Patios & Outdoor Living Contractor in Greater Boston

Outdoor living in Greater Boston is dominated by landscaping companies — but landscapers don't hold a general contractor's license. When your project combines a paver patio with a gas line for an outdoor kitchen, electrical for lighting, a fire feature, a seating wall, and drainage tied to your foundation, you need a single licensed GC who can build all of it to code. Schlickmann holds Massachusetts CSL-121587 and delivers turnkey outdoor living spaces engineered to survive New England's freeze-thaw winters.

A patio is the easy part. What separates an outdoor living space that lasts decades from one that heaves, floods, and cracks in five winters is everything underneath and around it — base preparation, drainage, frost-depth footings, and the gas and electrical infrastructure that powers a real outdoor room. As a licensed Massachusetts general contractor (CSL-121587), Schlickmann builds the entire space under one license, one permit set, and one accountable crew, rather than coordinating a landscaper, an electrician, and a plumber who each blame the other when something fails.

Paver & Natural Stone Patios

We install concrete pavers, natural bluestone, granite, and porcelain over a properly excavated and compacted crushed-stone base graded for positive drainage away from your home. Concrete pavers are the most popular choice in Greater Boston for their durability and repairability — a single damaged unit lifts out and swaps in. Natural bluestone is the premium choice for Colonial and Victorian homes. Every patio is pitched and drained so it never becomes a mosquito pond or pushes water toward your foundation.

Outdoor Kitchens

An outdoor kitchen is where general-contractor authority matters most. We rough in the gas line for the grill, the electrical for outlets and appliances, and the plumbing for a sink — all permitted and inspected. We build the masonry island in block with stone veneer or stucco, set granite or porcelain countertops, and integrate built-in grills, side burners, refrigeration, and storage. Landscapers legally cannot run gas or electrical; we do it in-house under our license.

Fire Features — Fire Pits & Fireplaces

Wood-burning or natural-gas fire pits and full outdoor fireplaces extend your New England season by months. Gas units require a permitted gas line and proper clearances; we handle both. Masonry fireplaces are built on frost-depth footings with engineered chimneys and stone or veneer facing to match your home.

Pergolas & Shade Structures

Pergolas, pavilions, and covered structures turn a patio into a year-round room. We set posts on frost-depth footings — critical in Massachusetts, where shallow footings heave and rack a structure out of square — and integrate lighting, fans, and power.

Seating & Stone Walls

Seating walls define a patio's edge while adding built-in seating around a fire pit. Freestanding and low retaining walls in segmental block or natural stone create grade transitions and raised planting beds, all built with proper base courses and drainage behind them.

Walkways & Steps

Paver and natural-stone walkways and steps connect driveway, entry, and backyard with safe, code-compliant rise and run. Steps are built on compacted, frost-protected bases so they don't shift or separate over the winters.

Outdoor Lighting

Low-voltage path, accent, and wall lighting — plus line-voltage fixtures and outlets where needed — are rough-in and wired by our crew so your space is usable after dark and showcases the hardscape investment.

Drainage & Grading

Drainage is the most-overlooked element of outdoor living and the leading cause of failure. We grade every space away from the structure, install perimeter and channel drains where needed, and coordinate with any existing foundation drainage so the entire site — indoors and out — performs together.