At some point during this project our client decided upon a cobble stone driveway to replace the failing asphalt driveway. Our parameters were that we use the correct material for the site( granite or porphyry), the materials must be from USA origins, and feel timeless. So after getting samples form all over the USA,we had to choose between new or reclaimed. The new material felt 'dead', was all the same dimensionally & texturally, and really had no personality yet. We liked a reclaimed granite from Massachusetts best because of it's historical context, personality, color range, texture, and size.We chose to purchase our material from Stone Farm( www.stonefarmliving.com ) in Massachusetts. We also purchased reclaimed curbing to hold our cobbles in on the downhill side of the driveway.
So once our materials began to arrive....
We began unloading our materials in 20 ton containers... needing 120 tons for the project.We separated the materials and hauled them back to our sit.From there we excavated the hillside, established finished elevation of curbing and new cobblestone driveway, and poured a 70' long grade beam with re bar.
Two of my helpers after school, Devin Trub on left & Noah Beardsley-my son on right, myself Russ Beardsley in center. Grade beam at left... |
It is really great to be working with dry stone retaining walls & fences, a cobble stone driveway, and mortared elements all within this one area for this project. Personally I love the challenges this job has presented for Borrowed Ground because it has really pushed me to reevaluate how I work in the landscape for clients, work more in traditional wet masonry, and work with materials that don't exist here in the Pacific Northwest.
Whoa. That's a large pile of granite rocks you have there. You guys must be done by with renewing that driveway now. You should post photos of the final result! It would be great to see how everything looks. =)
ReplyDelete- Robbie Marinero
Not yet Robbie. I still have demo work to do in the backyard behind the garage, and i need to bring in a crane 2 more times to set boulders over the garage for other aspects of the project. I have just under 100 tons of cobbles for the driveway, and will need 10-15 more. We will start the driveway this summer. Thank you.
Deletegood..paver driveways have a high rate of return
ReplyDelete