Making a Grand Entrance with Pavers

By Bruce H. Soileau, Consultant to Pavestone Company

Pavestone created a custom Willow Green colored paver for the banding that traces around all of the circles and ends at the entrance. The intricate circle pattern was created in CAD with the continuous green ribbon tracing around each circle.
Images courtesy of Pavestone Company

A beautiful home deserves an equally beautiful entrance. The owner, designer and contractor of this Sedona project designed and created a stunning driveway that welcomes visitors to this grand home, situated on a hill with a magnificent view of the nearby Chapel of the Holy Cross. This complex job is a testimony to what can be achieved with a vivid imagination, exceptional CAD skills and interlocking pavers.

The driveway leads up to a spectacular 13,000+ square foot mansion that includes a 4-car garage, a rooftop observatory, and a huge koi pond with a gazebo on the grounds. For inspiration, the homeowner found a picture in a magazine of a driveway that had a circle in it, and decided she wanted to also incorporate circles into their driveway, but wanted it to be truly unique. The homeowner, who loves working on large design projects, indicated that she wanted the circles to be joined through a serpentine style band that would be continuously connected throughout the pattern.

A stunning driveway welcomes visitors to this grand home, which is situated on a hill and has a magnificent view of the nearby Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Driveway Design
Gilbert Contreras, the CAD designer, and Don Troutman, the landscape designer, came up with an as-built set of drawings for the existing driveway, which consisted of a rough concrete subsurface and a curb that was made from poured concrete standing approximately eight inches tall. The new paver layout would have to fit into the confines of the existing curb, and because accuracy was so critical, considerable time was taken to be certain all measurements were perfect.

Contreras created the intricate circle pattern in CAD with the continuous green ribbon tracing around each circle. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

There was a very sharp incline up to the house after entering the driveway from the street, so the various changes in elevation made it very difficult to pull off. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

A breathtaking entrance to this spectacular mansion was designed and created by the owner, the designer and the contractor. The homeowner, who loves working on large design projects, indicated that she wanted the circles to be joined through a serpentine style band that would be continuously connected throughout the pattern.

Laying the Pavers
Don Troutman, the landscaping contractor, built the 5,777 square foot driveway using a total of thirty-three Plaza Stone IV Circle Packs in Antique Terra Cotta by Pavestone. The circles varied in size starting from 8?EUR??,,????'?????<

After the pavers were installed, the contractor went back and stained the curbing to match the new pavers.

It was a great effort from all of the workers on the project. There were five installers on the project with one worker continuously cutting pavers to fit the configuration of the driveway. The paver crew did an amazing job following the installation instructions included in the blueprints provided by Contreras.

Glitter was sprinkled over the driveway after the pavers were installed, followed by the contractor applying Techniseal???????(R)????, a microporous emulsion that is specially designed to protect porous materials such as pavers. This product acts as a water repellent and makes cleaning the pavers easier.

The paver installation took approximately three weeks to complete, with another week going towards applying the glitter and sealant. A second driveway is being planned on the lower portion of the property in the near future.

Troutman completed all of the landscaping on the property over a three year period, which includes a 75,000 gallon water feature that was installed with a 40 foot waterfall dropping off the back deck into the water feature that is full of koi fish. When asked if there were any issues, Troutman replied, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The CAD Drawing for this project highlights the 33 plaza circles incorporated in the design. The diameters of the circles are: 6'-11", 9'-8" and 7'-10" respectively and are composed of Plaza Stone IV Circle Packs in Antique Terra Cotta.

Troutman has been in business over 50 years, and all from word of mouth. He does not have a website and believes that pictures cannot do justice to his work. Troutman brings prospective clients to see several of his past projects, so they can experience his work firsthand.

The designer and landscape contractor admitted that working with the various circle sizes was a challenge, and took some creative thinking to make it all work out. A lot of planning and hours were put into the project before the first paver was ever installed, but between the homeowner, the designer and the contractor, they came up with a very unique plan and everyone was pleased with the way it turned out.