Patios, walkways, walls, steps, and fire pits. The parts of a yard that hold everything else in place.
On a flat lot in good soil, a patio is mostly a surface. Here it is usually holding something back. Lots slope, the ground is rock a few inches down, and rain arrives in quantities that will find any weakness in a wall or a base.
So we build the structure first. Proper excavation, base depth that suits the load, drainage behind retaining walls, and footings that account for ground that moves. The stone you can see sits on top of a lot you cannot.
That is also what makes hardscape worth doing early. A wall or a set of steps changes the shape of a yard, and everything planted afterwards gets designed around it rather than squeezed in.
Cut limestone is the material this area is built from, and it belongs here in a way imported stone rarely does. It also behaves predictably in this climate, which matters more than it sounds when a wall has to hold through a wet spring and a hard freeze. We build in it across the Hill Country, Boerne and Blanco included.
The bigger issue is water. A retaining wall on a Hill Country slope is a drainage structure as much as a garden feature, and a patio laid without thinking about where the runoff goes will move the problem to your foundation.
Cory and Tyler of Singer Services did an amazing job landscaping our property. Their creativity of design to include hardscape, plant selection and placement were perfect, all while staying within our budget. Their team, led by Colton, were second to none. They cheerfully answered all our questions, even making recommendations to improve the esthetics of the project.
From the time I called to the initial consultation to installation of my new lawn and landscaping, Singer Services and every person on the install team was very professional and courteous. We told them our budget and they worked up a plan that was beautiful and fit into our budget. We love the final outcome of the work they completed.
We met Tyler Singer when we first relocated to Texas. When we first met, we were not quite ready to proceed with the landscape project he had bid for us. Fast forward 18 months, we called again and he came out immediately, provided great recommendations and within a few weeks we were on the schedule. The crew showed up as planned, very professional and did a great job.
Singer Services just finished a landscaping job for me and I could not give them a better recommendation. Everyone I dealt with was extremely polite, professional and hard working. I was so impressed with the work ethic of everyone on their team. They were responsive to all my questions and requests.
A few of them. There are more on the reviews page.
See all reviews on GoogleWe mark the shape on the ground so you can stand in it. Patios in particular are almost always a different size in reality than on paper.
Dig to depth, build and compact the base, and sort out where water is going to go before any stone is set.
Walls, steps, patios, and edges built in sequence so the structural pieces are right before the visible ones go on.
Joints filled, edges tidied, and the surrounding ground put back so the new work does not sit in a scar.
Most of our hardscape work is on slopes, because that is what the Hill Country gives you. Retaining walls, terracing, and steps are how a slope becomes usable rather than a problem.
Cut limestone comes up most often, since it is local, it suits the architecture here, and it holds up well through wet springs and hard freezes. We will go through options against your house before anything is ordered.
Yes, and it is the thing most often left out. Water building up behind a wall is what pushes it over. Drainage goes in behind the wall as it is built, not afterwards.
It will, which is why we work out the runoff before laying anything. A patio built without that in mind tends to move water somewhere less convenient, often toward the house.
Usually. The structure changes the shape of the yard, so it is easier and cheaper to design the planting around a finished wall or patio than to work the other way round.
Plans drawn for your lot, your soil, and your budget
08Grading and dry creeks that move water off the lot
07Native planting built for heat and drought
06Path, tree, and feature lighting after dark
03Green year round, no mowing, safe for pets
05New systems and repairs, licensed installers
