When we create the HARDSCAPE HERO Hall of Fame, Donald Sherbeyn will certainly be a first-ballot selection. After winning six monthly HARDSCAPE HERO awards and HARDSCAPE HERO of the Year twice, Sherbeyn hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. With this seventh win, Donald and Sherbeyn’s Landscape give us the feeling they’re just getting started.
For Sherbeyn, the HARDSCAPE HERO program is all about contractors getting to show off their chops, and this most recent win from Sherbeyn’s Landscape is no exception. The first thing you may notice looking at this project is the massive fireplace and chimney. Because the homeowner wanted an elevated pavilion, Sherbeyn and the crew had to build the chimney up over sixteen feet tall to get it above the roof for code. “That chimney was probably the biggest challenge on this project,” Sherbeyn recalls, “we didn’t use any scaffolding, it was just a bunch of guys on ladders passing the block up by hand.” All-in-all the fireplace took two days of dedicated work, but he thinks it just serves to show off how versatile that product is, “Man that Weston Stone fireplace is awesome, you can just go to work with it and do whatever you want. It lends itself to any size and you can arrange the stone however you like to show off your creativity.”
The other thing that will stand out to anyone feasting their eyes on this incredible space is the 1200 square foot, three-hole putting green with sand traps. After fifteen years of incorporating these kinds of elements into projects, they’re becoming a kind of specialty for Sherbeyn. “The homeowner told us to make the course challenging,” says Sherbeyn chuckling, “so we got to play with some really cool movements along the surface to make sure it pushed him to improve his game.” And Donald couldn’t agree more with that philosophy. “He said that if he’s going to have a putting green in his yard, it might as well make him better. And that’s exactly how we feel about the jobs we do. We like to challenge ourselves with new and interesting projects because we always want to push the boundaries and take our work up a notch with every job.”
That mindset is what has kept Sherbeyn’s Landscape at the top of their game for so long. When you talk to Donald about hardscaping, you can tell he loves what he does. “I would do this for free if I could,” he says, smiling with a total air of sincerity in his voice, “if I won the lottery tomorrow I’d still be out there having a blast and giving people outdoor spaces their families can enjoy for generations.” Not only does Sherbeyn love the work, he loves the people he gets to work with every day. “I have the best team, and the best clients.” Sherbeyn’s Landscape gets all their jobs by word of mouth, “so we always end up working with awesome people,” he explains. “Even the neighbors are great. For example this last project, the neighbor was this great guy, ex-military. We weren’t even working on his property and he would bring us Gatorade every day.”
That dedication and passion for the industry continues to shine through when asked about his favorite aspect of this winning project. “The part of this space that sticks with me the most is the lighting,” explains Sherbeyn, “the way that the light hits the pavers and the Weston block in the evening really creates these fine differences in the face texture. We used Tru-Scapes lighting and got everything just right so the shadows and the setting sun play off the surface perfectly. It’s small details like that where I feel we really shine.”
That attention to detail is what elevates a craft to the level of artwork. We certainly won’t be surprised when Sherbeyn wins his next HARDSCAPE HERO, but we sure are excited to see what he comes up with next.
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The following Belgard products were used in this project: