Busy Spring...

Well, once again the blog posts have slowed to a crawl...my apologies to my regular readers... It has been very busy for me these past two months and has taken me this long to finally sit and breathe on a Sunday morning while looking at a blog topic to post.



So today we take a look at one of my most recent projects. One that I designed last year for a customer in Richmond Hill...



Here you can see the natural stone coping process that boarders a pool. The pool is a steel-wall construction and will later be measured up to have a vinyl liner inserted in it. The coping placed on the pool is a carefully crafted process in which each stone is custom-cut and fitted to turn the corners of the pool walls.



In this photo we have a close-up look at what I call the stone deck. I like level changes in the landscape... it gives that 3-D aspect to what is otherwise a flat backyard. Most of the time, with newer homes, you get backyards that have been graded relatively flat by the home builder. They have a slight slope going towards the rear of the yard for water drainage and that is it... nothing exciting happening in the topography of the yard. So wherever possible, I try to create level changes for a dramatic effect of separating spaces.



The upper patio will be ample space for a large dining table and BBQ area. The lower patio spaces will be where all the pool fun happens and you have a wide open view of the pool area from the raised patio.





In this last photo we see a pergola privacy screen that I have designed to house a hot tub. The wood structure is about 14 feet long by 5 feet wide. It is not meant to act as a shade structure or a rooftop over the hot tub... but more of a focal point or wood feature to dress up the hot tub corner. The other purpose of it is to block the views of the neighbor's house windows as folks sit in and enjoy their time in the hot tub.



In the screen detail there is a small diamond shape framed into the lattice... that was a last-minute addition I made when i noticed an extra piece of pool coping laying around the site...I had it cut into a 1 x 1 foot square and I framed the stone into the screen as a nice tie in to the natural stone pool coping used for this project.



I was speaking with the home owner yesterday and we talked about staining the structure and growing vines over top of it. I also mentioned that in some cases, years down the road... Hot tubs can become the white elephant in the backyard as a family can become less and less interested in using it... so in case of this ever happening... I have designed the space to function without the tub... they can easily sell the tub and put the money towards a gorgeous patio lounge set centered around the pergola...



My motto... When you are spending money on a landscape...always design with function and purpose for years to come so you don't have to spend again! I will update you with more photos when this project is complete in the next few weeks...