Outdoor living

Last year, thousands of homeowners purchased about 500 million square feet of concrete pavers and larger paving slabs, many of them through installation contractors. Most projects were patios, 300 to 1,000 square feet, often providing a place for outdoor furniture and a grill.

At the top of the market are complete outdoor room environments, including a mix of kitchen, recreation, and living amenities all surrounded by concrete pavers. Selling these environments can be quite profitable, but they take additional construction know-how beyond installing patios.

Becoming an expert at installing these “backyard rooms” can be learned by installing one or a few amenities at a time. As the project portfolio builds, upselling becomes a lucrative business by delivering complete environments. Find those who can help create designs for clients if that’s not a company strength. Here is a list of amenities to learn to upsell and install:

Raised Patios:

These add visual depth and breadth, and defined areas for sitting, hot tubs or for a kitchen. Give consideration to the direction of smoke from firepits, fireplaces or grills when designing a multi-level patio with a sitting area. Firepits and fireplaces typically are sold as kits for straightforward assembly.

Kitchens:

Sinks, gas grills, and refrigerators all require plumbing and/or electric connections by licensed plumbers and electricians. Selecting durable appliances and framing them within segmental concrete retaining walls requires some study and installation practice. Some manufacturers provide framing kits.

Seat Walls:

When entertaining, there often seems to not be enough seating on a patio. Sitting walls define and enhance an area, while adding extra seating for entertaining larger crowds. (Adding seat walls to raised patios is straight forward.) Free standing seat walls take a bit more skill in building a separate foundation and two-sided, exposed walls.

Lighting:

This amenity paints with colored lights to magically enhance backyards at night. Phased construction installs are a conduit for future lighting if there’s no budget for a complete installation. Make friends with a licensed electrician to help get the job wired and grounded correctly.

Hot Tub and Pool Decks:

Use light colored pavers to keep the surface a bit cooler. Use pavers with a smooth surface and small chamfers for comfortable barefoot walking, Sealing pavers around pools reduces chlorine stains and mold in shady areas. While pool and tub installation companies install these, decks next to them that support pavers should be concrete if the soil and base can’t be compacted against them, which is usually the case.

Phased Construction:

Many clients have plans for projects larger than their budget, which positions the contractor to upsell using a phased construction approach. This follows a master plan, the main tool for upselling. The contractor can suggest elements not in the budget this year, but could be added a year or two later. Repeat business can be the most profitable work and can be enhanced with maintenance contracts.

Get Certified:

Having an ICPI Concrete Paver Installer Certification with an Specialist Designation in Advanced Residential Construction is the starting place to moving beyond just patios. To learn more about these classes and topics, visit www.icpi.org.