Hardscaping is everything in your yard that is built instead of grown: patios, walkways, seat walls, steps, fireplaces, fire pits and the deck around a pool. In Tucson, good hardscape also has to handle summer afternoons well over 100 degrees and monsoon downpours. We design it in 3D, then our own crew digs, builds the base, lays the stone and finishes the walls. You can hire us for hardscape with a new pool, around an existing pool, or in a yard with no pool at all.
What is hardscape, and why does it matter in Tucson?
A yard has two halves. Softscape is plants, turf, trees and the irrigation that keeps them alive. Hardscape is the stone, block and concrete that give the yard its shape and let you use it.
In the desert, hardscape does a lot of the work. It gives you a place to sit when the ground is too hot or dusty. It sets the paths you walk at night. It decides where rain goes when a monsoon storm drops heavy rain in a short time. A patio poured or laid without a plan for drainage can send water toward the house or leave a pond by the back door every July.
We treat hardscape as the frame for the rest of the yard. Plants, turf and lighting all fit around it, so it has to be right first.
Hardscape materials we install
Most of our hardscape uses a short list of materials that hold up in Southern Arizona sun and look good together.
| Material | Where it works best | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Artistic Pavers | Patios, walkways, pool decks, driveways to the side yard | Many colors and patterns, single pieces can be lifted and reset |
| Travertine | Patios, pool decks, stepping pads, wall caps | Natural stone look, light colors feel cooler underfoot |
| Stacked stone | Fire pit and fireplace faces, raised walls, BBQ islands | Adds texture, pairs well with travertine caps |
| Concrete block with stucco | Seat walls, fireplaces, planters, BBQ islands | Can match the house color and curve with the layout |
| Boulders | Steps, slopes, bed edges | Ties the hardscape into the desert around it |
Artistic Pavers patios and paths
We install Artistic Pavers. Pavers are a strong pick for a Tucson patio because they come in many colors, sizes and laying patterns, from a simple running bond to herringbone. If a piece ever cracks or a utility line needs work, that section can be lifted and reset. We use pavers for full patios, curving garden paths, side-yard walkways and pool decks.
Travertine patios
A travertine patio gives the yard a natural stone finish. Light travertine colors tend to stay more comfortable underfoot in summer than dark surfaces, which matters if you walk barefoot from the house to the pool or the fire pit. We also use travertine for stepping pads set into turf and for caps on seat walls and fire pits. For more on how deck materials handle heat, read our guide to pool decking materials that beat the heat.
Seat walls, steps and stacked stone
Seat walls are one of the most useful things you can add to a backyard. A seat wall at about bench height gives guests a place to sit around a fire pit without dragging out chairs, and it can hold back soil where the yard changes grade. We build them in concrete block, straight or curved, and finish them with stucco, stacked stone or a travertine cap.
Where the yard steps up or down, we build capped steps and set boulders along the sides so the change in level looks natural. Stacked stone adds texture to walls, fire pits, columns and the faces of BBQ islands.
Outdoor fireplaces, fire pits and BBQ islands
Fire features are where most families end up spending their evenings from October to April. We build:
- Outdoor fireplaces. Block-built and finished in stucco or stone. In east Tucson we built a large fireplace with three arched openings, tied into a curved seat wall on a new paver patio.
- Fire pits. Square, round or linear, clad in stacked travertine or stone, with a cap wide enough to set a drink on. We plan seating, walls or pavers around them.
- BBQ islands and outdoor kitchens. Block islands with stacked stone, stucco or tile cladding and a countertop sized to the grill you choose. See our outdoor kitchens and BBQ islands page for layouts and options.
We plan gas lines and any electrical runs during design, so they go under the patio before the pavers or travertine are laid, not after. For more ideas on cooking and fire spaces, see our post on outdoor kitchens and fire features in a Tucson backyard. If you want fire features that sit right on the pool, like fire bowls on a raised wall, see pool water and fire features.
Pool decks and block walls
Two of the biggest hardscape jobs in a pool yard have their own pages.
Pool decks. The deck around a pool is hardscape, and it has extra rules. It has to slope away from the water, meet the coping cleanly, and stay comfortable for bare feet. We build pool decks in travertine and Artistic Pavers, both for new pools and as a deck replacement around an older pool.
Block walls. Property walls, retaining walls and pool barrier walls are all masonry hardscape. We build block walls and pool fences, and every pool barrier we build is at least 5 feet tall. Our post on Arizona pool barrier rules explains the details.
Drainage and base prep for monsoon season
What is under the patio matters more than what is on top. A paver or travertine patio is only as good as its base, and Tucson soils add a few challenges. Many yards have caliche, a hard, cement-like layer that does not drain well, and many new subdivision lots have fill dirt that settles over time.
