Surfaces that stay put.

Pavers are individual units, so a cracked or stained one can be lifted and replaced, and the surface can flex a little as the ground moves without breaking.

A paver surface is only as good as what is under it: excavation to the right depth, a compacted gravel base, a screeded sand bed, and an edge restraint to keep the field from creeping outward. Permeable pavers leave open joints filled with gravel so rain soaks through to the ground below.

Poured concrete gives a solid, continuous surface between its control joints. Stamping, integral color and stains can give it the look of stone, brick or tile, at added cost over a plain pour.

All concrete cracks eventually; good concrete cracks where you planned. A compacted base, the right thickness for the load, reinforcement and control joints cut at sensible spacing guide that movement, and proper curing in the first days keeps the surface strong.

On a sloped San Diego lot, a retaining wall turns an unusable bank into level ground for a patio, a lawn or a garden. Terracing the slope into several shorter walls is often easier to build and easier on the eye than one tall one.

Water is what pushes most walls over. Gravel backfill, a perforated drain at the base and weep openings let water out from behind the wall before pressure builds.