A room you get to by opening the back door
A patio is the piece of the property you use most and think about least. Done well, it holds a Tuesday dinner for two and a Saturday for twenty, and it looks like it belongs to the house rather than sitting next to it.
We build across the whole range, from an intimate terrace off a kitchen door to an expansive outdoor room with a kitchen, a fire feature and lighting that carries the evening. Because the same team designs it and builds it, nothing gets lost between the drawing and the ground. That is the real argument for design build patio construction in St. Louis: one crew, one drawing, one person accountable from the first walk of the yard to the final sweep.
The same corner of the yard, two seasons apart
Hear it from the people who live there
Two minutes with a client, walking the patio we built and talking about what changed about how they use the yard.
The design-build process
Six steps, and you know the number and the schedule before anything is torn up. Site prep is the part that decides whether a patio still sits flat in twenty years, so we spend real time on grade, base depth and where the water goes. If your yard already holds water after a hard rain, we fix that first with proper drainage solutions. We also pull permits where the municipality requires them and build to code on walls, steps and any structure that ties into the house.
Design consultation
We walk the yard, talk through how you want to use it, and look at what you already have worth keeping.
On-site evaluation
Grade, drainage, sun, access for equipment, and where the utilities run.
Materials and proposal
The design in 3D, samples on the ground, and a number with the scope written out.
Installation
Excavation, base, compaction, then the stone. Our own crews, one coordinator, updates as we go.
Final walkthrough
We walk the finished patio with you, detailing the craftsmanship and making sure every detail meets your approval.
Ongoing care
We hand over care instructions and tell you what to watch for in year one, with support available whenever you need it.
Enhancing your patio
A patio gets used more when there is a reason to stay. A fire feature buys you October. A seating wall means you never run out of chairs. Lighting is the one most people skip and miss most, because it decides whether the space ends at sunset. Plantings along the edge are what keep a new patio from looking like it was dropped in. We plan for all of it in the first drawing, even if it gets built in phases.
What people ask before they start
Most patios are one to three weeks on site once we break ground. Design and material selection ahead of that usually takes two to three weeks. Weather moves the schedule more than anything else, and we would rather wait a day than set stone on saturated base.
Square footage, the material you choose, how much grading and excavation the site needs, access for equipment, and whether there are steps, walls or utilities in the way. We give you a real number after we have walked the property, not a per-foot guess over the phone.
Not when the base is right. Freeze and thaw punishes shallow, poorly compacted base and anywhere water collects. We excavate to depth, compact in lifts, and give the surface somewhere to drain. That is the whole answer, and it is why we will not shortcut the part nobody sees.
Sweep it, rinse it, and top up the joint sand every few years. Sealing is optional and mostly a look, though it helps on lighter stone near a grill. If you would rather not think about it at all, our care programs include the hardscape cleaning.
Sometimes. It depends on the municipality and on what we are building. Walls over a certain height, structures attached to the house, and work near an easement usually need one. We handle the filing and the inspections as part of the project.
Occasionally, if the slab is sound, sits at a workable height and drains away from the house. More often the slab is cracked or pitched wrong and we are better off removing it. We will tell you honestly which one you have.
Ladue · Town and Country · Frontenac · Clayton · Kirkwood · Webster Groves · Chesterfield
And the surrounding St. Louis area. If you are not sure whether we come out your way, call and ask.
Already have the patio and just want it taken care of?
See the maintenance plans