Precision-engineered patios, retaining walls, and outdoor features for Brainerd and the surrounding Lakes Area. Built from the base up — for Minnesota winters, for decades of use, for the way you actually live outside.
Most hardscapes fail from what you can't see. We obsess over base prep, compaction, and drainage — the work nobody photographs — so the patio you're standing on in twenty winters still looks like the one we handed over.
Paver, raised, and integrated patios designed for Minnesota conditions. Proper sub-base. Proper compaction. Proper edge restraint. The right way — where it actually matters.
Engineered segmental walls, decorative garden walls, structural-grade when required. Drainage integrated from day one — because a wall that can't breathe is a wall with a deadline.
Fire pits. Steps and landings. Walkways. Integrated seating walls. The details that make a patio feel built, not assembled — and that turn a backyard into a room.
On-site walk-through. Measurements. Soil check. We listen first, then scope honestly — including what you don't need.
Layout, material selections, fixed pricing, and realistic timeline. All on paper before we bring a shovel.
Excavation, base, drainage, compaction. The invisible work that decides whether your patio lasts 5 years or 30.
Every piece cut, placed, and set deliberately. We'd rather work a day longer than leave a joint we wouldn't accept at home.
Full project review. Written warranty. Care notes. And the yard left cleaner than we found it — every time.
A simple, functional patio or walkway (around 300–400 sq ft) with standard pavers, proper excavation, and full base prep. Perfect for outdoor dining, a sitting area, or a clean path to the lake.
Larger patios with multiple seating zones, upgraded pavers, custom borders, and real design moves — curves, steps, banding, integrated features. Where we're most at home.
Fully custom layouts with premium pavers, inlays, integrated features — fire pits, built-in seating, landscape lighting, retaining walls. Every detail decided on purpose.
Ben Hartman spent more than ten years on hardscape crews — working every role on a build and learning which details make a project stand the test of time. Hartman Custom Hardscapes is the result: one specialist, one set of standards, one phone call from start to finish.
Ben is a Minnesota native, based in the Brainerd Lakes Area with his wife and their two kids (ages 3 and 1). When he's not building, he's hunting, fishing, or passing both along to the next generation.
The best outdoor spaces start with a real conversation. Fill out the form, or call the number below — whichever's easier. You'll hear back within one business day.