The numbers
Installed, 2026, Long Island contractor figures where they exist and national ranges where they do not. The Long Island figures come from three contractors' own published pages that disagree with one another, so we show the spread rather than an average and rate them as market color, not verified quotes.
| Project | Installed cost | Working time |
|---|---|---|
| Bluestone patio | $20–50 per sq ft (LI); national $16–38 | 4–5 days for 400–600 sq ft; a week on rock or clay |
| Paver patio | $20–35 per sq ft (LI); travertine $25–45; porcelain $30–50; limestone/granite $40–65 | As above |
| Walkway | Bluestone $16–55 per sq ft; brick $8–20 | Days |
| Fieldstone wall, freestanding | $20–60 per sq ft of face dry-stacked; $20–80 mortared; veneer $18–38 | No clean figure; 3–5 days for a 50 ft retaining wall is the closest proxy |
| Retaining wall | Block $18–45 entry / $30–65 premium per sq ft of face; natural stone $10–85; boulder $25–50; a 50 ft × 3 ft wall $4,000–12,000 in block, $6,000–18,000 in stone | 3–5 days under 4 ft; 2–4+ weeks engineered |
| Gravel driveway | $4–8 per sq ft (crushed bluestone, LI); Belgian-block border $30–50 per lf | No reliable figure for a base-and-compact install |
| Paver driveway | $20–35 per sq ft (LI); full Belgian block $30–70 | About 7 working days for 2,000 sq ft |
| Asphalt, for comparison | $7–15 per sq ft; 15–20 years vs 25–50+ for pavers | Days |
| Pool coping | Bluestone $25–50 per lf; travertine $20–45; porcelain $25–50; pavers $15–30; premium stone $40–75+ (LI) | Set before the deck |
| Pool deck | Pavers $22–32 per sq ft; travertine $28–42; bluestone $30–45; porcelain $30–48; natural stone $40–65 (LI) | Patio timelines apply |
| Outdoor kitchen / fireplace / fire pit | About $13,180 average ($6,000–22,000) / $1,500–9,000 prefab-plus-surround to $6,000–20,000+ custom / about $830 average, $2,500–8,000 built-in (national) | Built with the patio |
| Repointing | Brick $14–15 per sq ft average ($4–25); stone foundation $5–28; chimney joints $10–25, about $600–1,200 for a typical stack | Tuckpointing 8–20 hours |
| Chimney | Crown $300–2,200; top 3–5 ft rebuild $1,500–3,500; liner $47–80 per lf; full rebuild above the roof: sources disagree, $4,000–8,000 vs $11,800–20,200 | Rebuild 5–10 days |
| Steps and stoops | Bluestone staircase $900–2,000; stoop rebuild $1,500–4,000 | Days |
| Demolition, base, drainage | Old slab $2–6 per sq ft; grading $1.50–4 (+$3–8 in clay); French drain $10–100 per lf ($25–40 around a patio) | Included in the above |
What drives a Hamptons price
The base. One installer's estimate puts site preparation at about 90% of the labor on a patio. The stone you see is the last day. On the South Fork the base is also where the ground argues back: south of Montauk Highway the outwash plain's Bridgehampton silt loam is well drained on top and, in the USDA's words, commonly saturated in its lower layers in winter, spring and after heavy rain; north of the highway the moraine is till with clay lenses and boulders; near the bays and ponds the water table can sit 2–8 feet down. Each of those sets a different base depth and a different drainage answer. The frost depth the base must clear is set by the town building department; published sources disagree on the exact Long Island figure, so we do not print one.
The stone. Natural cleft bluestone is $6–11 per square foot in material and thermal $9–14; going from 1-inch to 1½- or 2-inch stone for dry-setting adds $2–6; blue-blue costs more than full-color; stone by the ton runs $30–150, premium flagstone $200–400.
The method. Dry-set on a compacted base is the Long Island standard for 1½- to 2-inch stone because the joints move with frost; 1-inch stone mortar-set on a slab is the formal alternative and cracks when the slab does. Sources disagree on the lifespans, so we do not print years; the direction is not disputed.
Access and hours. A village lot with no place for a pallet, a narrow street, a neighbor's hedge, and the summer work-hour rules (below) all stretch the schedule and the bill.
Scale. Hamptons projects are large. A 600 sq ft pool deck, 200 feet of Belgian block and a 50-foot wall are one ordinary job here, and the quote runs to six figures more often than the per-square-foot numbers suggest.
The calendar
Season. Spring and early fall are the best masonry seasons on Long Island: workable ground, curing temperatures, crews not yet booked solid. Summer works but is regulated. Winter is for dry-set work on unfrozen ground and for paperwork.
The 40°F line. The masonry standards (ACI 530 / TMS 602) trigger cold-weather rules when the air or the masonry units drop below 40°F: heated water and sand to keep mortar at 40–120°F, units above 20°F with no ice on them, and the finished work protected above 32°F for 24 hours (48 grouted). Mortared walls, repointing and chimneys are therefore April-to-November jobs; dry-set patios and dry-stacked walls can proceed in winter when the ground is not frozen.
Village hours. Village of East Hampton, May 15 to September 15: weekdays 8am–6pm, Saturdays noon–4pm, no Sundays or federal holidays; fines from $250, and contractors register annually. Village of Southampton: weekdays 8am–6pm, Saturdays 9am–5pm, no Sundays, with pile driving banned on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and a proposal in July 2026 to bar Saturdays as well. Village of Sag Harbor: weekdays 8am–7pm, Saturdays 9am–5pm, no Sundays or holidays. Village of Sagaponack: 7am–7pm, no Sundays, with Saturday hours a live controversy. The Towns of East Hampton and Southampton have noise codes too; we could not confirm their hours from a reliable source, so ask. These rules were amended in 2025–2026 in at least three villages; confirm before scheduling.
