Retaining walls and hardscaping are how a sloped Colorado Springs yard becomes a yard you can use. Affordable Services Inc. has built this work since 1996. We are family owned and operated, fully insured, and the estimate is free. Walls, patios, and walks sit inside our landscaping services in Colorado Springs.
Retaining Walls
A retaining wall holds soil that wants to move. On local lots that is often the drop from the back door to the alley, the bank along a driveway, or the strip between the lawn and the sidewalk. Without a wall, mulch and new plants wash downhill the first hard rain.
The wall is only half the job. Water behind a wall needs a way through or around it. We plan the drainage with the wall so the soil stays put and the basement side of the house stays drier. If the whole yard sheds water the wrong way, we look at drainage at the same time.
Material depends on the height, the look you want, and how the wall meets the rest of the yard. Our guide to choosing a retaining wall walks through the usual options. We go over which one fits your slope at the estimate. We do not publish wall prices, because height, length, and access change the job.
Patios in Pavers and Flagstone
A patio is the floor of the backyard. We build them in concrete pavers and in flagstone, sized to the furniture and the traffic you actually have. A patio that is too small gets abandoned. One that fights the slope turns into a puddle.
Pitch matters. The surface should shed water away from the house. The base under the stone matters more than the color of the paver, because freeze-thaw will heave a patio that was set on soft fill. Read paver and flagstone patios and protecting hardscapes from freeze-thaw before you pick a stone.
Shade belongs in the same plan. A patio in full western sun is hard to sit on in July. A pergola or a tree placement is part of the hardscape conversation, not a later project that has to cut into the new patio.
Hardscaping in the Front Yard
Front yards use hardscape in smaller pieces: a wider walk, a step that is not crumbling, edging that keeps rock out of the lawn, or a low wall that levels a parking strip. These are the changes people notice from the street. See front yard hardscaping ideas for the kinds of work we talk through.
We can do the front hardscape without rebuilding the whole yard. If the beds along that walk should be replanted at the same time, we include them so you are not tearing the edge back up in a month.
Hardscaping and Xeriscape
A low-water yard still needs somewhere to walk and sit. Patios, stepping stone, and walls let you shrink the lawn without turning the yard into a gravel lot. Planting then goes in the beds that are left, with rock or mulch as the cover. That mix is covered in incorporating hardscaping into a xeriscape and on our xeriscape landscaping page.
Families who want less weekly work often end up with more hardscape and fewer beds to weed. Low-maintenance hardscaping ideas is the longer version of that tradeoff.
How a Wall or Patio Project Goes
- We visit, measure the slope or the patio area, and note where water goes.
- We tell you what we would build and give you a free estimate.
- We set the base, drainage, and the wall or patio.
- We tie the new work back into the lawn, the beds, or the walk so the edge is finished.
- We clean up and walk it with you.
If the design of the whole yard is still open, start with landscape design so the wall is in the right place the first time. If you already know you want the wall or the patio, call and we will price that piece.
Retaining Wall and Hardscaping Questions
Do you build retaining walls in Colorado Springs?
Yes. We build retaining walls that hold soil on sloped lots, along driveways, and between a yard and a sidewalk. The wall is planned with the drainage behind it, not as a stack of block on bare dirt.
What is hardscaping?
Hardscaping is the built part of the yard: patios, walks, steps, edging, and walls. It is the surface you walk on and the structure that holds a slope. Planting is the soft side of the same project.
Can you build a paver or flagstone patio?
Yes. We install paver and flagstone patios for seating areas and for front entries. The base and the pitch matter as much as the stone, because freeze-thaw will move a patio that holds water.
Will a retaining wall stop my yard from washing out?
A wall holds the soil. Water still needs a way out. We grade the ground and give water a path so it does not sit behind the wall. On a wet lot we tie this to drainage work.
Can hardscaping be part of a xeriscape?
Yes. Walks, patios, and walls are how a low-water yard stays usable. The planted area gets smaller, and the hard surfaces take the wear. We plan both together.
Do you give free estimates for walls and patios?
Yes. Call 719-572-1768 or request a quote. We look at the slope, the access, and what you want the space to do, then we price the work before anything starts.
Get a Free Estimate
Call 719-572-1768 to have us look at the slope or the patio area. For the rest of the yard, go back to landscaping in Colorado Springs, or see sod and irrigation if a lawn is going in beside the new patio.