Home Improvements
Backyard
Oasis
W
hen family and friends visited the Upper St. Clair home
of Jason and Stacey Cobb last summer, they marveled
at how the couple had transformed their backyard from
ordinary to oasis-like. “It’s totally different than when we moved here
in 2010,” Jason says.
The 20-year-old Colonial house right off Cook’s School Road sits
on six-tenths of an acre. “We’re spoiled because we have a nice size
yard for this area and it’s mostly flat.” While the previous owners had
installed a pool, concrete patio and wood deck, the space wasn’t being
used to its full potential. “The concrete was a hideous red. The pool
and patio areas were separate. Nothing flowed.”
In November 2012, the Cobbs gathered bids and settled on an
approach. “We had a vision of what we wanted—for it to be one level,
tying the pool and deck areas together,” Jason explains. “That was our
only criteria, and a stone mason laid it out from there—adding stuff
we hadn’t even thought of, like low-voltage lighting and power outlets.
He made history of the old concrete and new design plans called for
1,500 feet of stamped concrete encircling the pool and gazebo, shaped
landscape beds with sitting walls, a pedestal with light fixture, and a
custom patio bar with a sink and grill.
For the stone retaining walls, they specified 6” Mini-Creta TechnoBloc in Chestnut Brown, with double-sided, aged caps. “Those walls
are a great idea,” Jason comments. “We can sit on them around the
patio. When a lot of people are here, everyone has a place to sit.”
The pool perimeter was redesigned in Techno-Bloc Chocolate
Brown bullnose. Mini-Creta Techno-Bloc was also the material
of choice for the bar, with an inlay of Monte Cello. The bar top is
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concrete with a dynamic ground finish to expose the aggregate; rockfaced edging and under-bar lighting complete the look.
The stamped concrete flooring boasts a base color of Sandstone
with American-made, all-natural dyes mixed in to create a natural
look. Once the concrete was poured, two tones of release agent—
medium and dark brown—were hand scattered to lend a variegated
effect. A natural slate texture was achieved by placing rubber mats
over the concrete and pushing the design into its surface. Once the
concrete was set, the crew returned to saw-cut the surface into 3’ by
3’ boxes and apply two coats of sealer. “It’s beautiful,” Jason says. “It
looks brown, black and grey all at the same time, just like natural slate.”
The most challenging part of the project was removing the
automatic pool cover, bull-nosing around the pool and reinstalling
a new cover. It’s a tightly scalloped, fiberglass pool so the cuts were
made carefully.
To create a grand entrance to the patio from the backyard, a stone
pedestal was built and capped off with York Techno-Bloc and a
Craftsman-style light fixture.
Not factoring in weather delays, the total re-do took eight weeks.
The bids came in at $25,000 to $100,000. “To anyone doing this type
of job, I suggest budgeting in the $40,000 to $60,000 range,” Jason
says.
The Cobbs are thrilled with the end result. “It’s one integrated,
seamless area,” Jason comments. “Now, we’re happy to have people
over. On weekends, we prefer to stay home, watch Pirates games, grill
out, swim and be entertained at our own residence. It really is like
walking into a resort.”