FAQ
From design, to installation, to payment, these are the most frequently asked questions about working with Kalamazoo Hardscape. If you don’t see an answer to your question, please contact us.
No, we do not offer concrete patios. We always recommend paver patios over stamped concrete for long term structural integrity, especially in our Michigan climate.
Read our blog post here:
Pavers Over Stamped Concrete: The Prettier, Longer Lasting, Wiser Investment
Smaller projects, like paver patios under 400-500 square feet, typically only take a week or two. Larger projects involving walls, pavers, fire features and outdoor kitchens, lighting, etc. can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks to complete.
Most 3-D renderings are finished within 2-3 weeks of gathering site measurements. We need to first measure your home’s exterior (house size, window and door sizes and placement, etc.) along with the existing elevations or slope of the terrain to ensure the design is as accurate as possible. We also take numerous site photos for reference as we produce the design. Once we have all of this information, we start the design process.
Pavers Over Stamped Concrete: The Prettier, Longer Lasting, Wiser Investment
Most decks require a building permit because they are attached to the house. In Michigan, paver patios do not require a building permit. Composite deck boards can get extremely hot in direct sunlight, and their colors can fade over time from exposure to the sun’s UV rays. Deck joists and deck boards will eventually need to be replaced, which is costly on top of the expense of initially installing the deck. Patio base prep is essentially a “one and done” task when it is done properly on top of native, undisturbed earth. Natural stone pavers like travertine will never experience any color fading from the sun’s UV rays, and they do not require the use of polymeric sand between the joints, so there is virtually no maintenance and no need to replace them over time. Travertine does not conduct as much heat as decking, so it stays cooler on hot summer days.
There are several great paver products on the market. Most paver patios consist of concrete pavers that have gone through a manufacturing process to give the pavers color and texture to mimic natural stone. We use many concrete paver products from Unilock and High Format, and we use natural stone travertine pavers as well. The primary differences between concrete and travertine pavers are that concrete pavers will slowly fade in color over time while travertine will not, concrete pavers typically require the use of polymeric sand to fill the joint spaces while travertine pavers fit tightly together and do not require poly sand, and travertine stays cooler than concrete pavers because there are no metals found in it to conduct the heat like concrete pavers. We successfully install both concrete and travertine pavers; it is simply a matter of personal preference, lifestyle, and budget.
Sure do! We have strong relationships with local vendors and maintain excellent communication in coordinating deliveries and trucking to keep things moving as they should. We handle the excavation, design, installation, and most of the trucking in house.
If you have an underground sprinkler system, we usually find sprinkler heads and/or various lines during the excavation process. We typically pull the lines outside the excavated area, cut them cleanly, and leave them stubbed out of the ground next to a marking flag or stake. From there, we recommend that you contact your sprinkler company to patch or run new lines and reinstall heads around the new project as needed. We do not repair sprinkler components.
We do not offer 3-D designs “a la carte.” After our initial meeting where we gather necessary measurements, we will produce scaled 3-D renderings for eligible projects. Once the renderings are finished, we will schedule a second meeting with you to review the 3-D design along with a cost overview for the designed project. We do not send 3-D design files or sketches until a contract is signed and a deposit has been made to schedule the project.
No, we do not offer financing. We only accept cash or checks.
This is a question we are frequently asked! Unfortunately, we cannot simply lay new pavers over an existing concrete patio. There are several issues that can arise from doing so. Water can get trapped between the pavers and concrete, which can lead to pavers shifting and settling from the freeze-thaw cycles. If water is trapped, the polymeric sand between the pavers will stay damp and will not cure properly, so it will become very spongy and erode away. Laying pavers over an old concrete slab means that we are taking a risk and relying on the concrete slab to act as a structurally sound base for the pavers; building a paver patio upon an 8-10” thick base of adequately compacted crushed stone is the best way to ensure long term integrity of the patio, so that is the only way we install paver patios.
Once we have a signed contract, we like to bring a truck bed full of paver and block samples to your house. We use physical catalogs of materials and inspiration photos of past projects to get an idea of what might look nice with your house, but we strongly suggest that our clients see actual samples in person before we place an order. Catalog and digital photos can be deceiving, so it’s best to see tangible materials in daylight.
We’ll reach out via email within 1-2 business days to start the conversation and schedule a meeting at your home where we’ll share ideas, browse catalogs of the materials we use, and measure the space to get an accurate plan together for the project.
