Hardscaping Services
Paver patios, retaining walls, walkways, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits, built by one owner-led crew. We design the hard structure of your yard in 2D first, then build it on bases engineered for Central Iowa.
Hardscaping Built for Central Iowa Yards
Hardscaping is the structure of your yard: the patios you gather on, the walls that hold a slope, the paths that tie a property together, and the fire and kitchen spaces that make a backyard somewhere you actually live. It is the part of a landscape that has to carry weight, shed water, and hold its shape through every Iowa winter, so it is the part we build first and build to last.
Larkin Landscape and Design is a design-build company, which means the same owner-led crew that draws your plan is the crew that builds it. There is no salesperson handing your yard to a subcontractor. Every project starts with a free estimate, and qualifying projects start with a free, scaled 2D design so you see the layout on paper before we break ground. From a single custom walkway to full outdoor kitchen builds and gas and wood fire pits, the hardscape sets the bones that our landscaping services then finish with plantings, beds, and lighting.
Five ways we build the structure of your yard
Each one is designed in 2D, built on a compacted and drained base, and backed by our 10-year hardscape warranty.
Paver Patios
Concrete pavers and natural stone set on a compacted base, with polymeric sand joints and a solid edge restraint so the patio holds its shape.
Retaining Walls
Block and boulder walls with drainage engineered behind them, turning a slope into level, usable ground that stays put.
Walkways & Pathways
Flagstone and paver walkways that route foot traffic naturally, tie separate parts of a property together, and lift front-entry curb appeal.
Outdoor Kitchens & Living Spaces
Patios, seat walls, built-in grills, and gathering spaces built as one room outdoors, made for hosting from spring through the first freeze.
Fire Pits
Gas and wood-burning fire pits sited and built to sit safely in your yard, from a simple ring to a fire feature at the center of a patio.
Built for the Iowa freeze-thaw cycle
Central Iowa ground freezes and thaws over and over through the winter, and every cycle pushes on whatever is buried in it. Hardscape that was set on loose soil or a thin base has nowhere for that pressure to go, so patios heave, joints open, and walls start to lean. The fix is not a thicker slab. It is what happens under the surface before the first paver ever goes down.
On a Larkin build we excavate to depth, lay and compact an aggregate base in lifts, and build drainage into the structure so water moves away instead of collecting and freezing under it. Patios get polymeric sand joints and an edge restraint; walls get drainage aggregate and drain tile behind them. That base discipline is what lets a properly built patio flex where a monolithic slab would crack, and it is why our paver patio installation and engineered retaining walls are built the way they are. If you are weighing pavers against a poured or stamped slab, we can walk you through what tends to hold up in an Iowa freeze-thaw climate and why.
None of this shows in a photo on install day. A patio that was based correctly and one that was not can look identical the afternoon the crew drives away. The difference shows up two or three winters later, when one is exactly where you left it and the other has started to move, tilt, or open at the joints. That later moment is the one we build for, and it is the reason we do the slow, unglamorous base work instead of racing to the finish.
What the 10-year hardscape warranty covers
Because our hardscape is built on a base and drainage made for Iowa winters, we stand behind it for ten years. The warranty covers the hardscape structure we build, retaining walls included.
It is one more reason to spend the money once and build it right the first time, rather than paying to fix work that was never based correctly.
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Fire pit and fire feature bases
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The base and drainage under it all
From first walk to final walkthrough
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Walk the yard
We meet at your property, look at grade, drainage, and access, and talk through what you want the space to do.
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Design it in 2D
On qualifying projects you get a free, scaled 2D plan that maps the patio, walls, and features so you can revise it on paper.
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Clear, written estimate
You get an itemized estimate with no obligation. It confirms the scope and the timeline for your specific project before anything starts.
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Base and build
The owner-led crew excavates, compacts the base, builds in drainage, and sets the hardscape to the plan you approved.
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Walk it together
We finish the site, clean up, and walk the completed work with you so you know exactly what was built and how it holds up.
What homeowners say about our hardscaping
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“We had a huge hardscaping project that needed to be done and were nervous about who we would hire. I could tell when I met Andrew that he takes a lot of pride in his work…”
A F (AMF)Verified Google review -
“Value was great for the work done. Asked for a retaining wall and received a beautiful wall as well as a nice walk way to suit it.…”
Sawyer BroylesVerified Google review
5.0★ across 27 Google reviews · Read all reviews on Google
Hardscaping across the Des Moines metro
We build hardscape throughout Central Iowa, from established renovations in our Des Moines service area to newer yards around Dallas Center and growth projects out in Altoona. Wherever the job is, the standard is the same: an engineered base, drainage that works, and a crew whose name is on the finished wall.
You can see finished patios, walls, walkways, and fire features in our project gallery, or request a free estimate and we will come walk your yard.
Answers before you call
How much does a hardscaping project cost?
How long will my hardscape project take?
Do you warranty your hardscaping?
What materials do you build with?
Ideas and how-tos from the Larkin blog
Start your hardscaping project
Tell us about your yard and what you want to build. You get a clear, no-obligation estimate, and qualifying projects start with a free 2D design.
Let's plan the hardscape before we build it
Ankeny • Waukee • Johnston • West Des Moines • Des Moines
Central Iowa's design-build hardscaping crew. Free estimate, and a free 2D design on qualifying projects.