Ambleside, West Vancouver, British Columbia
On a high-end multi-family mixed-use building in Ambleside, West Vancouver, British Columbia, the ground plane had to match the property. The project team built a plaza and a run of walking patios, roughly 5,000 square feet completed between 2020 and 2021, using a fully permeable ROMEX® system that delivered a flawless finish without a concrete subsurface. Houston Landscapes installed it for client Ledcor, to a design by landscape architect Durante Kreuk, on what was rated at the time as one of Canada’s top high-end builds.
PRODUCT SELECTION
The assembly paired ROMEX TRASS BED and ROMEX ADHESION ELUTRIANT for setting with ROMEX DRAIN for jointing and ROMEX FLEX JOINT at the movement areas. TRASS BED gave the pavers a permeable, frost-resistant bed, and ADHESION ELUTRIANT bonded each unit to it so the surface reads as one solid plane rather than a field of loose stones, no rocking, no lifted edges. ROMEX DRAIN grouted the joints with a drainable resin fill that lets the region’s rain pass straight through, while FLEX JOINT, rated to 25 tonnes, absorbed expansion at the transitions without cracking. Because the system combined TRASS BED, ADHESION ELUTRIANT, and a ROMEX jointing product, it qualified for the 10-year ROMEX System Guarantee, and it removed the poured concrete base entirely, cutting cost, time, and embodied carbon.
PROJECT LOCATION
Ambleside sits on the West Vancouver waterfront, one of the most established luxury areas in the country, with buildings looking across Burrard Inlet toward the city. The finish standard is high and the space is design-forward, not utilitarian. The local climate sets the performance bar: West Vancouver draws some of the region’s heaviest rainfall, with wet winters and repeated freeze-thaw, so the surface had to drain fast and resist frost heave to hold its quality for decades.
PROJECT NEEDS
Two things could not be compromised: appearance and longevity. The plaza and patios had to stay flat and tight, since on a project of this profile a single settled paver is a visible defect. The owner also wanted a surface that looked its best with minimal upkeep, which ruled out anything prone to weeds, ant intrusion, or joint washout. Heavy rainfall made drainage non-negotiable, and freeze-thaw meant any trapped water would eventually crack the finish. The team also wanted to skip the concrete base, both for the drainage goal and to simplify the build.
PROJECT SOLUTION
Every paver was set over a No. 57 clear stone base, then bonded with TRASS BED and ADHESION ELUTRIANT using the wet-on-wet method, tying the pavers into a stable, load-bearing plane while keeping the buildup permeable top to bottom. ROMEX DRAIN grout finished the surface, moving rainfall down into the stone base rather than pooling it, and resisting the weeds and washout that create maintenance. FLEX JOINT handled seasonal movement at the transitions so the joint lines stayed clean. The result gave Durante Kreuk and Ledcor a surface that drains on its own, resists frost, asks little maintenance, and carries a 10-year warranty, all without a poured base, on a property recognized among the finest builds in the country at the time.
5,000 square feet of fully permeable walkways
British Columbia, Canada
2020-2021
Commercial