Here is how we handle it:
- Dig to the right depth. We remove soft soil and organic material so the base sits on firm ground. We own our excavation equipment, so this step does not wait on a subcontractor.
- Build and compact the base. We place base material in layers and compact each one. That is what keeps pavers from sinking and travertine from rocking.
- Set the slope. Every patio slopes away from the house, and every pool deck slopes away from the water. The fall is small enough that you do not notice it when you walk, but water does.
- Plan where the water goes. In monsoon season a lot of water lands on a patio fast. We look at roof downspouts, wall openings and the yard’s low points so runoff moves to the yard or a planted area, not against the foundation or onto the pool deck.
- Lock the edges. Paver edges are restrained so the field does not spread over time.
If you are curious how caliche affects a dig, our post on building a pool in caliche covers it, and the same ground conditions apply to patios and walls.
Designing hardscape for Tucson heat
Summer heat changes how a yard gets used. A patio that looks great in a February photo can be too hot to stand on in July if it is the wrong color in the wrong spot. We plan around that:
- Lighter surfaces in full sun. Light travertine and light paver colors stay cooler to the touch than dark ones in direct sun.
- Paths where people walk barefoot. We keep the route from the back door to the pool or fire pit on comfortable surfaces.
- Sun and shade. In 3D we can show where the house and trees shade the patio in the afternoon, so you can place seating and the fire pit where you will actually use them.
- Fire features for cool months. Fire pits and fireplaces get the most use from fall to spring, so we often face them toward the evening view and away from where wind will carry smoke into the house.
We build custom pergolas, ramadas and shade structures, and if you buy a shade somewhere else, we can install it for you on concrete footings set in the ground so it stays secure in monsoon winds. Shade also comes from the house, trees and smart placement of seating, and we plan the patio and shade footings together.
Planned in 3D before we dig
Every hardscape project starts with a 3D design, and you can walk through it in VR. That lets you see how wide the patio feels, how a curved seat wall sits around the fire pit, and how the steps meet the grade, before any material is ordered. Changing a line in the design is free. Changing it after the base is down is not.
Learn more about how this works on our 3D and VR pool design post. The same process applies to yards with no pool.
Hardscape without a pool
You do not need to be building a pool to work with us. Hardscape is a stand-alone service. A good example is our east Tucson outdoor fireplace, pavers and BBQ project. The home already had a pool. We built curved block seat walls, Artistic Pavers paths and a patio, a stucco fireplace with three arched openings, an L-shaped BBQ island, and capped steps with boulders. That page follows the work from the painted layout to the finished yard.
If you are planning the whole backyard, including plants, turf and irrigation, see our landscape design page.
Licensed for hardscape and irrigation
Meraki holds two active Arizona Registrar of Contractors licenses:
- ROC #342505, CR-21 Hardscaping and Irrigation Systems. This covers hardscape such as pavers, walls and decks, along with irrigation work.
- ROC #352797, KA-5 Dual Swimming Pool Contractor. This covers pool and spa construction.
That means one licensed company can build your pool, deck, walls, patio, fire features and irrigation, instead of handing parts of the job to different contractors.
Our hardscape process
- Site visit. We measure, check access and grades, and talk about how you want to use the yard.
- 3D design and VR walkthrough. Patios, walls, steps and fire features placed in your actual yard.
- Written, line-item quote. Each area and feature appears on its own line.
- Permits and HOA. When work needs a permit, we handle it and the inspections. Many newer neighborhoods in Marana, Gladden Farms, Dove Mountain, Rita Ranch and Vail also need HOA approval, and the 3D design helps with that submittal.
- Layout and excavation. We paint the layout on the ground and dig with our own equipment.
- Base, walls and utilities. Base prep, block walls, gas and electrical runs.
- Surface and finish. Pavers or travertine, caps, stucco, stone and boulders, then cleanup.
What drives hardscape cost?
We keep dollar figures off this page because a paver path and a full patio with a fireplace are very different jobs. The main factors are:
- Total square footage of patio, path and deck
- Material choice (pavers, travertine, stacked stone, stucco)
- Digging, grading and base work, including caliche
- Seat walls, steps and retaining walls
- Fireplaces, fire pits and BBQ islands, plus gas and electrical runs
- Access to the backyard for equipment
Our pool cost guide shows how hardscape fits into a full backyard budget, and our financing page covers loan options.
Where we work
We build hardscape across Tucson, the Catalina Foothills, Marana (including Gladden Farms, Dove Mountain and Continental Ranch), Oro Valley, Tanque Verde, Vail and Rita Ranch, Corona de Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, SaddleBrooke and Rio Rico.
Get a hardscape quote
Tell us how you want to use your yard, and we will design a patio, walls and fire features that fit it. Call (520) 342-8335 or request a free estimate. We are licensed under AZ ROC #342505 and #352797. You can also browse finished work on our projects page.
