Patio Contractor: What the Job Includes, From Site Walk to Cleanup

A patio contractor builds the whole patio, not just the surface: measuring and laying it out, setting grades so water runs away from the house, digging out, building and compacting a stone base, setting edge restraint, laying and cutting the paving, filling the joints and cleaning up. Most of that work ends up buried, and most of your decisions come before anyone digs.

What a patio contractor does, start to finish

The Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association’s guide to building interlocking concrete pavements lists the steps in order: job planning, layout, excavating and compacting the soil, optional geotextile, spreading and compacting the base, edge restraints, screeding the bedding sand and placing the pavers. That’s the backbone of a paver patio job, and concrete and natural stone jobs follow a similar order up to the surface.

This page covers what the work includes. If you’re still choosing who to hire, our guide to hiring a pavers contractor has the questions to ask, what a written bid should list and the red flags.

Site walk and measuring

The first visit is where the job gets defined. The contractor walks the yard with you and measures, and on a patio three things get the most attention:

• The door. Where the patio meets the house, how far below the door sill it can sit (your local code sets limits on that step), and which way the door swings.
• Water. Whether a downspout empties onto the patio area, which way the yard drains now, and where the water from a new hard surface can go.
• The route in. Where pallets of pavers and loads of stone get dropped, and what the machines will cross on the way to the backyard. CMHA’s guide puts site access and overhead wires on the planning list. We dig with our own mini excavator and skid steers.

Your call: what the patio is for (dining, lounging, a fire pit, a grill), its rough size, and its shape. Mark the outline with a garden hose and set your furniture on it before the price is final.

Before anyone digs, buried utility lines get marked. 811 is the national call-before-you-dig number, and it asks you to make contact a few days before any digging. We call 811 before every dig. Tell your contractor about lines 811 won’t know about, such as sprinkler pipes, a pet fence wire or a line you ran to a shed yourself.

Layout and grades

Layout turns the sketch into stakes and string lines. CMHA calls for stakes set just outside the dig, marked for grades or tied to string lines, and checked during the job in case they get bumped. It also warns that buildings generally aren’t straight, so joint lines are set from string lines, not from the house wall.

The grades decide where water goes. CMHA’s minimum slope for a paver surface is 1.5%. The International Residential Code requires impervious surfaces within 10 ft of the foundation, such as a patio, to slope at least 2% away from the building. A pitch of 1/4 in. per foot (about 2%) covers both, so a 12 ft deep patio drops about 3 in. from the house to the outer edge.

Your call: the final outline, and where the water ends up at the low edge: lawn, a bed, a swale or a drain. If a downspout empties onto the patio area, decide now whether it gets extended or piped.

Excavation and the base

Excavation removes the topsoil and soft ground so the patio sits on firm subgrade. CMHA says roots, organic material, debris and large rocks should come out and be replaced with compacted stone, and the soil underneath should be compacted before the base goes in. Over clay, soil that stays wet part of the year, or in areas with freeze and thaw, a geotextile fabric can go down first to keep the soil from working up into the stone.

The base is dense-graded crushed stone (called crusher run, road base or 2A modified in Pennsylvania). CMHA’s guide calls for spreading and compacting it in 4 to 6 in. lifts with a 7,000 lbf reversible plate compactor, and thinner lifts with a 5,000 lbf plate. Its minimum under a patio is 4 in. after compaction on well-drained soil, thicker in cold climates and on wet or weak soil, and it says frozen base material should not be placed, nor base placed on frozen ground. Our patios get 6 in. of compacted 2A modified, more on clay or wet ground. Our paver base depth guide explains what changes the number.

Your call: whether the dug soil is hauled away or kept on site for grading elsewhere, and the route the machines take across the yard.

Edge restraint

Pavers stay locked together only if their edges can’t spread. CMHA lists aluminum, steel, plastic and concrete as typical edge restraints and calls them a key part of the pavement. They need at least 1 in. of contact with the side of the pavers and are usually set before the bedding sand. Every edge that isn’t held by a wall, step or slab gets one.

Your call: the border. A border course is a design choice; the restraint behind it is not optional.

Bedding, laying and cutting

Bedding sand goes down next: concrete sand (ASTM C33), screeded to about 1 in. CMHA says masonry sand, limestone screenings and stone dust should never be used for bedding, and the bedding sand shouldn’t be used to make up for low spots in the base.

Then the pavers go down by hand. A careful crew pulls from three or four bundles at once so the color blends, keeps joints between 1/16 and 3/16 in., and fills gaps along the edges with cut pieces. Cuts are made with a masonry saw or a splitter, and CMHA notes saws need dust control because cut concrete releases crystalline silica.

Your call: the paver product, color, size, pattern and border. Patterns with more angles and curves mean more cuts and more labor, which shows up in the price.

Joint sand, compaction and cleanup

Once an area is laid, it’s run over with a plate compactor (CMHA calls for at least 5,000 lbf and two passes) to seat the pavers in the bedding. Dry joint sand is swept in and the surface compacted again until the joints are full. CMHA’s tolerances are 3/8 in. under a 10 ft straightedge and no more than 1/8 in. of lip between pavers on walking surfaces.

Polymeric sand needs dry conditions. Alliance Gator’s installation guide for its original polymeric sand calls for a dry surface, a temperature of 32°F or above, and no rain in the forecast within 24 hours on a non-drainage base (one hour on a drainage base). Other products, including that maker’s newer sand, have different rules, so the crew follows the bag.

