quattroworld

I have called two landscapers so far to get quotes on our patio (plus another one that I got a few years ago).

The first guy (who also does my snowplowing in the winter) looked at the area and said he could build a patio for a ballpark figure of $10k, using concrete pavers and process base. But that he would come back with his designer and take measurements and get me a more accurate quote. He never did.

The second guy works for a landscape company, and they have done some tree work for me, and there's more on the docket. He actually measured the area and drew out a very nice design. He quoted me $20k for an 800 sq ft patio, which works out to $25/sq ft, using bluestone on a mortar bed. He said that would be the maximum we would spend -- and that concrete pavers and process base would be cheaper -- but he did not offer a dollar amount.

Yesterday we went to a stoneyard and looked at different material options. The woman at the desk said that bluestone costs $9/sq ft for the material. That means the landscaper is charging $16/sq ft in labor. That includes some fixed costs, such as demo'ing the existing asphalt, demo'ing the stairs to the stoop and rebuilding them, grading the area, as well as installing the patio on a concrete base. Is that a typical labor price?
I'm in southern CT, where building prices are fairly high.

Despite not getting back to me with a figure for less expensive concrete pavers on a process base, the second guy has been much more responsive, and we really like his design. Going by the figures we got at the stoneyard, we could get TechoBloc concrete pavers for about half of what bluestone costs. For the same square footage, the lower material cost would save us about $4k, which brings us closer to our budget of $15k. Then it would use a process base instead of a mortar bed, which should save us a few more bucks. We're still a few grand over the ballpark figure that the first guy gave us -- but without an accurate quote, I am wondering if that first figure is realistic, or if $15k is closer to what we have to spend.

Thanks!
-- Peter