A Stone Mason in Toronto

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to meet up with a very talented group of stone masons working in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).


Just a few examples of some stone masonry work in my designs can be seen below and in the photo above:

In the above photo, Natural stone retaining walls and random flagstone path (Credit Valley Flagstone and wall stone). This was a brand-new stair/wall system put in for better access to the client's front door from the driveway.

In the above photo, Natural Owen Sound square-cut flagstone in a Grey-buff colour mixed with black square-cut for a bit of accent. This is a patio that had been put in to provided a great space for entertainment.

In this photo we see the work in progress as the front walkway is completed for one of my clients. The photo at the beginning of this post is the end result of excellent Stone Mason work and quality landscape construction work. The stone used here is called Indus Valley Sandstone in a grey colour.

For stone mason work in the Greater Toronto Area you can contact me for further information regarding design or I can refer you to a contractor for estimating the work on your natural stone projects.

What inspires...part 7

One the most exciting things to see in a landscape is a combination of plantings staged within a setting of rockery that looks both pleasing and harmonious to the eye.





What inspires me when I create and arrange planting beds with rockery is to observe how Nature does it first! The tower of rockery on the right and the picture above is from a limestone outcropping found in The Beaver River Valley near Georgian Bay, Ontario. You can find this lookout along a hiking trail in the Old Baldy Conservation Area.


There are so many places that Ontario has to offer for the casual observer to feel truly inspired about Nature.

A simple Pergola

Back in early spring of 2008 I was contacted by some wonderful clients to help create a pergola structure in their yard.

Above is the space before I got my hands on it and created the design... I still remember that day being -19 degrees Celsius and one of the coldest days ever for me to take property measurements. The design issues were as follows:

- Shade for both the sitting area on a patio as well as shade for the interior rooms of the home.
- A structure to add value to the home.
- A structure that would properly bridge between the home and the garage buildings without looking out of place.

After giving much thought and allowing my brain to thaw out, here is what I came up with!



I kept the structure away from the garage building and gave it some interest along the edge as it wraps around the building instead of joining right to it. The Architectural challenge to create a pergola that attached to the building would have proved to be too costly for the budget and would have looked out of sorts with the A-frame roof of the garage.




The details of the rafter ends and the other wood elements present, give the look of an elegant structure that gently rests between the two buildings and softens the transition in-between.


The clients went with Tiger Decking which is a form of hardwood used for exterior surfaces. It added a finishing touch to the new deck and really makes this space feel like an additional room to the home.


The deck carpenter for this project was Tony Fredericks of The Woodcrafters (416-420-3999)