What to Expect When You Work With Hiner Outdoor Living
Hiring a landscaping or water feature contractor comes with real questions about cost, timeline, and what actually happens once a contract is signed. Hiner Outdoor Living has operated as a design-build company in Colorado Springs since 2008, managing projects from initial concept through final construction with one internal team. This page addresses the questions homeowners raise most often about services, process, and pricing before starting a project. Reviewing these answers gives homeowners a clearer picture of what to expect at each stage of working with the company.
Fit & Services
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Hiner Outdoor Living designs and builds residential landscaping, hardscape, water features, and inground pools for homeowners throughout Colorado Springs and the Front Range. Project scope ranges from a single fire pit or paver patio to a full backyard renovation combining a pool, outdoor kitchen, and custom water feature. Water features remain the company's founding specialty, though the addition of a dedicated pool division has expanded that scope significantly.
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Hiner Outdoor Living serves Colorado Springs and surrounding Front Range communities, including Briargate, Castle Rock, Monument, Parker, Highlands Ranch, and Castle Pines, CO. The team has built projects across this region since 2008, developing familiarity with local soil conditions, elevation, and permitting requirements county by county. Service area coverage extends from smaller mountain communities to larger metro Denver suburbs. A complete list of service area communities is available on the Service Areas page.
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Hiner Outdoor Living focuses on larger design-build projects rather than small handyman-style repairs like a single fence board replacement or a minor patch job. The company's model is built around full-scope work such as pond construction, patio installation, and comprehensive landscape renovation, which involves design, permitting, and coordinated construction. Homeowners looking for a quick, unrelated one-off repair typically find better service from a local handyman or specialty repair company. Existing Hiner Outdoor Living clients still receive priority for repairs tied to a pond or water feature the company originally built.
Getting to Know Our Services
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A full design-build project starts with a consultation and site visit, moves through a design phase covering layout and material selection, and continues through construction until every feature works together as one connected space. A typical project combines several elements, such as a paver patio, outdoor kitchen, fire feature, and surrounding landscaping, built by the same team from start to finish. This structure keeps design intent consistent with the final build, since no separate contractor takes over partway through. Homeowners planning a larger renovation should bring a rough wish list of features to the first consultation.
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A custom pond or water feature project includes design work covering size, depth, and style, followed by excavation, liner installation, filtration, aeration, and edge treatments like natural stone or cobble. Homeowners choose between styles such as cobble, boulder, or keystone ponds, each offering a different visual character suited to different landscape settings. Waterfalls, fountains, and pondless features fall under this same service, giving homeowners options beyond a traditional pond. The pond project calculators on the homepage let homeowners compare styles before their first consultation.
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An inground pool project involves more extensive excavation, structural engineering, and permitting than a standalone patio or water feature, given the depth and weight requirements of a pool shell. Pool projects also typically incorporate surrounding hardscape, decking, and landscaping to connect the pool visually to the rest of the yard. Timeline and budget both scale up accordingly compared to a single-feature project. Hiner Outdoor Living's pool division works alongside the same design-build team responsible for patios, kitchens, and water features, keeping the full project under one roof.
Our Process
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Contacting Hiner Outdoor Living starts with an initial conversation, either by phone or through the online form, where a team member collects details about the property and project goals. From there, the design team schedules a site visit to evaluate the space, existing conditions, and any site-specific constraints. A proposed design and project plan follow, giving the homeowner a clear picture of scope and next steps. Homeowners exploring a pond or water feature also use the pond project calculators ahead of that first conversation.
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Design renderings are part of the standard process for larger design-build projects, giving homeowners a visual reference for layout, materials, and finished appearance before construction begins. These renderings allow adjustments to be made on paper rather than mid-build, which keeps the project closer to budget and timeline. Smaller single-feature projects sometimes move forward with a simpler site plan instead of a full rendering, depending on complexity. The design team confirms what level of visual planning applies during the initial consultation.
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Hiner Outdoor Living builds most projects using in-house crews trained across landscaping, hardscape, and water feature construction, keeping quality control consistent from design through completion. Specialty work such as certain pool components or electrical connections occasionally involves licensed subcontractors working under the project manager's oversight. This structure keeps one company accountable for the full scope of the build rather than splitting responsibility across separate vendors. Homeowners work with the same core team throughout the project regardless of which crews handle specific tasks.
