No Shortcuts.
No Exceptions.

01

Phase One

Project Readiness Consultation

Before any proposal is written, before any materials are selected, before a project moves forward — we walk the site. Not with a sales script. With a genuine interest in understanding what the project actually requires.

A Project Readiness Consultation covers the physical conditions of your site: grade, drainage direction, soil type, proximity to structures, access for equipment, and any existing hardscape that needs to be removed or worked around. These aren’t details that can be assessed from a photo or a phone call.

We assess drainage carefully because water management is the single most important factor in long-term paver performance. A project sited incorrectly — where water runs toward a foundation or pools in the middle of a surface — is a problem that no base system can fully compensate for. We identify these issues in the consultation and plan around them.

The consultation also establishes honest expectations for timeline and investment range. We tell you what your project is likely to cost before you’ve decided anything — because informed clients make better decisions, and better decisions lead to projects we’re both proud of.

• On-site walk with Vision Grounds project lead
• Drainage and grade assessment
• Soil and access evaluation
• Scope clarity and timeline discussion
• Investment range — no surprises later
• No pressure, no obligation

03

Phase Three

Base Preparation

This is where the project is made or broken. If a paver installation fails within three to five years — settling, heaving, cracking, joint erosion — the cause is almost always the base. Not the pavers. Not the contractor’s installation technique. The base.

The correct base depth and composition depend on what the surface is designed to carry. A driveway bearing vehicle loads requires a fundamentally different base system than a patio or walkway used only by people on foot. We build each accordingly.

Driveways — 12-Inch System

Driveways receive a 12-inch full excavation. This depth is required to handle both vehicle weight and the behavior of Texas expansive clay soil, which swells when wet and contracts in dry heat. A shallow base in clay soil moves — and when the base moves, so do the pavers above it.

At the excavation floor, we install a geotextile fabric. This permeable barrier allows water to drain downward while preventing fine clay particles from migrating up into the base aggregate over time. That migration — slow and invisible — is one of the most common failure modes in installations without fabric, and it’s essentially irreversible once it has occurred.

Directly above the geotextile fabric, we install a layer of Tensar H-Series™ HX145 Geogrid before placing any aggregate. The geogrid is a structural reinforcement layer designed for exactly this condition: expansive soil beneath a vehicle-loaded surface. When open-grade aggregate is placed above it, the angular stone interlocks with the geogrid’s apertures, creating what engineers call a Mechanically Stabilized Layer — or MSL. This MSL distributes vehicle load laterally across a much wider area, reducing the point pressures that cause rutting and differential settlement in clay soils.

The HX145 is engineered with a multi-aperture geometry — hexagonal, trapezoidal, and triangular openings — that creates superior confinement of the aggregate above it compared to a simple grid structure. This is a geotechnical specification common in commercial and civil road construction. It is not commonly used by residential paver contractors in Central Texas.

Above the geogrid, we build an open-grade angular stone base. Unlike compacted gravel — which creates a semi-impermeable layer that can hold water beneath the surface — open-grade stone drains freely downward. This drainage eliminates the hydrostatic pressure and soil saturation that destabilize bases in heavy rain events.

• 12-inch excavation — required for vehicle load and clay soil conditions
• Geotextile fabric at excavation floor — prevents clay migration into base aggregate
• Tensar HX145 Geogrid — creates a Mechanically Stabilized Layer that distributes vehicle load
• Open-grade angular stone base built above the geogrid — drains freely
• Zero compacted gravel — no water retention beneath the surface

Patios, Walkways & Entries — 4 to 6-Inch System

Pedestrian-use surfaces — patios, walkways, front entries — are excavated to 4 to 6 inches. This is the correct and sufficient depth for surfaces that do not carry vehicle loads. A deeper excavation is not necessary and does not improve performance for these applications.

Geotextile fabric is installed at the excavation floor on every pedestrian project, for the same reason as in driveways: it prevents clay migration into the base and keeps the aggregate layer clean and stable over time. An open-grade angular stone base is built above the fabric. While the system is shallower than a driveway, the quality of materials and the attention to drainage engineering are identical.

• 4 to 6-inch excavation — correct depth for pedestrian-load surfaces
• Geotextile fabric at excavation floor — same protection as driveways
• Open-grade angular stone base — drains freely, no water retention
• Graded for positive drainage away from structures
• Same drainage engineering standard as vehicle applications