I'd go with the little guy too if the estimates are for the same work. We got an estimate for a backyard deck from one of the big, local companies (you know their name) for $21,0000; we also got an $8,000 estimate from a small outfit that had done a neighbor's deck. We went with the small outfit and were so glad we did -- the deck is fantastic and still looks great nearly 10 years later!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here - I should clarify that were on.y interested in a dry set patio for various reasons so we don't want it on poured concrete but they will have a layer of gravel and stone dust.

big mistake, poured pad with cemented stone is awesome. We can walk out barefoot and there aren't weeds and maintenance.

I'm the PP with the $8k job with poured concrete, and I have to agree -- I really didn't have a preference but went with contractor's rec, and I love the look and feel of my patio vs. neighbors' whose are over gravel. Bonus: cement mixer in your yard!

Anonymous wrote:Op here - I should clarify that were on.y interested in a dry set patio for various reasons so we don't want it on poured concrete but they will have a layer of gravel and stone dust.

big mistake, poured pad with cemented stone is awesome. We can walk out barefoot and there aren't weeds and maintenance.

Am I missing what kind of stone the more expensive guys would be using? I have a smallish patio and the direct cost of the flagstone alone was in the thousands.

Op here - I should clarify that were on.y interested in a dry set patio for various reasons so we don't want it on poured concrete but they will have a layer of gravel and stone dust.

We paid around $8K this past spring for smallish flagstone patio with poured concrete base and seating wall. That crew worked for days; huge job for a relatively small space. But impeccable workmanship, careful attention to drainage, etc,

No landscape fabric and reg sand means you will have weeds in between stones eventually. If I were doing a patio I would put it on gravel or concrete otherwise the stones work hems elves out eventually and it wobbles etc.
read your quotes carefully and with details as to how it's constructed. Concrete base could be your big difference. However my experience is that the little guy will want to make it right and come back and fix things if they were not perfect (I had a walkway done with flagstone and they came back and recut the stone because I didn't like the angle of the curve).

OP here - cheaper patio would not include polymeric sand joints, landscaping fabric underneath, and each irregular stone is not custom cut to make the fit super tight. I did some research and the polymeric sand is about 3x the cost of regular sand but all its benefits sound worthwhile.

I went to look at a patio completed by the cheaper company and wasn't blown away. It was after a storm so it looked much darker than usual. I didn't look at it and think it was stunning - just a patio. So is that wow factor worth $5k? Not sure. The timing of the cheaper one also works really well for us. I was about to hire the cheaper one but after looking at the work, I'm back on the fence.

i'd get a third estimate. in my experience, you get what you pay for.

I would push for concrete pad underneath for around 8k

OP, can you report back after finding out the details/scope of the patios? We are interested in doing a patio in the near future and I'd love to hear what they say-and who you recommend going with!

Anonymous wrote:Since you are not sure what stone they are using, I am assuming that you don't have a detailed quote. So there could be huge differences in the materials and the way it is constructed that could account for some of the difference. I would definitely figure out what stone you want and make sure that is covered by whichever quote you use. Might be a good idea to get a third quote.

+1. Absolutely check how it's constructed, especially if you're doing anything more complicated than just a really basic square patio. We had a similar situation with bids on our patio project, and it turned out there were significant differences. The lower bids didn't include any footers under our landscape walls, they were just going to put cinder blocks on dirt and then adhere the stone to it, which means it would settle a lot more and we'd have issues later. The lower bids also intended to just brush basic sand between the pavers with no sealing or anything, whereas the higher bids included polymeric sand to reduce settling and keep weeds from growing through.

Since you are not sure what stone they are using, I am assuming that you don't have a detailed quote. So there could be huge differences in the materials and the way it is constructed that could account for some of the difference. I would definitely figure out what stone you want and make sure that is covered by whichever quote you use. Might be a good idea to get a third quote.

Go with the little guy here. At that price you can't be talking about a complicated job. Big companies often have a minimum fee to make it worth their while to even bother. They've got overhead and other options so they're probably way over market here bc a small project means they're not doing a bigger more profitable job. The little guys have less overhead and need it more. Just get a couple pics and references to confirm they're legit, but they seem (on paper) to be the easy choice.

We want a stone patio off of our new deck and the two quotes we got are so different. One is $4k and the other almost $10k. The $4k is from a 1-2 person shop and the $10k is from a landscaping company. Don't know what stone but I've seen their work and it looks good. What questions should I be asking to see why the huge discrepancy and figure out who to hire. Obviously, I want to spend less but want the job done right. I've used the $4k to do other landscaping work and they've been fine.