Priced per square foot
Patios are quoted by area, which makes them easier to compare across bids than most landscape work, as long as everyone is quoting the same base specification, which is the part worth checking.
Typical ranges we see across the Tooele and Salt Lake valleys for patios and outdoor living work:
| Scope | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Modest back-yard patio | From around $3,500 |
| Standard patio with seating area | $6,000 – $12,000 |
| Larger outdoor living area with add-ons | $12,000 – $20,000+ |
| Walkways and paths | Quoted by area alongside |
What drives the per-square-foot number
Paver selection. Standard interlocking units versus premium ranges with larger formats, textured faces or multi-piece patterns. The material spread across a whole patio is significant.
Pattern complexity. A running bond is fast. Herringbone at 45 degrees with a soldier-course border and contrasting bands involves far more cutting, and cutting is labour.
Excavation depth and soil. Deeper excavation on soft ground, or rocky ground that slows digging, both add hours. Much of Tooele County is rocky.
Existing removal. An old concrete slab has to be broken out and hauled before the new patio goes in. Reinforced concrete is heavy and expensive to dispose of.
Access. The biggest swing factor on tight lots. If we can get a machine and a material delivery to the work area, cost drops meaningfully. If everything comes through a 36-inch gate by wheelbarrow, labour hours climb.
Grade change and steps. A level patio is straightforward. One that needs steps or a retaining edge to meet the surrounding grade is a different job.
Drainage work. Where the patio needs a drain or the surrounding grade needs correcting so water leaves properly.
Add-ons and what they typically add
Fire pit. A modest addition relative to the patio, and the highest-impact one for how much the space gets used.
Seating wall. Priced by linear foot and height. It also functions as an edge restraint and a definition of the space, so it does more than seat people.
Steps. Needed wherever there’s a grade change between the patio and the house or yard. Cost varies with rise and material.
Lighting. Low-voltage fixtures in a seating wall or along steps. Best installed during the build, since retrofitting means lifting pavers.
Border and accent bands. Contrasting colour or a soldier course. Adds cutting labour but visually finishes a patio.
The line item to interrogate
Base depth. Ask each bidder how deep they’re excavating and how they’re compacting. A shallow base is the fastest way to make a patio bid look competitive, and it’s why patios heave and settle through Utah winters. Same pavers, same pattern, completely different outcome.
Pavers versus concrete on cost
Poured concrete is cheaper up front for a plain finish. That’s true and it’s why people ask.
The comparison changes over time. Concrete cracks in a freeze-thaw climate, and a crack outside a control joint is permanent. Patching shows, and the real fix is replacing a section. Pavers accommodate movement and any individual unit can be swapped.
Stamped or coloured concrete closes much of the price gap and inherits all of the cracking behaviour, which is why we rarely recommend it here. Our full breakdown of paver patios versus concrete versus flagstone in Utah goes through the trade-offs beyond price.
What’s included in our patio builds
Layout staked on site so you walk the shape before we dig, excavation to depth, road base compacted in lifts, screeded bedding layer, pavers laid to pattern with clean edge cuts, proper edge restraint, polymeric sand swept and set, fall established away from the house and tied into the surrounding grade, and full clean-down of the site.
Seating walls, fire pits, steps and lighting are priced separately so you can see what each adds and decide.
Getting a real number
Access and soil conditions swing patio cost more than anything except size, and neither is assessable remotely. Our on-site estimate is free and comes back itemized by phase.
Get a free estimate and we’ll stake the layout while we’re there so you can see the actual footprint before deciding anything.