Landscape Architect Articles

Paving the Way to Entertainment12-07-16 | Department

Paving the Way to Entertainment
December 2016 Hardscapes

By Alli Rael, LC/DBM

This home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., had a 6,000-square-foot brick patio and grass backyard that the homeowners wanted to replace with a space to entertain family and friends. Go Pavers, led by project manager Kobi Dan and field supervisor Nestor Fierro, used a team of eight workers to complete phase one, the backyard restoration, in one month. This included the installation of retaining walls, a fireplace, outdoor kitchen, and new paving for the area. Phase two will include the repaving of the driveway.

The first steps to the installation were the demolition and excavation of the brick and grass, followed by grading the site. A retaining wall, as well as the fireplace and the outdoor kitchen structure, were then constructed out of concrete masonry units. The "courtyard' style Tuscan colored pavers with a tumbled finish were placed in a random pattern next, with a "Holland' border. Finally, the finishing work, including Coronado veneers and Eldorado wall caps were placed.

The owners of this home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., called in Go Pavers to redesign and install the new hardscapes for their 6,000-square-foot brick and grass yard. Under the leadership of project manager Kobi Dan and field supervisor Nestor Fierro, a team of eight workers completed the first phase of the renovation, the backyard, in a month. Phase two will be the repaving of the home's driveway, which is easily accessible from the backyard.

Before any installation work could begin, the existing yard had to be demolished and excavated, and the space graded. Then, the upright structures were built with concrete masonry units. This included the perimeter retaining wall, adjacent fireplace, and outdoor kitchen/barbecue island.

The pavers were next on the list to be installed. The whole backyard was paved with "Courtyard' pavers in a Tuscan color with tumbled finish, placed in a random pattern. The border around the paver is a "Holland' block in the same color and finish. The manufacturer also provided the concrete masonry units used to construct the wall, fireplace and kitchen.

After the paver installation was complete, the finish work was installed, including wall caps, stone veneer, and granite for the kitchen. A Coronado veneer was placed on the concrete masonry structures: fireplace, perimeter wall, and kitchen. An Eldorado cap tops the wall, while the kitchen island has a natural granite countertop that Go Pavers installed.

Like the retaining wall, the fireplace was first constructed out of concrete masonry units and then finished with stone veneer and wall caps. The homeowner provided the television placed above the fireplace. It was bolted to a mount on the blocks within the niche.

The outdoor kitchen was constructed in the same manner as the retaining wall and fireplace. Instead of wall caps, a natural granite countertop was installed by Go Pavers to supplement the homeowner-provided barbecue grill, sink and storage drawers.

The homeowner provided the kitchen elements, which included a barbecue, warming plate, sink, and storage areas. They also provided the television, which was mounted in a niche in the fireplace much in the same way it would have been mounted if it were inside the home.

For the most part, the project was straightforward, though there were a few challenges. Gas, electrical and plumbing lines had to be placed for the fireplace, low voltage lighting around the whole yard, and kitchen appliances. Additionally, everything had to run smoothly at the same time, which required extensive planning. One month after work began, the homeowners had their new backyard ready to entertain family and friends.

As seen in LC/DBM magazine, December 2016.