These are the questions John and the crew answer most often. If yours isn't covered here, call John at (770) 361-7446 or email us.
Ask John directlyOwner John Gray has been building stone and waterscape projects in the Atlanta metro for more than 35 years. We focus on hand-laid natural stone masonry, fire features, water features, and full outdoor living builds.
We work across the Atlanta metro, with most of our projects in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Milton, Peachtree Corners, Tucker, West Cobb, Decatur, and the surrounding cities.
Yes. Most of our work is residential, but we've built commercial water features including a horseshoe waterfall rebuild on Buford Highway and an 8-foot-tall rock wall feature at a commercial building near a major interstate.
Real natural stone, hand-laid on-site. We don't use manufactured veneer bolted to a metal frame or prefab resin pieces from a catalog. Every project is built from stone you pick yourself at the yard, set by hand the way masonry has been set for a hundred years.
Our own crew handles the stonework, the footings, the fire components, and the water-feature plumbing. We don't subcontract the parts of the build that matter most. For projects with cedar structures or other carpentry, we coordinate with master carpenters, but John's crew does all the stone and masonry in-house.
Yes. It's one of John's favorite parts of the job. He walks the stoneyard with you and helps you hand-pick the color, texture, and cut so the finished project matches your home instead of fighting it. It's not an upsell. It's how the job turns out right.
Yes to both. We build traditional wood-burning fireplaces and fire pits as well as gas-fed units, depending on your preference and your HOA. We install the firebox, flue, and any gas lines in-house as part of the stonework build.
Yes, when it's built right. Our retaining walls include drainage behind the wall, compacted backfill, and footers sized for the load above. Georgia's freeze-thaw cycles crack poured concrete and shift paver walls over time, but a hand-laid natural stone wall has some give to it, and that's what keeps it standing. We've been building walls in this clay for 35 years, so we know what fails.
Yes, if it's engineered for it. A “noise curtain” fountain uses enough water volume and the right spillway geometry to generate a continuous background sound that covers traffic. We built one for a rural property plagued by highway noise using pumps that push between 12,000 and 15,000 gallons per hour. The homeowner stopped hearing the road. Running water also covers pool pumps and neighbors, all day, every day, without a speaker.
Often, yes. We've been called in to repair failing liners, fix persistent leaks, rebuild damaged mailbox columns, and restore stonework hit by vehicles. Whether a repair or a full rebuild is the right call depends on the underlying condition of the build. John will look at it and tell you honestly what can be saved.
It starts with a site walk. John comes to the property, looks at the grade, drainage, and soil, and talks through what you're trying to accomplish. From there, you go to the stoneyard together to pick material. Once you approve the plan, the crew digs, pours footers, sets drainage, and lays the stone. A single stone wall or fire pit usually takes two to four weeks. A full backyard transformation with multiple features runs about a month on-site.
Call John directly at (770) 361-7446, the office at (770) 433-1607, or email us. A site walk is free. Most questions get a faster answer on the phone than in email.
If we didn't cover your question, call John directly at (770) 361-7446, the office at (770) 433-1607, or email us to schedule a free site walk.
