YardMastersEst. 2009 · Midlothian, VA
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Home / Hardscaping / What a paver patio costs

What a patio
actually costs.

Why there is no price on this page

Every patio page in Richmond prints a price per square foot. The number is invented, it does not survive contact with a real property, and a homeowner who reads it and then gets a real estimate has been set up to feel cheated. We would rather tell you what moves the number.

The six things that actually move it

  • Size, but not the way you think. A patio twice the size is not twice the price. The setup, the excavation equipment and the base delivery are largely the same either way, so the cost per foot usually falls as the patio grows.
  • What goes underneath. Four to six inches of crushed stone, compacted in two-inch lifts rather than all at once, on graded and compacted earth. That is the part nobody sees and the part that decides whether the patio settles. It is also the easiest place for a cheaper quote to be cheaper.
  • The grade you are starting from. A flat back yard and a sloped one are different jobs. Slope means either more excavation or a wall, and a wall is its own scope.
  • Access. Whether a machine can reach the site or the base has to be moved by wheelbarrow through a gate changes the labour more than most people expect.
  • Material. Bluestone, paver, flagstone and brick are not priced alike, and within pavers the range is wide.
  • Where the water goes. The grade is set in dirt at a quarter inch per foot before a single stone goes down, and roof and surface water has to be routed away from the house and the patio. On Richmond clay that is not optional.

The question to ask everyone who quotes you

Ask how deep the base goes and whether it is compacted in lifts. The answer tells you most of what you need to know about what you are actually buying, and it is a fair question to ask us too. Top to bottom a patio built properly is five layers and only one of them is the part you will ever look at.

What we do about it

We come out, walk the property, and put a written number in front of you within five business days. There is no obligation attached to the estimate and no charge for it either way. If the number is wrong for you, it is wrong on paper before anybody has dug anything.

Questions

What people
actually ask.

What does a paver patio cost in Richmond?

It depends on six things: size, base depth, the grade you are starting from, access to the site, material, and where the water has to go. Anyone giving you a per-square-foot number from a web page is guessing. We walk the property and put a written number in front of you within five business days, free either way.

Why will you not give me a per-square-foot price?

Because it would not be true. The same square footage on a flat yard with machine access and on a sloped yard you can only reach through a gate are different jobs at different prices. A number that ignores that is a number you will be disappointed by later.

Is there a discount running?

Yes. Fifteen percent off the hardscape installation on projects of ten thousand dollars and up, through 30 September 2026. Say PATIO15 when you book the walkthrough or put it in the offer code field on the estimate form.

What is under a patio, and does it matter?

Compacted earth graded for drainage, four to six inches of crushed stone base compacted in two-inch lifts, geotextile, the stone itself, then polymeric sand with the joints sealed. Roughly six inches of it is invisible once the job is done, and it is the whole difference between a patio that settles and one that does not.

How long does a patio take?

Two to four weeks is typical, and it depends on scope, weather and whether drainage or a wall is part of it. Permits, where they are needed, are handled by us.

Ready when
you are.

Tell us what you are trying to do. We will walk the property and put a written number on it.

Get a Free Estimate Call 804-744-4733