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Homeowners work with one primary point of contact throughout their project, either Marshall for design-build and general landscaping work or Sam for water feature-focused projects. This single point of contact coordinates with the design and construction teams internally, so homeowners aren't left tracking down separate people for updates. The same contact stays involved from the proposal stage through project completion. Questions during construction route directly to this contact rather than through a general office line.
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Response times during an active project typically fall within one business day for standard questions, with faster turnaround for anything urgent related to ongoing construction. The assigned point of contact monitors project communication directly rather than routing messages through multiple people first. Site visits and weekly check-ins also provide regular touchpoints beyond one-off questions. Homeowners with time-sensitive concerns are encouraged to call directly rather than wait for an email response.
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Requesting a change mid-project starts with a conversation with the assigned point of contact, who reviews how the change affects timeline, budget, and any already-completed work. Some adjustments, like a plant substitution or paver color change, work into the schedule with little disruption. Larger structural changes, such as resizing a pool or repositioning a water feature, require more coordination and may affect the overall project cost. The team documents any approved changes in writing before proceeding with construction.
Communication & Accountability
Built for Colorado's Climate
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Colorado Springs' freeze-thaw cycles, intense high-altitude sun, and dry conditions all factor into how Hiner Outdoor Living designs hardscape, plantings, and water features. Paver systems and retaining walls use base depths and drainage designed specifically to handle seasonal ground movement rather than crack under it. Plant selection favors species suited to the region's elevation and water availability rather than varieties that struggle in a semi-arid climate. Water features incorporate aeration and filtration designed to function through Colorado's cold winters and ice cover.
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Low-maintenance options exist across most service categories, including xeriscaped plant beds, synthetic turf, and paver systems that require less upkeep than natural stone or poured concrete. Homeowners who want a lower-maintenance yard typically combine drought-tolerant plantings with efficient irrigation zones and durable hardscape materials. Water features also scale in maintenance requirements, with pondless designs generally requiring less ongoing care than a full pond with fish and extensive plantings. The design team discusses maintenance expectations for each feature during the consultation.
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Outdoor living spaces built with the right features stay usable well beyond summer months, particularly when a project includes a fire feature, outdoor fireplace, or covered pavilion. Covered structures extend usability into cooler months by providing shelter from wind and snow, while fire features add warmth for evening use into fall. Water features require seasonal adjustments, since ponds and fountains typically need winterization procedures during the coldest months. The design team factors year-round use into the layout when that's a priority for the homeowner.
Pricing & Getting Started
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Pricing for a Hiner Outdoor Living project depends on the size, materials, and complexity of the features included, along with site conditions like slope, soil, and existing drainage. A single-feature project, such as a fire pit or small patio, costs significantly less than a full backyard renovation combining multiple features. Custom work, including pond construction and pool installation, involves more design and engineering than standard hardscape, which affects the overall investment. A site visit and design consultation give homeowners an accurate, project-specific estimate.
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Homeowners get the most out of an initial consultation by having a rough budget range, a general wish list of features, and any inspiration photos or examples of styles they like. Photos or a basic sketch of the current yard also help the design team understand existing conditions ahead of the site visit. It helps to think through how the space will be used day to day, since that shapes layout decisions like seating, traffic flow, and feature placement. None of this needs to be finalized before reaching out, since the design team refines these details during the consultation process.
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Starting a project begins with a consultation, either by phone or through the online contact form, followed by a scheduled site visit to evaluate the property. From there, the design team develops a proposed plan and estimate based on the homeowner's goals and the site's specific conditions. Homeowners interested in a pond or water feature also explore the pond project calculators beforehand to narrow down style preferences. Schedule a consultation to begin the process.
“We inherited a water feature/pond when we bought our new home. The pond needed a rehab. It leaked, the equipment was old and clunky, and it felt overall dated. However, we didn't have the budget to do a whole new start-over. Marshall worked with us to find a great solution. The team was so professional, reliable, and efficient. I absolutely love the pond now!! We are so happy with the work that we already have some new projects lined up with Hiner. They are absolutely fantastic to work with!”
Terri L. via Google
Ready to Start Your Outdoor Living Project?
Hiner Outdoor Living is a design-build company based in Colorado Springs, building custom landscaping, hardscape, water features, and inground pools throughout the Front Range since 2008. The team manages every project internally, from initial design through final construction, giving homeowners one consistent point of contact across the full process. Reach out to the landscaping team to discuss your outdoor living project ideas.