Hardscape, paver patios and paths

Hardscape is the part of a yard that is supposed to last decades, and when it is built properly it does. When it is not, it sinks in one corner, throws a lip somebody trips on, and grows weed through every joint. Almost always the reason is the same. The base was too thin, it was not compacted in layers, or the ground under it was never taken out and dealt with.

So on our paver work most of the labour goes in before a single stone is laid. The area is excavated to a real depth rather than a convenient one, the base material goes in and gets compacted in layers, the fall is set so water runs where it should rather than towards a doorway, and the edges are restrained so the field cannot spread. Only then does the paving go down.

We build patios, paths, walkways, steps and the small retaining that ties a sloped yard together, and we do it as part of a whole landscape plan rather than in isolation. A patio that arrives without any thought about the beds, the lawn edge and the route to the back door is a slab in a garden. One that is designed with the rest of the yard reads as though the house always had it.

Material is your call and we will be straight about how each one behaves here. Anything laid in this climate lives through a wet winter and a dry summer, and some surfaces hold moss in the shade while others do not. Which side of the house something sits on changes what we would use on it.

The one caveat we give everybody is about scale. Small paver and hardscape jobs are on the list of work we do not chase, because the setup, the plate compactor and the haul of material are the same whether the area is small or large. If what you want is a couple of square metres, tell us when you call. On anything of a reasonable size, estimates are free and happen at the property, and most jobs are quoted the same day we look.

Hardscape and tree roots meet more often than people expect, and it is worth dealing with honestly at the design stage. Paving laid straight over the root plate of a mature tree will lift, and cutting the roots out to stop it can take enough off the tree to make it unstable. Because we do both, we can tell you at the estimate which of those you are looking at and where the paving should go instead, rather than building something that fails in five years.

We are licensed with the Oregon Landscape Contractors Board under LCB #100776, bonded and insured, and every crew is in house. On work that involves excavating on your property that is worth confirming before you hire anybody, ours included. Look the number up with the board and you will find us.