Rurode Residence - Project Overview

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This client had an existing wooden deck that they never used. It was tired looking and required shoes to walk on because it had so much sap oozing from the planks. Further, there was a large step directly off of the patio door that made bringing food inside from the grill a challenge. The clients needed something they would want to use regularly and also had a wish list including a firepit, grilling area, seating areas, and a path from the patio to the golf cart path along the edge of the lawn.  The front porch of the home was also subpar as it was ordinary concrete with no identity whatsoever. The entire interior of the home had been renovated and looks amazing throughout, but the exterior just didn’t have the same panache and needed professional help.

After meeting with the clients to discover their tastes and desires we went to work designing. With clean lines in mind we decided on a travertine patio in the place of the old deck. We also put in a seat wall around the firepit.  The clients wanted to eliminate the need for firewood so we went with fireglass in the fire pit with a key start. The steps from the sliding door were made deeper and reduced to 6” for easy egress/ingress. Lastly, a grilling area was created for a new Weber grill including veneer to match the firepit and seat wall, with a granite countertop for easy maintenance. We received the OK from the client immediately started working.

We began by removing the old, dirty deck. We had to raise the height of an existing granite boulder wall to accommodate the higher grade of the new patio. The granite boulders hold the base stone and soil from falling into an existing lower level. The EW Gold seat wall was also installed and retains the base on the other side of the patio.  The concrete base for the fire pit was also poured at this time while we ran gas lines for the grill and fire pit. A base of #73 road base (aka CA6) was meticulously installed and compacted in three inch lifts. Once the base was in we poured the new steps off of the sliding door. The seat wall was completed and custom made radius step was installed from the patio area to where the path across the yard would later be. Once the base was in we started putting down the cut dimensional travertine stone. The travertine is also on the steps leading to the door and has a bullnose front and edges for a clean, finished look. After all the cuts were made the stone was sealed using nanosealer and polymeric sand was installed. After we finished the patio the homeowners just couldn’t stand to look at their boring front porch anymore so we installed natural cut dimensional stone there as well. We also poured a new step and installed the stone, again with a nice bullnose front and sides, on the porch. We ran irrigation lines under both the patio and the porch for containers which we change out seasonally.

The clients absolutely love the work that Small’s performed. We went on to do the landscaping around the entire home. The patio is the new living room and when the kids and grandkids come over there is always some sort of excitement going on outdoors. The old deck was virtually useless but now the entire family can enjoy their time outside. By using travertine no shoes are required so the little ones can run around without burning their little feet on hot, sunny days.

Gallery (Click thumbnail for larger image)

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