Pro Tips for Patio Planning

Patio construction requires a plan, and the winter months are the best time to plan spring hardscape projects, such as a clay paver patio.

“Thinking about it now gives you some options,” says JB Brown, owner of Burlington, NC-based Quality Landscapes. Brown points out that homeowners need to book contractors for clay paver patio installations by late winter in order to have the patios done in the April to June timeframe.

According to recent research findings by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) in the 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features, the reasons for building an outdoor room are numerous. New hardscape projects provide an increased level of happiness as long as homeowners stay in their homes, as well as providing a good return on investment when they do decide to sell.

“The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Americans use their homes for daily living,” says Dr. Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “Homeowners have embraced their outdoor spaces—transforming them into oases with pools, patios, plants and greenery. These outdoor features are embraced by the homeowner and can also attract buyers if the owner wants to sell.”

The research covered the typical cost of 11 outdoor residential projects and showed that patios were among those that were most in demand, especially following the pandemic.

Landscape professionals saw the most increased demand for a new patio (55 percent) an overall landscape upgrade (61 percent) and landscape maintenance (58 percent).

In terms of enjoyment, rated on a scale from one to 10, patios ranked high, at 9.9, alongside in-ground pools and outdoor lighting, which were scored at 10 out of 10.

Start in Time for Summer

In Concord, Massachusetts, Dan Gladu, a co-owner of Roots & Rocks Landscape Artisans, says that winter is absolutely the best time to get started with a patio installation this summer. “With smaller companies like ours, it helps us to get the design process started in winter,” he says. “There is quite a bit more thought that we can put into it, and there is more time to line up the product so you will have everything ready to go when the time comes.”

Gladu says that increasingly, he is recommending permeable pavers, like Pine Hall Brick Company’s StormPave, because the water is absorbed into the ground. No water means no ice, and no ice means no slips and falls. Additionally, permeable pavers, especially those made of clay, aren’t affected by freeze and thaw cycles the way other materials are and therefore last longer.

Jake Grevenstuk, owner of Space/Craft Landscapes in Kalamazoo, Michigan, says that starting a project now will indeed pay off later. The idea for homeowners is to spend time, right now, to look online and in places like Pinterest, to figure out what they want; and then to make an appointment for this spring and summer to get the job installed. Research different paver shapes and styles to see what would work well with your home and landscape.

Sizing Up

“We are in the ideation phase right now,” says Grevenstuk. “I am working with customers to see what they are thinking, and what I am thinking, and we are solidifying our plans. You can look in your yard and you can look online, and get outside on a warm day. You can mark out rough ideas as far as the appropriate sizes of things. It’s a great time right now to be indoors and online.”

You will also want to figure out how big you will want your patio. A rule of thumb is to take patio furniture, a grill, etc. into an area in your back yard and then circle the items with a garden hose on the ground to figure out the size and shape of your patio.

Construction Insight

Whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor, call 811 to check on the location of underground utilities before you dig.

To build the patio yourself, you dig down seven inches, compact the soil, put in four inches of crusher run gravel), (also known as ABC, 3/4-Minus, or Road Base), compact the soil a second time, and then put in one inch of sand.

The pavers go on top of the sand, and it’s all pulled snug with edge restraints and fastened down with landscape spikes. 

Two important points here: You don’t have to do all of this in one day, or even in one weekend. You can get a tarp and cover up the project, then come back to it later. In addition, there are a number of videos online to show you how it’s done.

The advantage to a paver patio for DIY'ers is that it is forgiving, as long as you are willing to put in the effort. Dig the hole too shallow and you can dig some more; dig it too deep and you can throw some dirt into it. It’s not like a deck, in which you can cut and cut and cut a board, and it will still be too short. 

Paver patterns for patios.... Note that certain choices in pattern, such as basketweave, can significantly reduce the number of cuts to the brick required at the patio edges.

If you decide to hire a company to install your patio, ask friends and neighbors for recommendations.

The company should have pictures of projects that are similar to yours, along with references from satisfied customers. Mark Tiernan, vice president of sales and marketing for Fred Adams Paving in Morrisville, N.C., suggests making certain that the contractor carry liability insurance and worker’s comp.

And make sure it’s done right. The base layer, for example, should extend six inches past the edge of the pavers so that the spikes will be firmly in the base and not in the soil. Once installed, the patio should slope one inch for every four feet for proper drainage.

Get a range of pricing for the exact same job. If you are looking to put in an 8x10-foot patio, each company should quote you a price based on installing an 8x10-foot patio. And then you should choose the contractor that appears to be the best, not necessarily the one that’s the cheapest. Review their qualifications carefully. “You don’t want to get somebody who is not qualified,” says Brown. “You want the best that you can get.”