WOW!! $60,000 for a patio? I have seen some very nice work from a master mason I come acrossed in the field. I had no idea it could be that expensive. I would definitely get other quotes.

That's about right -- the techo block is roughly $23,000 (this actually includes some grading and a small (e.g., 2 ft.) retaining wall to make the patio flat). The same version in bluestone would be approx. $65,000. That does seem very high. Any idea what a bluestone patio should cost per square foot? By the way, the patio will run into an ipe deck (also 600 sq. ft.) -- you don't want to know what that's costing.

We just had a Pavestone patio installed, approximately 65 sq. ftÂcost us $2432 complete. ThatÂs $37.41/sq. ft. WeÂre in GA. So your quote for NJ doesnÂt seem too far off

Kitchencrazy,

Bluestone on a concrete slab in the Philadelphia area is running about $40-45/SF. You don't say how much retaining wall there is, or from what it's constructed, but a concrete one, 2' in height average, plus 2.5' to the frostline, might be $160/LF. Brick above grade might add $25/SF each side (stone would be more expensive), and a stone cap might add $50-150 per lineal foot.

In any case, it's *always* a good idea to get more than one quote from reputable contractors in your area--there are just too many pricing variables: how busy the contractor is, the size of the job, whether portions of it need to be subbed out, etc. IMO, there's no such thing as a "fair" price--there's only the price at which a contractor is willing to do the work. So get multiple opinions. Good luck.

Sprinks

I can only compare your techno block quote to my "Cambridge" paver quote, and Im on Long Island, with our pricing $$ similiar to yours im sure....
Cambridge "tumbled" installed $14 sq ft. They said Techno block (whatever its called) is more expensive ("Cadillac of pavers" is the term they used). Cant see it being THAT much more than the Cambridge.
Getting approx 550 sq ft installed very shortly, approximately $8000 with a few steps.
Other quotes for similiar pavers were between $12 and $16 sq ft.

We bought out bluestone through stonelocator.com with a substantial savings. Our contact person was Sidney Wood and he was very helpful and they followed through on what they promised. Our bluestone is beautiful and I highly recommend it. We went with select bluestone to get a more uniform blue color. Contact Sidney. He can save you some money.

Here is a link that might be useful: stonelocator.com

We just paid $25 per sq ft for excavation, concrete and stone masonry (incl. bluestone)in random pattern in Marin County, CA

Were you happy with the work. We're in Marin county as well and would appreciate it if you had a reference we could use.

I had about 800 sq ft of bluestone on a mortor bed laid and it cost $10,000 labor and I bought the stone, 4 pallets at about $1000.00 a pallet all other matreials supplied by him. This is in Louisiana. The guy had a masonary company, did good work, put was very unrelible. Wouldn't see him for days sometimes. But its finished now and looks great.

Good Luck

I am wanting to put in a patio also. But I sure do not have $20,000 to do this. I am in southern NJ. Does anyone know of a place that has good prices and good work?

WOw these prices are crazy. BLuestone costs about $5-6 a sq ft here in CT. THats for the good stuff. So they are going to charge you $55 a ft to install??!!

Just get on the phone and call all around... today, guys are willing to work for less because there's less work around. Here in the Boston suburbs, the cost of "thermal" (i.e. very smooth surface, great for patios) bluestone is $9.50/sq. ft, and another $30/sq. ft. installation, over gravel/crushed stone, which is best for places with frost heaves. Not sure about putting it on concrete. It looks better when the stones are about 1/4" apart, no mortar, for a patio, because you have to deal with the disintegration of the mortar later, which is a pain. And if it's a patio, you can grow little mosses between the stones. Good luck!

We have had this discussion around here before :-)

There is Bluestone and there is almost bluestone. Without coal and limestone formations, there is not Bluestone.

Read about "real" Bluestone here:

http://www.jmu.edu/centennialcelebration/bluestone.shtml

The almost bluestone you can normally purchase is not really Bluestone.

We happen to have about a 20 ton block of it over a coal seam that we uncovered while excavating a hillside that was 'moving' beside our house (north central West Virginia). The excavators tried everything short of plastic explosives to break it loose - but could not even scratch it.

So while I am not implying that you need real Bluestone as a paver, don't get confused by someone telling you that you are getting Bluestone. I exaggerate a bit here, but if you can scratch it - break it - chip it - or anything other than cut it with very specialized tools, it is Not Bluestone!

If anyone wants to come in and get our hunk of Bluestone, you are welcome to it as long as you reclaim the area (BIG SMILE)!

2011. New Construction here. I suppose masons are looking for work now. So many of them wanting to do our job, 200+ LF long driveway with a large motor-court and a 800 sf patio in thermal bluestone on 6" concrete base. For the patio, price is $15,000 installed including material. 2 quotations came in at this number, both reputible contractors. That's less than $20/sf...and I am on Long Island Northshore.

Yes, all kinds of bluestone out there in terms of quarry type, hardness, blueness, not to mention the cuts be they rectangular multiples or irregular flagging and the texture, be they natural cleft or thermal. But $100/sf, even in 2011 costs, is insanely expensive, especially for 600+sf. I install many...a good project in the greater Boston, MA area working with very decent, long-lasting, bluestone multiples stock could get me $30-35/sf, dry-laid. That's including "standard" preparation and commonly seen conditions in terms of grading, drainage, sub-base materials, etc. Why it has to be "connected" to the pool apron is beyond me. I wouldn't suggest laying it on concrete at all unless you lived in a no-freeze zone, and even then I might not. Freeze/thaw cycling is going to happen so we do our best to prep it for a long-run then the owner or many owners from now can spend a few hundred bucks having a mason come in 10 years from now to make some adjustments, instead of $thousands or worse having to rip up the whole thing due to major cracks in 20+ years.

I'm a certified Mason in Dutchess County, with 30 years of experience. my business was established in 1986. I spent 6 years in the Stone setters Union in NYC about half was as a foreman. Bluestone at $50 or $100 a sq. ft.. seems outrageous to me. My work is high end and I get $25 to $30 per sq. ft. for dry laid bluestone and $38 for mortared with the slab. That includes excavating 8-10 inches placing 4 inches of gravel then either the slab or bedding material and the stone.

Factors that will determine your associated costs might be: size of patio, type of bluestone, elevation changes, soil stability, and patio accents like sitting walls or inlays.

HELP!! I have a bluestone patio installed over a steel structure extension of my home. There is mirradrain underneath to whisk the water away. Only a year old, but notice that almost half of the bluestone pieces have a hollow sound underneath. We were told it was lifting. My concern is that when they installed, the mud dried too quickly (VERY hot when installed) and it didn't adhere correctly. The mason said I was ridiculous and that this is normal. Other people have told me the deck will start to take water in the next couple of years if not corrected. Don't know what is correct

Liked reading all the post. I live in NY and cut Bluestone for 33 years and my father and grandfather before me. I also do patios, walls, walkways and fire pits. The supply to purchase Bluestone is reasonable in my area is $3 to $5 a ft. depends on color and size.

Anybody knows any place where I can find blue stone slabs? in central Jersey> Please do not recommend StoneCenter in Bridgewater.