Hardscape Landscaping: Prepare for a Hardscape Installation

You may need approval from your Homeowners Association (HOA) before work begins. Make sure you understand what your neighborhood covenants allow and don’t allow and what requires approval. Have your plan ready so there’s enough time to get approval before work begins.

• Choose materials and a design that work with your home and landscape and that you’ll enjoy for years to come.
• Experiment with mixing a couple of colors and textures that you like, but don’t overdo it.
• Think about future plans and create a design that will fit those plans with little or no rework.
• Think about how the hardscaping project will affect lawn and garden maintenance. For example, will it make lawn maintenance simpler or create more obstacles for mowing?
• Balance hardscaping with softscaping or living landscaping elements. A combination of stone and greenery will look more natural than a completely hardscaped yard.
• Consider factors such as drainage, slick surfaces and safety for child and pet play.
• Remember that adding hard surfaces like pavers will affect the way your yard drains.

If you’re unsure of how your plan would fit or how adaptable it will be to future changes, your hardscape designer can help. You can also take a look at our Design Your Landscape article to learn the basics on factors like scale, proportion and more.

As with any home improvement project, you need a budget. Start by deciding on what you can afford and don’t go beyond that figure. Next, think about your goals. 

• Are you improving your landscape to make your home more attractive for resell? You might need to adapt your budget down a bit to keep your landscape in line with other homes in the area or to avoid spending money you won’t recover in the sale.
• Are you creating an outdoor space to host parties and dinners or to create a getaway for you and your family to relax? If you want your new landscape to be a new living space that you plan to use for years, you might measure your return on investment based on the enjoyment you get from the space.

Base Materials

• Drainage rock or gravel
• Leveling sand

If the area doesn’t have proper base material, the pavers or blocks could shift or settle, creating cracks in a retaining wall, low areas in a patio that collect water or creating tripping hazards with uneven pavers.

Additional Materials
There might also be additional materials such as:

• Retaining wall caps
• Paver restraints
• Polymeric sand
• Concrete sealer

Extra Materials
You’ll typically need at least 10% more materials than your plan calls for. Extra blocks, pavers, base material, etc. will allow for waste and allow the installer to make cuts to fit pieces together. Extra material will also be useful for repairs and replacement in the future. It may be part of your contractors quote.

Permits
The work might require permits. Your contractor will typically be responsible for getting the necessary permits and setting up any inspections, but there may be a cost.

It’s best to let your neighbors know your plans and timelines. The project will create noise, dust, dirt and debris. There may be multiple vehicles parked along the street. Preparing your neighbors for it all can prevent problems during the work.

Make sure the hardscaping crew can easily get to the work area. Think about potential problems like:

• Access to gated communities
• Parking for trucks and trailers
• Fences and gates that block access to your yard

In most cases, you’ll need to do some prep work on the work site:

• You should designate an area for material delivery.
• The workers will need to know where underground utilities and features such as irrigation systems are located. The contractor will often set up utility locating and marking but you may need to mark underground sprinklers or drip irrigation that they shouldn’t disturb.
• Remove any outdoor furniture, outdoor cooking appliances, toys — anything that will keep the hardscape workers from doing the job. Some large items like play structures may be difficult to move. Discuss these with your contractor.
• Make sure your children keep away from the work area.
• Secure your pet. Depending on the pet and project, you may want to consider day care for them during the work.

The larger the project, the larger the mess you can expect. There may be lots of dirt, mud and gravel spread over your landscape as the work progresses. Depending on the equipment the hardscape workers use, there may be loud noise as well.

Even if you designate a material drop-off area, there may be pallets of pavers or piles of landscaping rocks spread around the yard. Get an idea of what to expect when you talk with your contractor about the work. This can be especially helpful if the work will take several days.

With material, equipment and debris, there is a potential for some unexpected dangers such as excavations or tripping hazards. Be aware of anything that could be a problem to your family or pets and make sure they’re aware of the potential dangers.

Cleaning up the work area will usually be part of the contract, so the workers will typically remove any trash or debris. If there are leftover materials, they may leave them with you for future repairs, so you’ll need to designate a place for them.

Your contractor may walk you through the additions they’ve made to your landscape to let you inspect the work, confirm that they followed the plan you agreed upon and to point out any changes they had to make.

One of the great features of hardscaping is that it doesn’t require much maintenance. However, your contractor may be able to give you tips on replacing blocks that become damaged over time or sealing pavers to protect them from the damage that freezing moisture can cause, etc. If the work included installation of a feature such as a fountain, they should provide warranty and care information for this as well.