Masonry Company in Celebration, FL

Brick and Stone for Celebration's Pattern Book Homes

Celebration is a master-planned community in northwest Osceola County, not a city. The Walt Disney Company founded The Celebration Company to plan the community and oversee its creation. Ground broke in spring 1994, and the first residents moved in during the summer of 1996. The downtown Town Center, on Market Street by Lake Rianhard, opened that November.

The community grew in phases, with South Village in 2000 and East Village in 2001. The newest phases are Spring Lake, from 2012, and Island Village, from 2021. Census survey figures show about three in four homes were built from 1990 to 2009. About one in five went up in 2010 or later.

The community describes its homes as Classical, Colonial, French, Coastal, Mediterranean and Victorian exteriors. Most have a front porch and a rear garage on a service alley. We look at the house style first, so the brick or stone on a new outdoor fireplace suits it.

ARC Review for Outdoor Kitchens and Fireplaces in Celebration

Every homeowner here belongs to the Celebration Residential Owners Association, a homeowners association under Florida law. Its structural changes guideline asks for written ARC approval before work starts. Committee members review applications online and meet once a month. Lake Evalyn and West Village also have their own Pattern Book supplements.

The published guidelines cover topics such as patios and walkways, fences and walls, driveways and structural changes. None of the topics names outdoor kitchens or fireplaces. For exterior changes the guidelines do not list, the association uses a general request form. Ask at Town Hall, the association's office, which form fits your plan.

Applications ask for a survey or plot plan with the work drawn to scale, plus color samples and drawings. If the lot's hard surface grows, the ARC asks for an impervious surface worksheet too. ARC approval does not replace government approvals, so ask the county whether your project needs a permit.

Brick Walkways and Natural Stone in Celebration's Guidelines

The community counts over 40 neighborhood parks and more than 26 miles of walking trails. At home, the patio and walkway guideline encourages materials other than concrete, such as brick pavers. It asks for a color already on the house or one that complements it. For example, a red brick home might have a red brick walkway.

For a front walk, the guideline wants the tops of the brick even with the sidewalk. The old concrete walk comes out first, and the sidewalk along the street stays as it is. Our mud-set brick is clay brick set in a mortar bed on a concrete slab we pour first. The slab height is planned so the finished brick meets the sidewalk flush.

The fence and wall guideline lists brick and natural stacked stone among its permitted materials. Its rule against mixing materials names one exception: brick or stucco piers joined by wrought iron or black aluminum. Our masons build brick columns and piers, and they lay natural stone on entries and courtyard walls. The iron or aluminum between the piers is a fence company's work.

Osceola County Permits and Celebration's Wet Ground

Celebration is a census-designated place in unincorporated Osceola County. So building permits come from the county's Building Office. The county applies Florida's 2026 exemption for small single-family jobs, but not to structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or gas work. The Building Office decides what your project needs, so check with it before work starts.

Federal soil maps show Pompano fine sand under about 43 percent of Celebration's land, rated very poorly to poorly drained. Its water table sits within 12 inches of the surface for about 2 to 6 months in most years. Within 10 feet of a house, the Florida Building Code wants hard surfaces sloped at least 2 percent away. We plan the slab and its drainage before any brick or stone goes down.