Site Challenges The real challenge on this project, Davito said, was the
grade change on site. The area at the rear of the house re- quired a large volume of fill material to build a terrace for the swimming pool. At the front of the house, fill and re- taining walls were required to install a circular driveway. "The homeowners wanted a circular driveway, but the grade made it tough to work," he said.
Davito designed a circular driveway plan that would work, and in doing so, he was able to include an outdoor space for the homeowners in the form of a rose garden. The entire project took roughly two years and was done in two phases. Davito said the fill that was needed for the rear portion of the property (specifically the pool area) needed time to settle before the extensive paver work could be done. As a result, hardscapes work at the rear of the property constituted phase 2 of the project. Phase 1 of the project was devoted to the front of the house, including the driveway, porte cochere and large paver motor court.
The driveway and motor court area feature the instal- lation of concrete pavers. Unilock Hollandstone in a her- ringbone pattern was used at the drop off point at the front door and at the front of the rose garden while Olde Greenwich Cobble was used on the other portions of the driveway and motor court. Davito said the Hollandstone was used at the turning areas of the circular drive because herringbone is better on a vehicle's wheels than turning a vehicle while driving over cobblestone.
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