32 WBM stoneage Pennsylvania blue stone countertops provide the base for an outdoor stone kitchen equipped with double Big Green EGG smokers at this South Live Oak Parkway address but the centerpiece is a Tennessee field stone gas-fed wood-burning fireplace. Matching the stone found on the home’s exterior, stone mason Mike Gray of Graystone Inc. sourced his materials from Stone Garden. He tucked the fireplace beneath the eaves of the existing house but that was not the biggest challenge. Gray says during the design phase, the head-scratcher was drainage. Surrounded on three sides by exterior walls, flushing rainwater away from the nar-row 14- by 25-foot courtyard was achieved by the instal-lation of a drain combined with sloping pavers redirect-ing the water into the back-yard area. “Positive drain is what it’s called in the trade,” Gray says. “It’s an inch per 10 feet, you don’t notice it, but it lets water shed off the flat surface.” Gray installed concrete pavers in the courtyard, field stone cabinets in the outdoor kitchen and field stone steps with blue stone treads lead-ing to the house and into the backyard to unify the site. Pennsylvania blue stone accents score this Tennessee field stone fireplace, the centerpiece of an outdoor courtyard that is open to the elements and visible from indoor living areas. february 2014
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