Patio Design & Installation in Madison, WI

Patios are popular summer gathering places and also outdoor work spaces. Patios are open to a wide variety of colors and materials. Choose from architectural slabs, concrete pavers, flagstone, dimensional cut stone, other natural stones or cobbles. We can show you many options and discuss pros and cons of each option.

Paths and walkways help direct foot traffic, define landscape elements and provide safe passage for bare feet. Material options include flagstone, concrete pavers, gravel, natural or man-made stepping stones. Their design and style can make any landscape interesting.

Structural Elements for Patios & Walkways

A well-built patio involves a number of structural design decisions. Together, these decisions can contribute to a flush, stable, attractive patio that stands the test of time.

Compaction-Resistant Base Layer

Compaction can make or break your paver patio. A patio may appear perfectly laid on Day Zero, but if the base is vulnerable to significant compaction, the patio may look and function horribly only a year later.

Industry guidelines say a 4-6 inch base is enough for most paver applications, but we use a minimum of 8 inches of open-graded aggregate under all of our patio installations. We sometimes implement even more base material, depending on the circumstances. Open-graded material compacts better and easier when compared to traditional crushed gravel. In addition, open-graded base does not hold water, which is a huge bonus given Wisconsin freeze/thaw cycles. We adopted this process many years ago and have had great success with it in our Madison area patio installations.  

Inter-layer Reinforcement

We lay a geotextile barrier between the compacted subgrade (soil) and the new base aggregate. This spreads the load of the patio pavers, and prevents your base from mixing with soils beneath and becoming unstable over time.  

Further Reinforcement

Typically additional reinforcement is not necessary in a standard patio, as it sometimes can be in a driveway installation. However, it is possible to still use a geogrid type reinforcement in certain situations. For example, we installed geogrid in a backyard patio under the area where the hot tub was going to be just to add a little “insurance” against the patio settling under the heavy anticipated load.

Edging

We install a paver edge restraint around the perimeter of the pavers to prevent them from shifting and spreading over time.  

Joint Sand

We sweep a high-quality polymeric joint sand into paver joints and compact it several times to make sure it settles all the way. Once swept and blown clean, we wet and activate the sand. Over the next 24 hours, the sand hardens and cures like grout, locking in your pavers for years. As an added bonus, this joint sand helps prevent weeds from coming up through the cracks.

Sealer

Sealer is an optional finish, depending on your desired results or use.  There are many paver sealers available; some enhance the paver colors, some can provide a ‘wet’ look, and some are nearly invisible but still provide protection.