The Driveway Project: Fabulously finished

The driveway is officially finished. When Matt asked whether it had turned out the way we anticipated, both Mark and I told him it was so much more dramatic and beautiful than we had imagined. Here are some photos from the last bits of construction. I'm planning one last post to show some of the details because the way the pavers and boulders all fit together to create a seamless whole is striking.

You can see that there is just the last bit of driveway to be compacted and fitted with pavers. But they ran out of bricks, so Matt picked up another palette in his truck. That meant that they had to figure out a way to get them out of the truck and at the spot they needed them. So the guys came up with this "slide" process. 

Down to the last row of pavers which all need to be cut and fitted at the curb.

Mark sets the last full size paver in the driveway at 12:48 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30.

Next the long sides of the driveway were finished. Here Matt is cutting  a long curve with the diamond saw. 

Leftover brick bits from all the cuts that Matt made fitting bricks up to rocks and along the edges of both sides.

This side has a straight edge except where it curves toward the street. You can see the edging put in along the side with big spikes to keep everything in place.

Among the last tasks was setting two stones in the quirky space next to the big rock adjacent to the house. 

It involved more cutting and fitting than Matt had hoped. 

These photos make it look like he could just push it in place with one hand but this was a very heavy stone and took a lot of effort to move.

Getting it perfectly positioned.

The last step was to brush sand into the spaces between the pavers and then compact it. This took an entire day. 

I helped with this just enough to know that it was more tiring and difficult than it looks. 

We had a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official end of the project at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4th.

Matt and Mark survey their work. If you look at the pavers you can just see that the very last step in this project was to hose down the driveway to make sure the water ran downhill properly and also to be sure that the sand was correctly compacted and did not wash out. It passed both tests with no problems.

One last post to come: The Details.

If you want to see this how this complex driveway project unfolded from start to finish CLICK HERE. Remember that the most recent post is always at the top. If you want to start from the beginning and follow along in the correct chronological order, you must scroll down to the "last" post in this entire group — which is actually the first segment I put on line. It is well worth looking at these pictures so you understand the stages of a job like this and also see the care with which Matt Wieneke does his work.

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

Wow. Matt is an artisan. Rock being his medium. This project is a Wow. What a blessing to find such a man with this know how. Can't wait to see the finish up close.

[Rock Rose]

Now that is what I call a project. I just looked through all the posts and cannot begin to imagine taking on such a project. It looks beautiful and I love the rocks and their placement. That takes a true artist. Congratulations.

[Linda from Each Little World]

Lisa — ​You are right that he is an artist. We always planned on doing a rock wall and steps but it has taken us 20 years to find the right person for the job!

[Linda from Each Little World]

Jenny — I don't think we would have done it if we had not done the pond all those years ago. That project was almost as big in terms of equipment, mud and length of time to complete — and equally satisfying.

[roberta]

I have been waiting for the big finish -- and its impressive. Linda and Mark -- Thanks for taking me along on your journey.
roberta

[Erin @ The Impatient Gardener]

Wow! It's so fabulous. What a joy to work with skilled tradesman like Matt who, even at the tail end of a project, puts his all into making sure everything is perfect.

[Jason]

Looks like some very high quality work. Does the sand mean that the surface is permeable to water?

[Linda from Each Little World]

​Jason,

The surface is permeable in the sense that water will drain between all the pavers. Not as permeable as those pavers that grass can grow through, but those don't work if you have to shovel snow off your driveway.