Permits. The Village of East Hampton usually issues a permit in 2–4 weeks when the application is complete. The Town of East Hampton reported a 16–20 week backlog in 2026 against a 15-day statutory clock. Stamped engineering drawings for a tall wall take 1–2 weeks before either. Plan a permitted wall, pool deck or drive in winter for a spring build.
The rules that decide the design
- Patios and terraces rarely need a building permit but count toward lot coverage, and many municipalities require a zoning permit to check coverage and setbacks: the Village of East Hampton caps residential coverage at 20% of the lot (plus 500 sq ft on lots under 40,000 sq ft); the Village of Southampton at 14% plus 1,500 sq ft, up to 30%. The Town of East Hampton's clearing limits are being rewritten as of 2026, and Sagaponack regulates impervious surface under its stormwater and zoning codes without a percentage we could find; ask.
- Retaining walls. Under 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, and without a surcharge: generally no permit. Over 48 inches of retained fill, or holding a driveway, slope or structure: an engineer's design (R404.4) and a permit.
- Pools. New York requires a barrier at least 48 inches high around any pool holding more than 24 inches of water, with no more than 2 inches beneath it and openings no larger than 1¾ inches, self-closing and self-latching gates with the latch at least 40 inches above grade, in place within 90 days of construction. A deck that forms part of the barrier must meet the spec.
- Water. Town of East Hampton: 100-foot no-build setback from wetlands and Natural Resources Special Permit review within 150 feet. Town of Southampton, Chapter 325: 125 feet for structures (100 on developed lots where practicable), 100 feet for turf and fertilizer, 150 feet for sanitary systems. NYSDEC: a 300-foot adjacent area around tidal wetlands. Georgica, Mecox and Sagg Ponds add the Town Trustees.
- Aprons and curb cuts. State roads (Route 27): NYSDOT Highway Work Permit, form PERM 33, $210, a stamped site plan, a driveway no wider than 30 feet at the line. County roads (CR 39, 27, 79): a Suffolk County DPW highway work permit with an unpublished fee. Village of Southampton: a $200 curb-cut application. Town roads: the town highway department.
- Historic districts. Sag Harbor's review board requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for any exterior change visible from a street or neighbor and names sidewalks, aprons, driveways, terraces, retaining walls and curbing in its scope, with gate heights capped at 4 feet in front and 6 at the sides and rear. The Village of East Hampton's Design Review Board covers walls and fences in its four districts. Bridgehampton's Main Street is a Town historic overlay district with design guidelines. Amagansett's National Register listing does not by itself trigger local review.
- Who does the work. Suffolk County requires a Home Improvement Contractor license for residential work, and masonry is a named trade on the licensing exam; New York has no statewide contractor license. Ask for the license number and a certificate of liability and workers' compensation insurance.
Reading a quote
A fair quote names the stone (type, finish, thickness, grade, pattern), the base (depth, material, compaction), the setting method (dry or mortared), the joint fill, the edging, the drainage, demolition and disposal, each wall and step as its own line, the sealer if any, who handles the zoning or building permit and the wetland or historic review, and the schedule with the village hours built in. It states which figures are allowances. It does not say "per square foot, all in."
The stone under the stone
Long Island's fieldstone is glacial: the moraine that runs down the spine of the South Fork, the ridge separating Noyac from Bridgehampton, is where the erratic boulders are, weathered by freeze-thaw for thousands of years. Most new bluestone and fieldstone arrive by the pallet from the Catskills and northeastern Pennsylvania, quarried by around 150 mostly small operations. Bluestone absorbs less than 2% water, the best under 0.5%, which is why it is the South Fork's default and why it should be sealed, if at all, with a breathable penetrating sealer every 2–4 years rather than a film that spalls it in winter.
Sources and method
Compiled 25 August 2026 from Long Island contractor cost pages (GAPPSI, Islandwide Paving, Brothers Paving & Masonry), which disagree with one another and are treated as market color; national 2026 guides from Angi, HomeGuide and Homewyse for patios, walls, retaining walls, driveways, coping, chimneys and repointing; the USDA official series description for Bridgehampton silt loam; cold-weather masonry provisions via CMHA TEK 03-01C and the Mason Contractors Association; the NPS Preservation Brief 2 on historic mortar; the NY Department of State pool barrier summary; NYSDOT form PERM 33 and the Village of Southampton curb-cut application; the Village of Southampton construction-hours notice and 27east / East Hampton Star reporting on East Hampton Village's hours; the Southampton Town Conservation Board and NYSDEC tidal wetlands guidance; the Village of Southampton built-conditions review for its coverage cap; the Suffolk County Home Improvement License Law; and the 2026 27east report on the Town of East Hampton permit backlog. Every municipal-code figure was read through search-engine text because the code host (eCode360) refused direct requests; treat hours and thresholds as current-as-of-writing and confirm with the department. Not published on purpose: a Long Island frost-depth figure (sources conflict), a single bluestone lifespan in years, the Town of East Hampton's clearing percentage (in flux) and the Town of Southampton's construction hours (unrecoverable). Reviewed and updated as rules change.