De Pere, WI Residence
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De Pere, WI |
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Landscaper: |
The Sharper Edge Landscaping | ||||
Products Used: |
County Pavers (Tumbled) - Desert Sand |
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Fairbrooke Paving Stones - Desert Sand |
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Description:
- The neighbors saw an open piece of back yard. The landscaper who lived there saw a blank canvas. He realized his vision by turning it into a backyard sanctuary.
Concrete pavers and retaining-wall block helped fashion three unique viewing angles around a water feature. The landscaper, Paul Bowker of The Sharper Edge Landscaping in De Pere, salvaged discarded pieces of bluestone to serve as accents, and he fashioned a multi-tier patio that helped him move some indoor comfort outside.
“We wanted to break it up, make it more interesting,” Bowker said of the multi-tier arrangement. “It gives us different living spaces.”
Tumbled Holland-style County Pavers® from County Materials comprise all three patio tiers. The units’ weathered edges complement the earthy red and brown hues of the Desert Sand color. And the tumbled units give the patio a more rustic feel, as though they’ve been in place for some time.
“It’s a more natural look,” the homeowner and installer said of the tumbling. “It really helps naturalize the setting. And I liked how it interacted with the bluestone; it matched well.”
A small landing sits immediately outside the sliding back door. Two steps down is the primary patio, about 5 feet by 10 feet. At the outer edge of this patio is a steel railing; at either end stands a 3½-foot pillar. To the right, a visitor crosses the water feature and descends four long steps, comprised of County Materials’ Fairbrooke™ paving stones and patches of bluestone, to reach a 9-foot-radius patio.
“We wanted the patios to interact with the water feature,” Bowker said. “And we live on a road that gets fairly busy, so we wanted the water feature to help drown out traffic noise.”
On the tier across the water, the landscaper incorporated a unique feature; a fire pit that is completely hidden by a trap door consisting of the bluestone, which inspired the color selection throughout the project. A simple hoist system lifts the cover safely away.
To the left of the primary patio, a visitor descends four steps – part of a winding step system that complements the curvature of the patios – to a landing that connects the garage service door to the arrangement.
“Making sure the four elements – the three patios and the water feature – flow together nicely,” Bowker said, “was probably the biggest challenge.”
Green Bay, WI Residence
| Location: |
Green Bay, WI |
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Landscaper: |
Donnie Mac's Landscaping | ||||
Products Used: |
County Pavers - ( Cedar Blend, Qty: 7,680; Charcoal, Qty: 1,440) |
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County Block (Qty - 120) - Hickory Blend |
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Fairbrooke Paving Stones
(Qty: 960) - Cedar Blend |
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Description:
- A 5-acre lot presented an opportunity for openness that a homeowning couple in Green Bay will enjoy to the fullest thanks to concrete hardscaping products from County Materials.
An expansive, 1,400-square-foot patio rests on one level, a change from the homeowners’ original vision of a multi-tiered patio. This version helped installer Don McDonald, of Donnie Mac’s Landscaping in Green Bay, maximize the homeowners’ usable space. The hardscape replaces the original fixture, a two-tiered wooden deck with a small attached paver patio. And the colors coordinate with the homeowners’ siding and trim.
McDonald laid a herringbone pattern with 7,680 units of Holland-style County Pavers®, in Cedar Blend. Arcing through this field of faded reds and browns are soldier-courses of County Pavers in Charcoal, marking the lines where the original multi-tiered design would have changed elevations. The single-level patio allows for more room, which the homeowners wanted for guests, who also can access the backyard area via paver walkway from the front.
Despite the revision, the homeowners did get the feel of a raised patio, as 120 units of the County Block® Retaining Wall system form a 4-foot-high support wall under one end of the patio. This change in elevation presented a key challenge to McDonald.
The installer used 960 units of Fairbrooke® paving stones, in Cedar Blend, for a variety of purposes. Around the outside of the fire pit, the units form a Roman seat wall and railing, as well as eight-course piers (about 3 feet high) at either end. The units form the base for a built-in grill and mini-fridge, and they form a waist-high table beneath a granite countertop.
Kaukauna, WI Residence
| Location: |
Kaukauna, WI |
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Landscaper: |
Donnie Mac's Landscaping | ||||
Products Used: |
County Block (Qty: 560) - Hickory Blend |
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Fairbrooke Paving Stones
(Qty: 880) - Cedar Blend |
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Lexington Stone (966 sq. ft. - Cedar Blend) |
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Description:
- Flexibility was the key to one landscaper’s regal design of a three-tiered patio in Kaukauna.
The homeowners had a pool in the back yard but wanted it removed in favor of a multi-tiered patio, which would allow them uninterrupted sightlines from inside their home. The original design included two tiers, a seat wall that doubles as a railing, and planting beds just outside this railing on the raised second tier.
“They liked the ‘raised patio’ concept,” said Don McDonald of Donnie Mac’s Landscaping in De Pere, the landscaper on the project. He used 560 units of County Materials’ Hickory Blend County Block® to form a five- to eight-course support for the two raised tiers. “And they just kept adding from there.”
A third tier was added, totaling 966 square feet. All three are paved with vintage-style Lexington Stone® pavers, which incorporate a dimpled, “aged” appearance and three sizes into one Old World paving system. The colors were selected to complement the home’s shingles, siding and trim, all of which are easily visible from the patio.
Visitors who exit the rear of the home step straight out onto a simple deck that, as with many facets of the project, was factored in during the process.
“They wanted a smaller area where they could enjoy their coffee,” McDonald said. “Then they didn’t think they had enough room down below (on the second tier), so they asked us to get rid of the planting bed.”
Three steps down from the coffee deck, on the main entertainment level, McDonald had specified 880 units of County Materials’ Cedar Blend Fairbrooke™ paving stones to fashion the seat railing that encircles the patio. He stood the versatile, rectangular Fairbrooke units on end and turned them so they formed concrete slats that resemble a miniature colonnade. The pattern is interrupted by half a dozen piers, also formed with Fairbrooke, and topped with lighted glass block. The planting bed lay between this railing and the top of the retaining wall. The redesign pushed the railing out to the edge of the retaining wall.
Finally, five steps down from the middle tier is a grade-level patio that serves as an easy opening to the yard. A table and chairs await occupants at both this bottom level and the middle tier.
But also on the middle tier is evidence of Fairbrooke’s versatility, a waist-high table fashioned from the paving stone, complete with a granite tabletop.