Patios, Walls and Hardscape Built for Middle Tennessee Ground

It Starts With the Base

Middle Tennessee soil is mostly clay. It holds water, swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, and that movement is what makes a poorly built patio settle, crack or heave. We dig out to firm ground, lay and compact crushed stone in layers, set a level bedding course and install edge restraints, so the surface sits on a base that does not move with the soil.

• Excavation down to firm subgrade
• Crushed stone base, compacted in layers
• A level bedding course for the pavers or stone
• Edge restraints so the patio holds its shape
• Joints filled to lock the surface together

Drainage Planned In, Not Added Later

Every patio is built with a gentle fall away from the house, so rain runs off the surface instead of toward your foundation. Where a yard collects water, we plan for it with grading, drain pipe or a channel at the edge of the patio. Drainage is part of the design from the first drawing, because it is far easier to get right before the stone goes down.

Walls and Steps on Sloped Lots

Middle Tennessee is hill country, and many back yards fall away from the house. A retaining wall can turn that slope into a level terrace for a patio, a flat lawn or tiered planting beds. We build walls with a compacted base, drainage stone, drain pipe and the right backfill behind them, which is what relieves the water pressure that pushes walls over.

Steps are designed with comfortable, consistent risers, and walls are often built with cap stones for seating, planting pockets and low voltage lighting. Taller walls can need engineering or a permit depending on the height and the local rules; we tell you what applies during the design stage.

Choosing the Material

The right surface depends on the house, the budget and how the space will be used. We help you compare the options against your home before you decide.

• Concrete pavers: wide range of colors and shapes, consistent surface, easy to repair one unit at a time
• Natural flagstone: an irregular, organic look that suits garden paths and traditional homes
• Cut natural stone: a clean, refined finish for formal terraces and entries
• Stone and block for walls, steps and seating walls, matched to the patio

Walkways, Entries and Garden Paths

Hardscape is not only the back patio. A well proportioned front walk and entry change how a house greets visitors, and a garden path draws people into parts of the yard they never used. We design these to match the patio so the whole property reads as one plan.