The first major phase of landscape construction is complete! The next phases will include the building of a deck and railings. We'll be back in the Spring to build a small set of steps elswhere in the yard,  a front yard walkway, and the landscaping. It will be fantastic to see all these elements come together. Enjoy these photos and as always, if you like what you see, pass it along! We're off to start our last… Read All

We are 98% complete on this phase of the project. Neil is finishing up the stonework on the back side of the fireplace and then we can attach the blustone caps. The caps were fabricated by Astone, Inc. in Johnston, RI and came out perfectly. They are hefty pieces so it will take four people to help manuever them into place. Since the patio has been completed at this point, we don't have the luxury of using a machine,

So it's a beautiful Saturday in November. The weather is warm (it was about 6o degrees today) and we are enjoying a lovely sunset. Well, sort of! It's yet another Saturday that we are working up until the last moments of daylight to complete this project. There's nothing like cutting bluestone with a demo saw during twilight! So where's the romance you ask? Well, if you look closely at the fireplace, you'll see that… Read All

As you can see, we have finished the "skeleton" of the fireplace and have already placed the granite hearth and the granite sides. The next big challenge is to move this large piece of granite into place to be used as the lintel. Luckily, we planned the project so that we would have just enough room to move into the space with a small excavator. We'll use this to set the piece. Once this is complete, we can begin… Read All

The focal point of the upper terrace and really the entire stonework project is the fireplace that is being built. In this image, you'll see the very first steps. We needed to continue the concrete wall with concrete blocks to make up the shape of the back of the fireplace. We are using a product called Isokern as the "skeleton" of the fireplace and will then veneer around it. We'll use granite as the hearth, lintel,… Read All

  We decided to take a couple of days off to re-energize for the rest of the season. After we got the guys set up on some tasks, we took off to go camping. We ended up at Myles Standish State Park in Carver, MA. What a great place! We wish we could wake up to this scene everyday. In typical fashion, we arrived at our camp site at 9 pm (I just couldn't seem to leave the office on time). Nonethless, we had time… Read All

We  have been back to our Matunuck project for a couple of weeks now and are making great progress on the next phase of the project, the stonework! As you can see the lower wall has been completed and we are working our way to the top terrace.       Here you'll see the bench that is being built in the top terrace. Instead of letting this corner become a dead space, we designed a built-in bluestone… Read All

Affectionaly titled 'Sunday' by our client, this piece is now complete. Check out this small gallery for some interesting detailed shots of the piece.  You'll notice just how beautiful and colorful the fieldstone is up close. You'll also notice that there is no mortar between the stone. It's held together purely through gravity and the skill of the mason. And of course, if you like what you see, please tell everyone… Read All

Much like what we did with the flower show, we needed to build a wood form to support the arch while the stone was being set in place. Our choice of stone  for this project is a new england fieldstone that we have found in Sudbury, MA. Much of this stone is harvested from the ground so it has not yet had a chance to be aged by the weather.       This is New England however, and our weather conditions… Read All

Now this was the fun part. To finalize our work with the granite, we needed to split it to size and slip it into notches that we will make in the upright piece. So here is how it is done. First, we drilled holes into the granite using a hammer drill (kids, don't try this at home). Once the holes were drilled deep enough, we went "old school," placing feather and wedges into these holes.       Using… Read All