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Hardscaping is the built part of a landscape: patios, walkways, retaining walls, steps, edging and fire pit areas made from pavers, natural stone, wall block and gravel. Altizer Lawn & Landscape plans and builds these features for homes across Richmond, Henrico and Mechanicsville, and we handle the grading and drainage underneath them so they stay level and dry.
We walk the yard with you, check the slope, the soil and where water runs, and sketch a layout that fits how you plan to use the space.
We go over paver, natural stone, wall block and gravel options with samples. We also explain how each one holds up and what it takes to maintain.
We excavate and set the grade so water drains away from the house. Then we lay and compact a crushed stone base in layers before any pavers or block go down.
We cut and set the edges, fill the joints, compact the surface and haul away debris. Then we walk the finished work with you before we leave.
Our hardscaping services address common outdoor challenges, including poor yard layout, erosion, unsafe surfaces, and lack of outdoor living functionality.
Homeowners around Richmond have hired Altizer Lawn & Landscape for patios, walkways and retaining walls. Here is what some of them said about the work.
Altizer Lawn & Landscape serves Richmond and nearby towns. The service area includes Lakeside, Glen Allen, Short Pump, Ashland, Henrico and Mechanicsville.
Hardscaping follows the same careful steps in each of these places. Good hardscape work begins with a close look at the yard. Slope and water flow come first, because they decide where a patio or wall can safely sit. After that, the focus turns to how you want to use the space. A walkway in Ashland deserves the same planning as a retaining wall in Short Pump. Not sure if your street is inside the service area? Ask when you reach out about your project.
Much of the Richmond area sits on red clay. It holds water after a storm and shrinks during dry summers, and that movement is why patios crack and pavers sink when the base is thin.
On every patio, walkway and wall we follow the same steps:
The depth depends on the job. A garden path only carries foot traffic, while a parking pad or the edge of a gravel driveway has to carry a vehicle. We also set the finished surface with a slight pitch away from the house, so rain runs off instead of pooling against the foundation or soaking under the stone. You never see that prep once the job is done, but it decides whether the work still looks right years from now.
Sloped lots are common around Richmond, and a wall is often the way to turn a bank into usable lawn or a level patio. We build segmental block walls and natural stone walls, and every one gets the same basics:
Walls fail far more often from water pushing behind them than from the block itself, so drainage is never optional. Taller walls, or walls holding up a driveway, may need an engineered design and a permit. We check with the city or county before we start. [add: the wall height Altizer builds without an engineer]
Most of the outdoor living spaces we build use one of three surfaces:
We ask how often you will use the space, whether you plan to add a grill or a fire pit, and how much shade it gets, since moss grows faster on some surfaces in shady spots. If you already know you want a patio, our patio installation page covers it in more detail. For more walkway ideas, read our guide to walkway materials.
A ground-level paver patio often does not need a building permit. Some projects can, though:
Rules differ between the City of Richmond, Henrico and Hanover, and HOAs add their own approval step. We check the requirements for your address before the estimate is final and tell you what is needed. [add: who pulls permits, Altizer or the homeowner] Virginia also requires a call to 811 before digging, so buried utility lines are marked before any excavation starts.
Yes. On a gentle slope we can usually cut and fill to make a level pad, building the base up on the low side. A steeper slope often needs a short retaining wall along one edge. The patio can also be split into two levels joined by steps, which gives you separate spaces for dining and sitting around a fire. A seat wall around the edge of a patio does double duty as a wall and extra seating. In every case the goal is to move water around the patio, not under it, so we plan the drainage at the same time as the grade. We will show you the options on site and what each one adds to the cost.
Poured concrete costs less up front and suits plain, practical areas. But slabs in this area often crack as the clay moves and the ground freezes and thaws, and a crack in a slab can only be patched.
Pavers cost more because they are laid as separate units. The joints let them flex as the soil shifts, and a damaged section can be lifted and reset instead of cut out and repoured.
If you are weighing the two, our paver vs concrete comparison goes into how each one holds up in Richmond. We can price both so you can decide with real numbers in front of you.
We build hardscapes most of the year. The ground has to be workable, not frozen or soaked, so long stretches of rain in late winter or a hard freeze can push dates back a few days.
Spring and early fall are the busiest seasons, because people want the patio ready for summer or for cooler evenings outside. Booking a few weeks ahead helps. Late fall and winter can be a good time to schedule if you want the work done before spring planting. It also leaves you time to plan plants around the new hardscape. [add: current lead time for new projects]
Pavers need little care:
In winter, use plastic shovels and sand or a paver-safe ice melt instead of metal blades and rock salt. If a section settles, call us and we can lift and reset it.
It depends on the size of the job and how much prep it needs. A small walkway or a simple patio on flat ground goes much faster than a multi-level patio with walls and steps. Jobs that start with removing an old slab also take longer. [add: typical day ranges for a walkway, a patio and a retaining wall]
Before we start, we give you a schedule that covers utility marking, excavation, base work and installation, and we let you know if rain moves the dates. We keep the work area tidy each day. Any ruts or bare spots the equipment leaves in the lawn are repaired before we finish.
A new patio or walkway adds hard surface, and the water that runs off it has to go somewhere. Because we also do yard drainage work, we plan for runoff while the hardscape is being designed, not after the first heavy storm. Depending on the yard, that can mean:
Before we set the final grades, we look at where the roof drains, where neighboring yards send water and where the low spots are. Fixing drainage while the ground is already open costs much less than pulling up new pavers later to run pipe under them.
We give free estimates after seeing the yard, because the same size patio can cost very different amounts on two lots. These are the main things that move the price:
[add: typical price ranges, if the client wants them shown] Your written estimate lists each part of the job so you can compare options.
We do hardscaping across the city of Richmond and the East End, plus Glen Allen, Short Pump, Lakeside, Ashland and Hanover. Each area brings its own mix of lot sizes and soils:
If your HOA has to approve the plan, we can help you put together the layout and material details for the application. We also handle lawn care, sod, drainage and landscape maintenance, so one crew can finish the yard around the new patio. You can see all of our services or read more on our Richmond service area page.
Two Google reviews from customers in the Richmond area, quoted as written:
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