Sammamish sits on a plateau above Lake Sammamish, and most of it was built out as subdivisions in the last thirty years. Under a thin layer of topsoil is glacial till, a hardpan that water barely soaks into, and many lots back onto tall stands of Douglas fir. Hardscape under a deep canopy should be the path and the sitting pad, not a plaza. The rest of the floor wants to be bark and shade plants.
King County · ZIP 98074
Stone where your feet are, plants where the shade has won
We keep excavation off the major roots, we pitch the walking surfaces, and we do not surround a tree with a tight paved well. Steps are lit by being obvious, not by being steep. Moss will come. The joints and the pitch decide whether it is a nuisance or a slip.
The ground in Sammamish
The till is the reason so many yards here stay soggy in winter and dry out fast in summer. Water sits on top of the hardpan, so a new lawn or patio needs drainage planned in from the start. We put in French drains, grade the yard away from the house, and build patio bases deep enough that they do not heave.
Many neighborhoods have HOA rules for fences, front yards, and plant choices, and we work to those standards. Lots along the greenbelts get heavy shade and needle drop, so we use shade-tolerant planting and bark where grass has given up. Larger backyards here are a good fit for a full redesign: a paver patio, a low retaining wall to level the slope, and irrigation on a timer for the dry months.
How we do the work
Hardscape is the permanent part of the yard: the floors you walk, the walls that hold soil, the steps between them. We design it around how water moves and how you move. A pretty patio with a stair that lands in the low spot is a collection of pieces, not a yard.
We would rather build less and have it drain than fill a lot with surfaces that all tip the wrong way. Materials stay limited. One stone, one wall type, so the place looks finished instead of like a showroom.
What we look at first
- The route from the door to the gate, the drive, and the part of the yard you use
- Every place water stands now
- Slopes that need a step or a wall before they need a plant
- What has to stay: trees, fences, the neighbor’s grade
One material, used honestly
Pavers, a wall block or a rock, and gravel. That is usually enough. Mixing flagstone, brick, river rock, and a second paver line makes a small yard loud and gives water more joints to exploit.
Steps
Even risers, a tread you can put a whole foot on, and a surface that is not slick when it is wet. Landscape steps are where people fall. We build them like we will use them in the dark, in January.
The grade drawing
We can usually do this on site without a formal plan set, and we still mark elevations. Water is a number, not a feeling. If the fall is not there, we add a drain or we change the floor. We do not squint and hope.
More from this crew
- Hardscaping across the region
- Paver installation in Sammamish
- Patio installation in Sammamish
- Retaining walls in Sammamish
- Landscape design in Sammamish
- Hardscaping in Mercer Island
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a King County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
