As Seen on TV: Building an Outdoor Living Area

By Kevin Burrows

A Bobcat skid steer, a full-size backhoe and a lull (shown at left) were used to transport the stones, boulders and lumber from the staging area to the site. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Photos courtesy of Stone Age Manufacturing Inc., and Living Stone Landscape Design

When Trace Adkins wanted to renovate the area behind his Brentwood, Tennessee farm, he did what any highly successful country singer would do. He had a brand-new outdoor living area designed and constructed from scratch in three days?EUR??,,????'?????<

At 46, Trace Adkins is the same guy from Sarepta, Louisiana who, after singing in a gospel group and attending college and working on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, moved to Nashville in the 1990s and eventually made a name for himself in the country music business. Also, in late 2007, Adkins wrote a book. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Field conditions combined with a three day TV shoot for Indoors Out, of the Do-It Yourself Network, contributed to the necessity of being flexible. ?EUR??,,????'?????<.

Working in and around a film crew, documenting your every move is a challenge most landscape contractors don?EUR??,,????'?????<

Planning the Installation

Chris Agee was brought in to manage the project. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Land Design, Inc. has a long working relationship with Trace Adkins. About ten years ago, Mike Kahnle had designed the lake and the island in the lake as well. To make sure the patio didn?EUR??,,????'?????<

Laying the Groundwork

While the producers of the show wanted the project to look like fresh untouched ground when shooting began, a week before filming Agee and his crew dug out the site, laid out the design and poured the footers for the fireplace, wall and grill. They also had the materials such as boulders, stone and lumber delivered. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

As production began, the site had three main focal points?EUR??,,????'?????<

Trace Adkins, seen at left was very involved in the design and installation of the outdoor living area on his Tennessee farm. Here he gets his hands dirty shoveling with Chris Agee of Living Stone Landscape Design.

Fireplace

Initially the fireplace had been designed to be part of the outdoor grill and cook area, but as the size and scale of the project increased, it became clear it wouldn?EUR??,,????'?????<

Once the fireplace was completed, the crew began the process of inserting the boulders and laying steps. By getting the big cornerstone features in place, the crew could then work around them for the rest of the project.

Boulders and Steps

Once the fireplace was started, the crews began bringing down the boulders, which weighed upwards of three-tons apiece, and laid them out on the site. Three tractor-trailer loads of stone were delivered a week before shooting. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Grill

The immense grill, which was 5 feet across contained a fridge, sink, side burner and drawers. The countertop was made of soapstone from Vermont.

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Walls

The patio cover was constructed of enormous rough hewn, white pine stained to match the barn. After the show, the crew ended up replacing the roof structure; another detail that could not be completed in the time frame required for reality TV. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Laying stone

Once the fireplace, walls and boulders were in place, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Once the base was laid, Tennessee broken flagstone was installed. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Once it dries, it forms into a rigid material, almost like a rubber, but harder. However unlike concrete it is able to expand and contract with the freezing and thawing that is common in Tennessee. All and all, a 30/70 mix between Jamestown flagstone and crab orchard flagstone was used.

The patio cover was constructed of enormous rough hewn, white pine stained to match the barn. Initially the fireplace had been designed to be part of the outdoor grill and cook area, but as the size and scale of the project increased, it became clear it wouldn?EUR??,,????'?????<

Challenges

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