A Fountain Hills patio is usually about the view: the McDowell Mountains, Four Peaks, or the fountain itself from the right lot. It's also about the night sky. The town is an International Dark Sky Community, so patio lighting gets planned around warm, shielded fixtures. Add a sloped backyard and rocky ground, and a patio here is as much grading as it is pavers.
How much a Fountain Hills paver patio costs
Most patios we build here fall between 300 and 600 square feet. Installed totals at that size:
- Concrete pavers: $2,500 to $6,600
- Large format pavers: $3,300 to $7,800
- Artistic pavers: $4,200 to $9,600
- Natural stone or travertine: $4,500 to $10,800
- Porcelain: $5,700 to $13,200
Two add-ons to know about: a backyard that's hard to reach adds about $150 to $300, and that comes up on hillside lots where materials have to come down a side yard or a slope. Removing an old concrete patio adds about $750 to $1,800. The minimum job is $800.
Here's a worked example. A 400 square foot large format patio in a hillside backyard you can only reach down the side of the house. Large format at that size lands around $4,400 to $5,200. Add $150 to $300 for the access, and you're at about $4,550 to $5,500. Measuring your yard gets you the exact figure. See the pricing guide or try the estimator.
Patios on a slope
Hillside backyards in Fountain Hills often step down from the house. Getting a flat patio means cutting into the slope, building up the low side, or splitting the space into levels with steps between them. Each level still needs a slight fall so water leaves the surface, and every step has to be the same height. Here's how we keep step heights even.
Before we design, we pull the plat. Some lots in hillside subdivisions have a recorded hillside protection easement across part of the yard, and grading or building in it requires Town Council approval. The patio has to fit the usable part of the yard, and on some lots that's smaller than it looks.
Lighting under a dark sky
Fountain Hills has been an International Dark Sky Community since January 2018. Its lighting code sets a 3000K ceiling on the color temperature of outdoor fixtures, calls for shields on the brighter ones, and says light shouldn't spill onto the neighbors. For a patio, that points to low, warm light aimed down: step lights, lights tucked into seat walls, and path lights instead of floodlights on the house.
Pick the fixtures during design so the wiring is in place before paving starts. Pulling up a finished patio to add a wire costs more than doing it once. For more ideas on evening light, see our post on giving a patio that resort feel.
Rock, DG and the base
In a lot of Fountain Hills yards, you dig through decomposed granite on top and hit rock underneath. DG makes good ground cover around a patio. It doesn't make a base. We dig down to firm ground and compact a real base there. Bedding sand gets screeded over it, edge restraint is set around the patio, and joint sand is swept in after the pavers go down. Caliche doesn't drain, so the patio slopes away from the house and the water gets a planned way out. Inside FireRock, Eagle Mountain and the other gated communities, the patio plan also goes to HOA design review, and we get that sorted before scheduling.
Paver Patios in Fountain Hills: Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I expect a Fountain Hills paver patio to cost?
A 300 to 600 square foot patio runs $2,500 to $6,600 in concrete pavers, $3,300 to $7,800 in large format, $4,500 to $10,800 in natural stone or travertine, and $5,700 to $13,200 in porcelain. A hard-to-reach backyard adds about $150 to $300.
What patio lighting is allowed under the dark sky rules?
Warm, low fixtures aimed down. Nothing over 3000K, and the brighter fixtures have to be shielded. Step lights and seat-wall lights work well on a patio.
My backyard slopes. Can I still get a flat patio?
Yes, by cutting in, building up the low side, or splitting it into levels with matching steps. Every level still gets a slight fall so water drains off.
Can the patio extend into the natural hillside behind my house?
Not if that area is inside a hillside protection easement. Work in an easement needs Town Council approval, so we check your plat and keep the design outside it.
Which patio paver stays coolest in the sun?
Go light. A pale paver stays cooler than a dark one, and light travertine or light concrete pavers are good picks for a patio that takes the afternoon sun.