Bluestone, granite and paver patios built to hold their level through coastal winters, salt air and heavy summer use. Every patio starts with a base sized for the island's sandy soils, then the stone you will actually see.
Patio installation on Martha's Vineyard means bluestone, granite, fieldstone or concrete pavers set over a compacted gravel base that drains through the island's sandy soil and resists frost heave. Most residential patios take two to four weeks to build. Infinity designs and installs them with its own crew in all six island towns and quotes each one after a site visit.
Real work · Martha’s Vineyard
Explore the finished details
Documented work from a complete landscape installation on Martha’s Vineyard. Follow the project to see how these spaces connect.
The most common choice for Vineyard patios, and a good one: dense, strong and well suited to freeze and thaw. Natural cleft bluestone keeps the stone's split texture and grips well when wet. Thermal bluestone has a heat-treated, flat surface that reads more formal. Full-color bluestone mixes blue with lilac, tan and rust tones for a warmer look.
Granite
Harder than bluestone and slightly more expensive for similar sizes. We recommend it where the patio takes heavy furniture, rolling equipment or constant traffic, such as entries and main dining areas, and for steps and coping.
Natural fieldstone and irregular flagging
A good match for cottage properties and informal garden areas where the patio should read as part of the landscape. The stones need careful setting so they sit level, with joints tight enough for a heel but open enough to drain.
Concrete pavers
Reliable, cost effective and available in many shapes and colors. Quality pavers over a proper base perform well here. Lower-grade pavers from discount suppliers tend to flake at the surface after a few winters.
Travertine and limestone
Beautiful in photos, but we don't recommend them outdoors on the island. Both are porous, take on water and can flake when it freezes.
Hardscaping
Layout, Function, and Planning
Before any stone is ordered, the layout has to match how the space will be used. That means confirming:
Primary use zones. A dining table for eight needs different dimensions than a lounge area around a fire pit. Getting these right at the planning stage avoids the most common complaint after a build: "It's smaller than I imagined.
Grill and outdoor kitchen placement. If a built-in grill or kitchen is part of the long-term plan, utility sleeves and a reinforced base go in with the patio. Adding them to finished stone later is expensive.
Edge conditions. How the patio meets the lawn, planting beds, steps and walkways decides how the whole space reads. Good edges are clean, stable and easy to mow and maintain.
Drainage pitch. Every patio drains away from the house toward a defined path, usually a quarter inch per foot. We set the pitch when grading the base and check it again at the setting bed.
Service Details
Recent Patio Projects on the Vineyard
Three recent patios, each shaped by a different site. Photos are from our own crews, taken during and after the work.
Bluestone patio off a new porch
A rectangular pattern bluestone patio at the foot of a new home's back porch, built during construction on a sandy lot before the lawn went in. The base was compacted in layers over the loose fill so it wouldn't settle, and the stone was set to meet the porch step at a comfortable height while pitching away from the house.
Stone going down on the compacted basePattern and edges setFinished at the porch steps
Mortar-set bluestone patio on a wooded lot
A rectangular bluestone patio behind a cedar-sided home in the woods, laid out in a random pattern of full-color stone, set in mortar, pointed and sealed. Under oaks, sand joints fill with leaf litter and seedlings, so a mortared surface with sealed joints was the lower-maintenance choice for this property.
Laying out the pattern before settingPointing the jointsSealed and finished
Circular bluestone fire pit patio
A round patio built around a fire pit, with bluestone cut in radial courses so the joints follow the circle. It sits in open lawn, so the outer edge was set flush with the finished grade for clean mowing.
Radial bluestone around the fire pitFlush edge into the lawn
We don't publish prices because every Vineyard site is different, but the same factors set the cost of every patio. This is what we look at on the site visit before writing a quote.
Factor
Why it changes the cost
What we check on site
Size and shape
Square footage sets the stone and labor. Curves and circles need more cutting than rectangles.
Your furniture plan and how many people you usually host
Stone and finish
Pattern bluestone, irregular flagstone, granite and pavers differ in material price and setting time.
Look, grip when wet, heat in full sun, matching steps and walls
Setting method
Dry-laid stone on compacted gravel costs less than stone set in mortar on a concrete slab.
Drainage, tree cover, how formal a finish you want
Base and soil
Clean island sand drains well. Fill, clay pockets and wet spots need deeper excavation and more gravel.
Test digs, standing water, signs of past frost heave
Grade changes
Slopes add steps, retaining walls and extra base material.
Height difference between the house, patio and lawn
Access and trucking
Tight lots, long carries by hand and stone shipped over on the ferry add time.
