Landscaping in Santa Cruz: The Evolution Of A Mailbox

~I got a call from a client of mine in San Jose last month to re-work his front yard landscape.
We installed this waterfall into his pool last year and he was very happy with our work.


In the design phase of his new front yard landscape, we noticed his mailbox could use an upgrade.

He had installed this mailbox in the early 1980's. It had since become overgrown, and almost hidden, in the Juniper hedge.


We decided to remove the hedge and build a new veneer stone mailbox pillar. 


We also designed a front entryway staircase using dry laid natural stone.


The new design will open up the front of the house and make it feel more welcoming.

With all the clearing done we start with the excavation and foundation for the pillar.
This picture also shows the new entryway steps. We used large Mossback slabs to create this custom and natural looking staircase. Some of the Mossback slabs weighed more than 800 pounds! 


The footing for the pillar was 18 inches deep and two feet wide with a rebar every 8 inches. The footing for the pillar is very important. Make sure you do not cut corners on this part of the project, if you are building a pillar yourself. If you are in an area that freezes in the winter, you will need to put your footer below the frost line or the ground will heave and your pillar could fall over. Check with a  local contractor in your area to get necessary depths for concrete footings.


After the footing has set, we begin the block work.


The finished column will be 4 ft tall. 


Block is mortared together with rebar laid on the top of each corse of block to create a grid of rebar throughout the column.

The mailbox was then installed into the column. 


After the block is laid and filled, we install the stone veneer. We chose the El Dorado 'Durango Mountain Ledge' stone for this project. 


We used a 'dry stack' walling style with this project. 

With the dry stacked style, we 'back mortar' all the stones in place using a polymer-modified veneer mortar. This way there are no visible grout joints. 


Each stone is individually cut to create a custom fit and a very natural look.

With the stone work done, we cap the column with an El Dorado Chiseled Edge Textured Column Cap.

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Living Waters Landscaping.com