Show them the patio before you lay a paver.
Send the VizTerra or SketchUp design you already built, and get back a video of the finished patio, wall, and outdoor kitchen instead of a handful of loose samples.
No card needed to see your first draftOne finished video included every month, freeTakes a render, a PDF plan, or a DXF, whatever your software gives you
From plan to poured base
Send the patio you already designed
A VizTerra render, a SketchUp model, or a plan showing the paver pattern over the permeable base, upload whichever file exists.
Check what we takeSend a few photos of the space before you dig
Once the retaining wall and paver pattern are filmed against their actual slope and fence line, the drawing stops being an abstraction.
We turn it into a walk-through
We build a shot list and film the travertine, the fire feature, and the outdoor kitchen the way someone would actually move through the space.
See the processSwap the paver color without a redraw
If the client wants to see the wall in a different stone, ask for another pass. It costs a few credits, not a callback to your designer.
How edits workClose before the samples come back dog-eared
Play the video on-site or send the link, and let them decide on the space instead of guessing from a six-inch chip.
See hardscape examples
What hardscape contractors actually say
- “I already hand them samples. They can hold the actual paver.”
- A sample shows a material at arm's length, not a patio at full scale. Homeowners routinely pick a paver size based on how it looks in a showroom, then find it reads completely differently laid across four hundred square feet. A video shows the space; the sample can stay a texture reference.
- “They keep changing their mind on paver color depending on the light.”
- That's a real limitation of samples, not indecision on their part. Sunlight shifts a paver's undertone warm in the morning and gray by dusk, and a six-inch chip can't show that swing. A filmed walk-through can show the same patio across changing light so the color gets decided once.
- “Competitive bidding turns me into a commodity next to two guys with the same catalog.”
- That's true the moment all three bids read like the same materials list, and it's a complaint contractors voice about bidding in general. A video of their own yard, built to their own layout, is not something the other two quotes have. It moves the decision off price and onto the design you actually built for them.
Built from what hardscape contractors already run
VizTerra, a paver manufacturer's own tool, or plain SketchUp, we take the file as it comes out.
- Vip3D
- Export
- The 2D plan, and a rendered still or video from the 3D view
- File type
- PNG, PDF, or DXF for the plan; an image or MP4 for the 3D view
Vip3D covers pools, hardscape, planting, and decks in one file, so export the plan and the render as a pair, the plan tells us the layout and the render tells us the finish.
- VizTerra
- Export
- The 2D plan, and a rendered still or video from the 3D view
- File type
- PNG, PDF, or DXF for the plan; an image or MP4 for the 3D view
VizTerra handles decks, hardscape, and planting without pools. Export the plan as PNG, PDF, or DXF and send your best 3D still alongside it.
- SketchUp
- Export
- A 2D graphic of the current scene
- File type
- JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or BMP; or DWG/DXF for a 2D plan
Set the camera to Parallel Projection before you export if the scale needs to hold up. File > Export > 2D Graphic gives you the image.
- Lumion
- Export
- A rendered photo from Photo Mode, or a movie from Movie Mode
- File type
- JPG, PNG, or BMP for a photo; MP4 for a movie
Render uncompressed (PNG or BMP) if you plan to edit the still afterward. For a movie, export at whatever resolution Movie Mode offers, we compress it on our end.
- Vectorworks Landmark
- Export
- A rendered image of the design
- File type
- JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, or PDF
Use Export Image File under File > Export. It re-renders the current view automatically before saving, so pick your render style first.
- Chief Architect
- Export
- A picture of the current view
- File type
- BMP, JPG, or PNG
Render the view first, then File > Export > Export Picture (BMP, JPG, PNG). It saves exactly what's on screen, so frame the shot before exporting.
- Twinmotion
- Export
- A rendered image, panorama, or video of the scene
- File type
- PNG, JPG, or EXR for images; MP4 for video
Free with an Epic Games account, and it imports SketchUp and Vectorworks models directly. Export the video at 2K, MP4 keeps the file small enough to upload straight away.
- Blender
- Export
- A rendered still, or a rendered animation
- File type
- PNG by default for stills; MP4 through the FFmpeg video option
Render stills first and check them before committing to a full animation render, a failed video render means starting over from frame one.
- Enscape
- Export
- A screenshot, or an exported video, from inside your host application
- File type
- PNG, JPG, EXR, or TGA for stills; MP4 for video
Runs inside SketchUp, Revit, or Vectorworks rather than standalone. The Screenshot and Video commands are both in the Enscape toolbar of whichever app you modelled in.
- Realtime Landscaping Architect
- Export
- The plan view, or a captured image of the 3D view
- File type
- JPG, PDF, BMP, TGA, or PNG
Export to File (F5) saves the plan. For the 3D view, use Export Viewport to File and pick the highest pixel size it offers.
- Cedreo
- Export
- The 3D render, or the floor and site plan
- File type
- PNG for plans; PDF for a full plan set; the render downloads as an image file
Download the render from the project sheet's download arrow, then generate a PDF plan separately if you want the layout in the same package.
- AutoCAD
- Export
- The 2D plan
- File type
- PDF or DXF
Export a plotted PDF for us to look at, or a DXF if you also want it opened in Pool Studio, VizTerra, or SketchUp. We treat the plan as the layout reference, not the finished shot.
Not on this list? Export whatever your software gives you, a screenshot, a rendered still, a PDF, a saved image, and upload it. If it shows the design, we can work with it.
See every tool we acceptHardscape in motion
Travertine, a segmental wall, and a built-in fire feature, filmed the way a walk-through actually feels.
What it costs
No card needed for the free plan, and it covers real drafts, not a single locked demo.
Free
$0
Try it on a real job before you decide.
- 3 drafts + 1 free 720p output
- Up to 720p output
- 1 seat included
Starter
$50/mo/mo
Or $41.67/mo billed yearly, save $100 a year.
For the builder closing their own jobs.
- 100 credits/mo
- Up to 4K output
- 1 seat included · $20 a month per extra seat
Pro
$149/mo/mo
Or $124.17/mo billed yearly, save $298 a year.
Your name on every video the homeowner shares.
- 350 credits/mo
- Up to 4K output
- Your name on every video
- 3 seats included · $20 a month per extra seat
Pay for a year and get two months free.
Hardscape questions
Does this work if all I have is a paver layout in SketchUp?
Yes. Export the 2D graphic or the model view from SketchUp and upload it, we don't need a photoreal render to start.
Can the video show the permeable base, or just the surface?
The video shows what's visible once it's built, the paver surface, the wall, the finished grade. Base prep and drainage are construction detail a homeowner doesn't need on film.
What if I designed the patio in a paver manufacturer's own software?
Export whatever image or PDF it gives you and upload it. If it shows the layout and the material, we can build the video from it.
Can I show the fire feature actually lit?
If your source render or photos show it lit, the video will too. We work from what's in the file you send, not a generic fire effect.
Can I have a video ready before I leave the site visit?
Usually. A draft takes about four minutes, so it's often done before you've finished walking the rest of the property.
Is one video enough for a whole package, patio, wall, and kitchen together?
Yes, if they're in the same design file. Separate structures in separate files need separate videos.
Stop selling the sample. Start selling the space.
Send the design, add their yard, and get back a video instead of a swatch.