Cleanup covers sweeping and blowing off the surface, removing leftover material and debris, and whatever restoration the contract lists, such as topsoil and seed along the edges. End with a walkthrough: check the pitch after a rain or with a hose, look for rocking pavers or open joints, and get the warranty in writing.

Your call: polymeric or regular joint sand, whether the edges get topsoil and seed, and whether a sealer is wanted (CMHA treats sealers as optional).

What decides the schedule

The crew days are usually the short part. The calendar depends on the 811 request, material deliveries, rain and frozen ground, and dry weather for polymeric sand. A concrete patio adds curing time before it can be used. Our guide to how long it takes to build a paver patio puts the whole timeline together.

The decisions that fall to you

Stage	Your decision	Why it matters
Site walk	Size, shape and what the patio is for	Sets the square footage, the base and the price
Layout	Final outline and where the water drains	Water pushed toward the house or a neighbor is hard to fix later
Excavation	Haul the soil away or keep it; machine route	Haul-off and lawn repair are often extras
Edges	Border style; steps or a wall at the edges	Changes cuts and labor
Laying	Paver, color, pattern	Pattern and curves move the cut count
Joints and finish	Polymeric or regular sand; sealer	Weather window and upkeep
Cleanup	Topsoil, seed and lawn repair included or not	A common exclusion that surprises people
Paperwork	Permit, if any	The contract should say whether one is needed and who gets it

Paver, concrete and natural stone patio contractors

Many companies build all three, but the trades work differently, and the questions you ask should change with the material. Our comparison of paver and concrete patios covers cost and lifespan, and flagstone vs pavers covers natural stone.

	Paver patio	Poured concrete patio	Natural stone patio
Base	Compacted crushed stone, 1 in. concrete sand bedding	Compacted stone sub-base, at least 4 in.	Sand-set or mortar-set; ask which, and what goes under it
The critical day	Base compaction and grades	Pour day: placing, finishing and jointing	Fitting and setting the stone
Cracking or movement	Joints flex; settled areas can be lifted and relaid	Control joints decide where cracks go	Depends on the stone and how it’s set
Before you can use it	Once the joints are filled and compacted	Foot traffic after 48 hours; no deicers at least the first winter	Generally, sand-set once the joints are filled and mortar-set once the mortar has cured; ask your contractor
Ask about	Base depth, bedding, edge restraint, pattern	Thickness, joint spacing, finish, curing	Stone type, thickness, setting method, joints

Concrete. The Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s guide to residential exterior flatwork recommends at least 4 in. of concrete over a compacted stone sub-base at least 4 in. thick, never placed on frozen ground, and a slope of at least 1/4 in. per foot. Control joints go in at 2 to 2.5 times the slab thickness in feet (8 to 10 ft panels for a 4 in. slab) and a quarter of the slab deep. It also calls for isolation joints where the slab meets the house or steps, keeping foot traffic off for 48 hours and vehicles off for 7 days, and skipping deicers the first winter.

Natural stone. The Natural Stone Institute notes that sand-set systems are common for exterior paving and mortar-set systems are often used where stability is important. It also notes that harder siliceous stones such as granite, quartzite and sandstone generally suit exterior paving, and that in freeze-thaw climates water that gets into stone can freeze and crack it. Ask a stone contractor which stone, how thick, and how it will be set.

Settling the decisions before the site walk

Most of the calls in the table above can be made on paper. Our online patio design plans (from $349) put the outline, dimensions and materials on a scaled drawing, so you walk into the site visit with those answers already settled. In central Pennsylvania, our patio cost page shows current prices for our fixed-price packages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a patio contractor do?

A patio contractor measures and lays out the patio, sets grades so water drains away from the house, digs out the area, builds and compacts a stone base, installs edge restraint, lays and cuts the pavers, concrete or stone, fills the joints and cleans up. Many also handle steps, seat walls and drainage tied to the patio.

How long does a patio contractor take to build a patio?

The crew days are usually the short part of the job. Utility marking, material deliveries, weather and dry days for joint sand set the calendar, and a concrete patio adds curing time before it can be used.

Does the patio contractor get the permit?

It depends on your town and on the contract. Some towns require a permit for a patio and some don’t, so the written contract should say whether a permit is needed and who is responsible for getting it.

Can a patio be built in winter?

Sometimes, if the ground isn’t frozen. CMHA says base stone shouldn’t be placed frozen or on frozen ground, the Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association says concrete should never be placed on a frozen sub-base, and Alliance Gator’s polymeric sand guide calls for a dry surface and 32°F or above.

What should I do before the crew shows up?

Move vehicles, furniture and anything stored along the access route, and make sure the crew can get to water and power. Tell the contractor about private lines 811 won’t mark, such as sprinkler pipes or a pet fence wire.

Sources: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC 002: Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements (rev. 2022); 2021 International Residential Code, R401.3 Drainage; 811 Before You Dig (Common Ground Alliance); Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Concrete Guide for Residential Exterior Flatwork; Natural Stone Institute, Hard As a Rock: Detailing Natural Stone Paving for Timeless Durability (2026); Alliance Gator, 10-Step Polymeric Sand Installation Guide

Written and reviewed by Thayne Muthler, owner of Muthler Landscaping & Construction. How we check facts: editorial policy.