Paver patios, walkways & driveways
Pavers fail from the bottom up. Everything you can see is only as good as the base you can't.
The work
What the job actually involves
We excavate to depth, lay and compact road base in lifts, screed a bedding layer, then set and compact the pavers with proper edge restraint and polymeric sand in the joints. It is more digging than most people expect and it is the entire reason a patio still looks flat in ten years.
Skipping base depth is the most common shortcut in this trade. In a climate that freezes, it shows up as sunken low spots and lifted edges by the second or third spring.
Paver work is where the difference between quotes is almost entirely invisible. Two patios can look identical the week they're finished and be completely different products — the difference is a few inches of compacted base and whether there's edge restraint around the perimeter.
We'd rather explain that up front than have you compare our number against something cheaper without knowing what's missing from it.
See more of our work-
Excavation to depth
Dug for the actual use — a driveway is not a garden path.
-
Compacted road base
Placed and compacted in lifts, not dumped and raked.
-
Edge restraint
Spiked restraint around every edge so the field can't creep.
-
Polymeric jointing
Locks the joints, sheds water, keeps weeds and ants out.
-
Patios & walkways
Seating areas, paths, side yards and entries.
-
Driveways
Built to a driveway spec, not a patio spec.
How it runs
First call to finished
-
01
Excavate to depth
Depth set by use — a garden path and a driveway are not the same job. We dig wider than the paved area, because the perimeter is where failure starts.
-
02
Base in lifts
Road base placed and compacted in 3–4 inch lifts. A plate compactor only influences a few inches, so one deep pour cannot be compacted properly.
-
03
Screed and lay
Bedding layer screeded flat, pavers set to pattern, cuts made at the edges.
-
04
Restrain, compact, joint
Spiked edge restraint on every edge, final compaction, then polymeric sand swept into the joints.
Straight pricing
What moves the number
We don't publish a price per square foot, because a number given without seeing the site is a guess that only ever moves upward. These are the things that genuinely change what this work costs — so when you compare quotes, you can see where they differ and why.
Get a written estimate- Area, and how many cuts the shape requires
- Use — driveway base depth is roughly double a patio's
- Paver choice, which varies a lot
- Access, especially for back gardens reached through a side gate
- Existing surface removal, if there's concrete to break out
Recent projects
Paver Installations in the Carson Valley
Before you call
Paver Installations questions
How deep should the base be?
Roughly 4–6 inches compacted for a patio, 8–12 for a driveway, more for RV or truck traffic. Freeze-thaw here means we build deeper than a mild-climate spec.
Will weeds grow through the joints?
Polymeric sand largely prevents it. It needs replacing every several years — that's normal maintenance, not a defect.
Do pavers need sealing?
Not structurally. Sealing is a look — it deepens the color and makes cleaning easier. It also needs redoing periodically, so it's a choice rather than a requirement.
Can you match existing pavers?
Sometimes. Colors are discontinued and existing pavers fade, so an exact match is rarely possible. Often a deliberate contrast band reads better than a near-miss.
How long does a patio take?
Most residential patios are a few days. The excavation and base take longer than laying the pavers, which surprises people.
Related services
Free estimate
Let's get your yard sorted
Walk-through and written estimate at no charge, anywhere in the Carson Valley and about 40 miles out.
Licensed & insured · NV Lic. NV20161011432