Where trucks and machines can reach and where stone can be staged
Connected work
Fire pits, seat walls, lighting conduit, drainage and irrigation changes are built in at the same time.
What you want now and what you may add later
The part you never see: a prepared base before any stone
Service Details
Steps, Grade Changes, and Transitions
Most Vineyard properties aren't flat. A patio often steps up to a deck, down to a garden or across a grade change within its own footprint. Treads and risers need consistent, comfortable dimensions, the step material should match or complement the patio, and the connection between patio and steps has to be rigid enough to resist frost movement without cracking. Where the change in height is larger, a retaining wall holds the patio level.
Service Details
Fire Pits Built Into the Patio
A fire pit is the most requested addition to a Vineyard patio. It works best when it is planned with the patio: a non-combustible base under the pit, enough stone around it for chairs to sit fully on the patio, and a layout that keeps smoke away from the house and the prevailing wind in mind. Check your town's rules for open fires before planning a wood-burning pit. For built-in and gas options, sizes and seating layouts, see our fire pit installation page.
Service Details
Permits and Approvals on Martha's Vineyard
Most backyard patios don't need a building permit, but a few situations bring in town boards. We look at all of them during the site visit.
Near wetlands, ponds or the shore: Under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area (200 feet of a river) needs a filing with the town conservation commission, usually a Request for Determination of Applicability or a Notice of Intent. Several island towns add their own wetland bylaws. Many waterfront Vineyard lots sit inside these buffers.
Historic districts: In Edgartown's historic district and other local historic districts, exterior changes visible from a public way can need review by the Historic District Commission. Patios at grade are often exempt, but walls, fences and steps seen from the street may need approval.
Large projects: Major projects, usually tied to a new house or a significant redevelopment, can be referred to the Martha's Vineyard Commission as a Development of Regional Impact. A patio alone rarely triggers this, but it can be part of a larger review.
Walls and grade: Taller retaining walls can need a building permit and an engineered design.
Where a filing is needed, we work with your builder, engineer or permit agent so the approvals and the build schedule line up.
Plan your next step
A clear starting point for your property
A few details help us understand the work before the first conversation.
How you will use the space
Tell us whether you need room to dine, gather around a fire or move comfortably between entrances.
Levels, drainage and access
Share photographs of slopes, steps and the route our crew would use to reach the work area.
Materials and timing
Bring examples of stone finishes you like and any deadlines so the scope can be planned together.
Yes, especially on the Vineyard. Bluestone is dense, handles freeze and thaw well and holds up to salt air better than softer stones. Natural cleft bluestone grips when wet; thermal bluestone gives a smoother, more formal surface. The one caveat: dark blue stone gets warm in full afternoon sun, so near pools some owners choose lighter full-color stone or granite.
It depends on size, stone, setting method, base conditions, access and any connected work such as steps or a fire pit (see the cost table above). We don't publish prices because two patios of the same size can need very different bases. After a site visit we give you a written quote for your property.
Concrete pavers or a dry-laid stone patio on a gravel base usually cost less than mortar-set natural stone. The base work is similar for all of them, so the savings come from the surface material and the setting method, not from a thinner base.
A table for four needs about 10 by 10 feet, a table for six to eight about 12 by 16, and a fire pit seating circle about 14 to 16 feet across. Add space if the patio also has to carry traffic from the house to the lawn. We lay the outline out on site so you can see it before anything is ordered.
Most residential patios take two to four weeks from excavation to finished edge. Projects with several areas, retaining walls or big grade changes can take four to six weeks. Summer schedules and stone shipped from off-island suppliers affect timing, so plan in fall or winter for a spring build.
On most Vineyard sites we excavate about 12 inches, then build a compacted gravel base and a stone dust or sand setting bed, or a concrete slab for mortar-set stone. Depth depends on the soil, the drainage and the load. A shortcut base is the most common reason patios fail early.
Usually not, unless the site is near wetlands or the shore, inside a historic district, part of a large project, or needs tall retaining walls. See the permits section above; we check this at the site visit.
Ask to see finished patios that are a few winters old, ask how deep the base will be and what goes in it, and confirm the contractor's Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor registration and insurance. A crew that also handles drainage, steps, lighting and planting avoids gaps between trades. You can read our client reviews on our [reviews page](/reviews/).
Yes, if you might add path, step or wall lighting later. Conduit costs little during installation and a lot once the stone is down.
Sand-set patios need joint sand topped up every few years. Clean the surface once or twice a season, and after hard winters check for lifted stones and reset them before they become a trip hazard. Mortared joints should be inspected every spring. A well-built patio on the Vineyard can last 25 to 40 years with basic care.
