Hardscape · Patios, walkways, pool decks
Patios, walkways and pool decks, in brick pavers.
Hardscape is the skeleton of a yard: where people walk, where they sit, where the hose goes. We design it together with the planting, so the paths go where people actually walk and the beds meet the pavers cleanly.
- Sarasota & Manatee County
- Free on-site estimate
- You deal with the owner
Pavers, because things move here.
Florida ground shifts — sand settles, roots grow, summer storms dump water fast. Poured concrete cracks when that happens. Pavers are individual units on a compacted base, so a section that settles or gets lifted by a root can be pulled up and reset instead of jack-hammered.
They also give you color, pattern and borders that concrete can’t.
Put the path where the feet go.
The best walkways follow the route people already take — from the drive to the door, from the lanai to the gate. A curve that looks nice on paper but adds three steps will get cut across, and you’ll end up with a dirt shortcut beside a beautiful path.
Side yards are the classic example: a narrow strip by the A/C unit becomes a curving paver path to the gate, with planting on both sides.
Outdoor rooms, sized for real furniture.
A patio that fits a table but not the chairs pulled out is a patio nobody uses. We size seating areas around how you’ll actually use them, and pitch them so rain runs off — away from the house, not toward it.
Around pools, lighter colors stay cooler underfoot in the summer sun. Worth thinking about before you fall for a dark charcoal blend.
Worth knowing before the visit
- 01
Base
The part you never see does most of the work: compacted base, a screeded sand bed and solid edge restraint so the field doesn’t creep.
- 02
Slope
Every paved surface needs somewhere for water to go. Slope away from the house, toward lawn, beds or a drain.
- 03
Joints
Joint sand locks the pavers together and keeps weeds and ants down. It gets swept in and compacted at the end.
- 04
Matching
Extending old pavers? An exact match isn’t always possible after years of sun. A deliberate border often looks better than a near-miss.
What David & Debbie L. wrote
With Craig running the show, his great crew took us from a messy ugly jungle to a pleasant outdoor space, including a paver walkway and patio.
From Craig's projects
Photos of Craig's finished work, from the original Sarasota Landscaping Inc. showcase and his newer jobs. Tap any photo to see it larger.
01Paver courtyard leading past palms and new beds to a screened pool area 02After: curving brick-paver path to the gate between palms, red ti plants and flowering beds 03Paver walkway running along a fence line with palms on either side 04Paver path and palms along a privacy fence 05Side yard paver path between new planting beds 06Brick-paver patio at the back of a white home, framed by palms 07Curved grey paver walkway between palms and new mulch beds edged in rock, behind a small house with a screened room 08Curved paver path through a narrow side yard, with palms, flowering beds and fresh mulch along the house 09Paver patio beside a raised block retaining-wall planter with palms and tropical plants 10Brick paver courtyard with a fountain, palms, crotons and lush tropical beds
Hardscape: common questions
01Pavers or poured concrete?
02Do pavers need to be sealed?
03Can you add on to pavers I already have?
04Do you do paver driveways too?
Related services
- 01
Paver driveways
New drives, circular motor courts, extensions, and matching existing pavers.
Read more - 02
Retaining walls
Walls for grade changes and raised beds, including block matched to what is already there.
Read more - 03
Landscape Installation
Full front- and back-yard redos: tear-out, beds, palms, plants, rock, sod — installed by one crew.
Read more
Free on-site estimate.
Say what the job is and the city. Craig will set a time to walk the property.