Serving Pembroke, MA
Natural stone patios, steps, walls and pool decks in Pembroke, a town of ponds and septic systems where we built a waterfront bluestone patio.
Water and wetlands make up more than a fifth of Pembroke. Furnace Pond, Oldham Pond, Stetson Pond and Silver Lake sit mostly on the west side of town, where summer cottages have become year-round homes. Those lots are close to the water and close to each other, and every one of them is on septic.
Our waterfront bluestone patio in Pembroke shows what careful work can do on a site like that: bluestone patios near the house, broad stone steps down through planted beds, and lawn paths that tie the levels together. CJ Pickering Enterprises builds in natural stone and installs patios, walkways and steps and retaining walls across Pembroke.
Pembroke has no town sewer. The open space plan says a treatment plant has been talked about for years and judged too costly, so homes depend on private septic systems.
On a former cottage lot the tank and leaching field can take up a large share of the yard. The Building Department’s own setbacks for a house are 10 feet from the tank and 20 feet from the field, and a patio or pool has to be planned around both.
Pembroke’s zoning defines coverage as buildings plus all paved areas, and caps it at 60 percent of the lot. Patios and walkways count.
On a one-acre lot that is rarely a limit. On a small pond lot with a house, a driveway and a parking area, it can be, and permeable surfaces or stepping-stone paths through lawn are a way to keep the number down.
The southern part of town is a glacial outwash plain with sandy soils that suit building, unless the water table is shallow. The northern uplands are another matter: the town’s plan describes slow-draining soils with a seasonally high, perched water table. The eastern quarter sits on granite.
That is why the base and the drainage are designed lot by lot here. A patio that would need little more than a compacted base in Bryantville may need an underdrain in North Pembroke.
Under Pembroke’s wetlands by-law, work within 100 feet of a pond, stream, bank or wetland needs a permit, and so does work within 200 feet of most year-round streams. With this much water in town, expect to file if your yard reaches a pond.
The town draws its drinking water from an aquifer through six wells. In the Water Resource and Groundwater Protection District, making more than 15 percent or 2,500 square feet of a lot impervious is not allowed unless the runoff is recharged on site.
Town rules change. We last checked these against Pembroke’s own pages in October 2026, so confirm with the town before you build.
Pembroke, MAA Pembroke waterfront home opens onto bluestone patios, with broad stone steps, lawn paths, and planted beds connecting sheltered seating to the surrounding landscape.
Buzzards Bay, MAOn this Buzzards Bay waterfront property, CJ Pickering built the paver pool deck, the outdoor kitchen under the pavilion, the poolside fire features, a waterfront fire-pit terrace, the front stone walkways, and the landscape lighting.
Taunton, MAA Taunton waterfront hillside steps down from a paver driveway to the home through terraced retaining walls, long stair runs, and paved landings framed by lawn and stone.
Yes. Our waterfront bluestone patio project in Pembroke is on this site, with photos. It has bluestone patios near the house and wide stone steps leading down through planted beds toward the water.
Yes. The town’s general bylaws require an outdoor pool that can hold three feet of water or more to be fully enclosed by a four-foot fence, with a gate latch or lock within one foot of the top. A building permit is required for the pool, filed through the town’s online portal.
Not in the ordinary case. The stormwater by-law applies at one acre of land disturbance. The rules that usually matter for a patio are the wetlands by-law, the 60 percent coverage limit and, in the groundwater district, the cap on impervious surface.
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