Cannon Club at Princeton University

Over the years, American Stone By Luciano has completed many masonry projects we are proud of. From fireplaces, patios, and beyond. We’ve completed the construction of countless structures of stone art. Some noteworthy projects are the ones we’ve completed for The Cannon Club at Princeton University.


Our business with the Cannon Club began when the clubs head wanted to build a more elegant looking back porch patio to replace the present patio at the time. The flagstone used to build the previous patio was out of date and aging, as the building is one of the oldest in Princeton and a historic landmark. We ripped up the old flagstones, and salvaged what stones we could. The patio was on the buildings second floor and above the Clubs kitchen, so we had to properly waterproof the wet- bed (First cement layer) of the patio prior to laying the stone to prevent the possibility of future leaking into the kitchen’s ceiling.  We then waited a couple days before adding a second coat of waterproofing, and then tested for leaks. Once we were sure the wet-bed was completely waterproofed, we began construction of the patio. It took several days of structured planning and laying/pitching each stone individually, but when it was complete the Club owners were very satisfied. So satisfied, that they kept our name on record for a couple more projects they had planned for the very near future.


The Next project planned, was an entrance patio. The Cannon Club has an elegant cathedral look to it and is the envy of much of its neighboring buildings, so it was important to the owners of the club that the entrance match the elegant theme as it would be the first impression of spectators visiting the club. Luciano lead a team of masons in discussing and planning for this challenging task. We started out by measuring and tracing possible shapes for the entrance. After several attempts, we concluded what lining of the stones would look best given the connecting walkways the owners wanted to keep. After the shape was determined, we executed our regular routine; digging the outline, evenly spreading crushed bluestone, and pouring concrete for the foundation. Once the foundation was complete, we began building the entrance and one week later had another beautiful structure to add to our resume. We were also given drawings for the clubs next project, a backyard entertainment patio.


The proposed patio was one of the biggest projects American Stone By Luciano had faced over the years, so we were excited for the challenge. The entertainment patio called for landing steps (so that club member could walk up to the patio from the open parking lot), a large patio, retaining walls surrounding the patio, and walkways on either ends of the patios. Additionally, the club owners wanted to add an outdoor kitchen. The outdoor kitchen described included a stone island with surrounding retaining walls: all of which would be capped with granite. Aside from the longer than normal planning this project entailed because of it’s size; the rest of our process was very similar. From outlining the patio’s perimeters during pre-construction, to the individual placing of each flagstone and regular stone. The retaining walls were capped with formed concrete, and the kitchen’s stone counters were capped with special order granite. As we do all our patios, we stained the flagstones upon completion to show detail of the stones as well as protect the surface from water damage. The club owners are still proud to have such elegant additions to their historic building, but not as proud as we were in constructing them.

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