Craftsmanship

of the old homes in St.Paul makes them highly desirable. Some attention to detail and sweat equity can restore these works of art and that is always my driving force when I am asked to work on a home built before the turn of the 20th century. I love old homes, the stories the walls could tell and the way the homes were built are fascinating to me. They do present some unique challenges as well. For instance, nothing is square, you never know what you might find buried and access is always a challenge in the small yards. Working a few miles away I once dug up the cornerstone from the original St Paul courthouse built in 1851! As it turned out, the home I was working on was built directly over an old landfill where the debris was dumped.

Our client had purchased the home and begun interior renovations, now we were tasked with designing and installing the new paver driveway, apron, walkways and a traditional English inspired garden in the back yard. The yard was so overgrown it was impossible to see what lay beneath the jungle of overgrowth when we arrived. 

We chose to use Willow Creek Brickstone since many of the homes in St Paul originally had brickstone paver driveways and many of the streets were paved in similar fashion. The color was chosen to compliment the home’s exterior and we chose to use a Herringbone pattern on the driveway due to it’s structural advantage over other patterns. The project took just over 4 weeks to complete but the difference is stunning!