Creating a patio with Nashville Custom Patios pavers is quite a large job for a do-it-yourself project. Once you understand what steps you must take in order to have a quality patio that will last for years, you may decide that you need to hire a contractor. Unfortunately, that can be a daunting proposition because there are many landscape contractors out there with varying degrees of skill. In some states they don't even need a license to be a landscape contractor. This article will give you some of the necessary knowledge you'll need to hire the right person.

To assure a positive outcome you must first Custom Patios in Nashville understand the basic concepts of patio construction, and they are not complicated! A solid base is created upon which to lay the patio pavers. Then the pavers are laid out in the appropriate pattern. Then the spaces between the pavers (called joints) are filled. Without the solid foundation called the base, your patio will fall apart in a few years. Therefore this step is the most important and possibly the most expensive step but without it you are doomed.

You can expect, after deciding on a design and laying out it out on site, to:

• Excavate down to a determined depth depending on the climate in which you live and what your subsoil is like.
• Fill in with a layer of crushed stone and compact with a compacting machine.
• Fill in and compact on top of the crushed stone a layer of finer aggregate such as sand or stone grit to create a bed for laying in the patio pavers.
• Install an edging material. Any paving with patio pavers (unit pavers) requires that an edge be installed to hold the patio together over time. Bricks, cobblestones and bluestone set on edge, can all make beautiful visual edges as a part of your paving pattern; however, they can not function as a physical edge, so a metal or heavy plastic edging material is used. It is installed flush with the ground so that you will not see it. The best edgers are made of steel or even better, aluminum that is lightweight and highly flexible.
• Lay in patio pavers
• Fill in joints
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Part 1 of this article "Patio Pavers: Facts to Know Before You Get Started" described the pros and cons of some of the most popular choices of patio pavers available on the market. Now that you have an idea of what materials you would like to use, you can make a design plan for your patio. You could just sketch out your ideas on paper or discuss your ideas with a landscape designer who can prepare drawings for you, but by all means don't let a contractor begin without some kind of plan that you have okayed. Don't let him or her design your patio for you, as they may be quick to offer to do, unless they have shown you credentials or examples of their work.

If you feel that a particular landscape contractor has the ability to work with you on a design plan, get your ideas together and schedule a meeting to figure it out. Bring your designer if you have one to this meeting. Together with the contractor you can quickly make decisions and devise a plan that will result in you getting what you want at the best possible price.

The contractor (and your designer) should be able to tell you when your big idea will cost too much to implement at which point you can together decide on a more reasonable approach. Perhaps he/she doesn't know how to do what you want for a reasonable cost. Then you may have to say thanks and pay him/her for the consultation and move on to the next contractor. Once a contractor has a plan for the patio he/she will be able to provide an estimate reflecting how much it will cost you to have them construct your patio. This estimate, of course, can be negotiated until both sides are happy.