About Luis
Who walks the yard, and who builds it.
I'm Luis Herrera. I walk the yard with you before anything gets drawn, and I'm the person you call once the work is done.
How we work
We design and build patios, walls, planting beds and lawns on the south-west side of Charlotte. Most of what goes right or wrong on those jobs comes down to one thing: the grade. The grade under a patio and the grade in the bed next to it are the same grade, and when they get planned separately, water ends up going wherever the two plans disagree. A patio that holds water against a bed line is usually a patio and a bed that were drawn on different sheets.
So we plan the stone and the planting together, in the order that makes the grade work. The base and the drainage come first, then the hardscape, then the beds. That's not a complicated idea. It's just the order that keeps water moving away from the house and keeps the patio flat.
This is red clay country. It holds water on a flat lot, sheds it hard on a slope, and it changes how deep we dig, what we amend with, and what we plant. Most of the questions on this site come back to that clay.
How a design-build job goes
From the walk to the first season.
01The walk and the drawing
We walk the yard with you, note the light, the slope and where the water runs, then draw the plan.
02Stone and grade first
Grading, drainage, walls and paving go in before anything is planted.
03Planting
Beds shaped and amended, plants set at their mature spacing, then mulched and watered in.
04Settling in
A walk-through at the end, and a watering and care schedule for the first season.
How a job goes with us
- I walk the yard before anything gets drawn — grade, drainage, sun, how you actually use the space
- The hardscape and the beds get planned on the same drawing, so the grade and the planting work together
- You get a written design-and-build proposal before anything is ordered or scheduled
- Base and drainage get built for Charlotte clay before any paver or block goes down
- Planting comes with a planting schedule and a watering plan for the first summer
- If your subdivision requires an HOA architectural review packet, we can put it together alongside the proposal
The patio and the bed next to it share one grade, so we draw them on one plan.
Luis Herrera, owner
Who's actually on your job
A Sample crew lead runs the layout and the base work, and the crew builds the hardscape and sets the beds in the order the plan calls for. I do the yard walk, and I'm back for the final walkthrough so we can go over the finished work together, whether it's a Fort Mill patio or a Steele Creek lawn rebuild.
We work Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5pm, with Saturday mornings by appointment. Our service area is Steele Creek, Ballantyne, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Belmont, and Mount Holly. We're licensed as an NC Landscape Contractor and insured; the license number is in the footer.
Questions people ask before the walk
Do you walk the yard yourself?
Yes. I check the grade with a transit level, look at drainage, and talk through how you use the space before anything gets designed. A plan built on a description of a yard is a guess; a plan built after walking it isn't.
Why plan the patio and the beds together?
Because the grade under a patio and the grade in a bed line are the same grade, and if they're designed separately they end up fighting. Drawing the patio and the beds on one sheet means water goes where it's supposed to, and the bed lines sit where the stone leaves room for them.
How do new plants get through their first summer?
Mostly with water. Most plant loss in the first couple of seasons in this clay comes down to watering, either too little in the first hot stretch or too much in a bed that doesn't drain. We plant in fall where we can, set up irrigation or a watering schedule with you, and walk the beds with you after planting so you know what's where.
Book a yard walk
Walk the yard with Luis.
A walk around the property with you, then a written proposal with the plan and the plant list.
Or call (704) 555-0163 · Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm · Sat by appointment