Curb Appeal

Driveways, walkways and the first forty feet of a house — the hardscape most homeowners see every single day.

A note on first impressions

We spend months on backyards and one afternoon on the driveway, and the driveway is what everyone sees first. A paver drive done properly is a fifteen-year surface that improves with wear.

This issue is the hardscape in front: base, pattern, edge restraint and drainage, and why each of them decides how the drive looks in five years.

Pavers That Hold Their Linep. 01
Walkways That Hold a Linep. 02
Planting the First Forty Feetp. 03

Craft · 5 min read

Pavers That Hold Their Line

Herringbone, soldier courses and the base work you cannot see once the patio is finished.

Pavers do not fail because the stone is bad. They fail because what is under them moved. Four to six inches of compacted base, placed in lifts and compacted again, is the entire difference between a driveway that holds a line and one that ripples at the tire tracks.

A 45-degree herringbone distributes load in every direction and locks itself together; a running bond is easier and weaker. Soldier courses at the edges and a proper edge restraint — not sand alone — keep the field from spreading. Then polymeric sand swept in wet, plus drainage that moves water off the pavers instead of through them.

The Hardworkers · March 2026

Design · 5 min read

Walkways That Hold a Line

Width, joint and grade: three numbers that decide whether a path feels generous or improvised.

A walkway that feels good underfoot is at least four feet wide and set on a grade that sheds water without a visible step. Joints should line up with the driveway pattern so the two surfaces read as one family.

Where the path meets the driveway, we cut the pavers into a soldier course rather than letting them run together. It costs almost nothing and it makes the transition look intentional.

The Hardworkers · March 2026

Landscape · 4 min read

Planting the First Forty Feet

What to put in front of a house so it looks cared for in August.

Front-yard planting should be structural and shade-tolerant of reflected heat from the drive. A repeated low shrub, one accent tree, and lighting placed to wash the wall is usually the whole design.

Avoid anything that needs weekly water or annual replacement. Curb appeal in the Valley is a plant that still looks good in the ninth month of summer.

The Hardworkers · March 2026

Project spotlight

Herringbone Driveway & Walkway

“Ten years of trucks and it still holds a straight line down the middle.”

Where: Mesa, Arizona
Scope: 1,600 sq ft driveway, 240 sq ft walkway, turf inlay
Timeline: 4 weeks
Materials: Concrete pavers, edge restraint, polymeric sand, artificial turf inlay

Departments

Notes from the crew

Field notes

Compaction is the whole job

Every lift of base gets compacted, not just the last one. Skimping on compaction shows up as a dip at the drive apron two summers later.

Ask the builder

Pavers or concrete?

Pavers cost more up front, handle movement better and can be reset. Concrete cracks and stays cracked. On a drive taking heat and load, we nearly always recommend pavers.

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