Patio Design and Hardscape in Arlington, MA

We're American Elm Landscape, and we've been building patios, walls and driveways out of our Medford yard since 1989. That's 37 years in the same 10-mile radius. Arlington is a ten-minute drive up Mystic Valley Parkway for us, so we're on your street the same week you call.

Most of the Arlington yards we work in are small. That's not a problem. A 300-square-foot patio done right beats a 700-square-foot one that settles in four years.

Where we work in Arlington

East Arlington is where we do the most work — the two-families and triple-deckers off Broadway, Warren Street and the Poets Corner blocks near Alewife. Backyards there run 25 to 35 feet deep with a fence on both sides and a driveway down the length of the lot.

Arlington Center and Jason Heights are older single-families with real grade behind the house and heavy shade. Those yards want steps and a wall more than a big open slab.

Arlington Heights, Morningside and the streets climbing off Park Avenue are the steep ones. Above Park Ave Extension you're looking at a retaining wall, a set of steps, or both.

Brackett, Turkey Hill and the Mystic Lakes end of town — bigger lots, more room to stage, more attention on where the water goes.

We also work Spy Pond, Kelwyn Manor and Menotomy Rocks Park.

What we build in Arlington

Paver patios. Small city backyards are our specialty. We lay out a patio that leaves you a real path to the back door and a spot for the grill instead of eating the whole yard.

Retaining and stone walls. Half of Arlington sits on a hill. If your yard drops three feet from house to fence, a wall turns useless slope into flat ground.

Walkways and steps. Front walks off Massachusetts Avenue, side-yard runs between two-families, granite or bluestone treads on a proper footing.

Drainage. The one most homeowners underestimate. Tight lots in East Arlington drain to each other. We pitch away from foundations and run pipe to an outlet where there is one.

Paver and permeable driveways. Arlington driveways are narrow and long. Permeable pavers send water down instead of out into the street.

Synthetic turf. For the deep-shade backyard where grass has never grown — see synthetic turf installation.

Also outdoor kitchens, lighting, courtyards, planting, and patio repair when someone else's base failed.

What it costs

We publish our numbers. Most contractors won't.

• Paver & brick patios, installed: about $38 per square foot. A 350 sq ft backyard patio in East Arlington lands around $13,300. Natural bluestone runs about $50 per square foot.
• Permeable paver driveway, installed: about $35 per square foot.
• Asphalt driveway removal and haul-off: about $5,300 for a typical 1,800 sq ft drive.
• Synthetic turf, installed: $15–$20 per square foot. Small patches under about 300 sq ft price at the high end — the setup cost is the same whether it's 200 feet or 2,000.
• Building permit: $250, passed straight through to you. No markup.

What moves the price: how far material has to travel from the street, how much excavation a slope needs, whether a wall is involved, demo and haul-off, and material choice. Steps and curves cost more than straight runs. Full breakdown on our patio cost and payment page.

Permits and rules in Arlington

Retaining walls. Massachusetts building code (780 CMR 105.2) exempts retaining walls not over four feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall — unless the wall supports a surcharge. Over four feet, or holding up a driveway or another wall, and you need a building permit and usually an engineer's stamp. We file with Arlington Inspectional Services at 51 Grove Street (781-316-3390), through the town's OpenGov portal.

Trees. Arlington has a real Tree Protection and Preservation Bylaw (Article 16). It kicks in on demolition, on new construction on a vacant lot, and on work that increases a building footprint by 50 percent or more, and it protects healthy trees eight inches DBH or greater in the setback area. If mitigation is required, it's paid into the Town Tree Fund at a per-inch-of-DBH rate set by a schedule the Select Board approves — the Tree Warden can tell you the current rate. A standalone patio usually doesn't trigger it. An addition plus a patio can. We check before anything gets dug.

Wetlands. Near Spy Pond, Mill Brook, the Mystic Lakes or Alewife Brook, the Arlington Conservation Commission has its own wetlands regulations on top of the state Wetlands Protection Act. That means a Request for Determination of Applicability or a Notice of Intent. The town publishes a wetlands and floodplain map — we look at it before we quote.

Historic districts. Arlington has local historic districts with an Historic Districts Commission under the town bylaws. If your house is in one, exterior work can need review. Check your address before you order material.

Curb cuts and street work. Widening a driveway or touching the apron means Arlington DPW. Check current requirements with them, since rules and seasonal restrictions change.

What working with us looks like

You call (781) 859-5304 or ask for a quote online. We get back to you within 24 hours. Allan walks the yard, measures, and talks through grade and drainage before anything gets drawn.

You get a written quote with real square footage. If the job needs a permit, it's a $250 line item, not a surprise.

On tight Arlington lots we tell you up front where the pile is going — usually a section of driveway for the excavator and material, with a plate down to protect the surface. Most jobs run three to seven working days on site. Walls and steps take longer.

Fully insured, 4.6 stars across 57 Google reviews, and Allan is on the job — not just at the sales call.

Common questions

Do I need a permit for a patio in Arlington?

A patio laid at grade usually does not need a building permit. What triggers a permit is a retaining wall over four feet from the bottom of the footing, or structural work. When a permit is needed, it's $250 passed through to you and we file it. If you're in a historic district or near wetlands, there may be a separate review — we check that first.

My backyard is only 20 feet deep. Is it worth doing?

Yes. Most of the yards we build in around East Arlington are that size or smaller. The trick is proportion and layout — a smaller, well-placed patio with a clean edge and a real walkway reads better than a slab that swallows the yard.

Water pools in my yard after every rain. Can a patio fix it?

Often, yes — if it's designed to. We pitch the surface away from the house and either run drainage to an outlet or build the patio permeable so water goes down through the joints instead of across the surface. A patio built without a drainage plan makes pooling worse, not better.

How long will a paver patio last?

Decades, if the base is right. The failures we get called to fix are almost always base failures — not enough excavation, no compaction, or the wrong material under the pavers. That's the part nobody sees and the part most crews cut. Pavers themselves can be lifted and reset; a bad base can't.