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
concrete with a dynamic ground finish to
expose the aggregate; rock-faced edging
and under-bar lighting complete the look.
The stamped concrete flooring boasts a
base color of Sandstone with Americanmade, 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 TechnoBloc 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.”
Chartiers Valley | Spring 2014 | icmags.com 17