Do I need a design before I call?

No. Call us with what isn’t working and your ideas. If you already have plans from an independent landscape designer, we can build from those too.

What comes after the first meeting?

It depends on your project, and we agree it at the meeting. Often it’s a written scope and fixed price. Sometimes it’s a sketch. For larger or more complex yards, we sometimes start with a design phase, which can be a paid step.

It depends on the size of the yard, the materials, any pool or structures, and what the ground needs. We give you a rough budget range at the free discovery meeting.

How far ahead should I plan?

Earlier than you’d think. Good builders book up, and some approvals take months, so planning early gets you the start you want.

Finished timber pavilion with stone veneer and cedar ceiling — The pavilion at Escape Plan, Flamborough.

Back yard with a natural flagstone pool deck, an outdoor kitchen pavilion and a pergola, with the house behind — Solid Ground: the pool, the outdoor kitchen and the pergola, designed and built by one team. Photography: Jeff McNeill, McNeill Photography.

Design-build

We design your yard and we build it, with one team from the first meeting to handover. It suits homeowners who want one company responsible for the whole job, from the plan to the finished yard.

Book a free discovery meeting

What’s included

Design: We study the site first: where the sun falls, where the water runs and what the ground can hold. Larger projects often start with a 3D design.
Your designer’s plans: We also build from plans by independent landscape designers.
Patios, walls and stonework: Patios, walkways, steps and retaining walls.
Pools and structures: Pools, hot tubs and water features, pavilions, pergolas, cabanas, decks, and outdoor kitchens and bars.
Planting and lighting: Planting design and installation, large and specimen trees, irrigation through contractors we work with, and landscape lighting designed as part of the plan.
Permits and engineering: We handle the permits, and we bring in the engineers when the site calls for them.

Demolition and site infrastructure

Removals and disposal: Our own trucking or bins. Removals and disposal are separate, itemized lines on your quote.
Utility locates: Before every dig: Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call), plus private locates where needed.
Gas and electrical: Fire pits and fire tables, BBQs and outdoor kitchens, patio heaters, pool heaters and line-voltage power, through licensed gas fitters and electricians we manage.
Drainage and grading: Surface drainage and grading, catch basins on downspouts, weeping tile, French drains and sump wells.

How we approach it

The people who draw the plan answer for how it’s built, so what you agree to at the start is what you get at the end.

It starts with a free discovery meeting at your place. See how it works, step by step

Plan drawing of a pool, a fire pit circle and curved beds — Our master plan, and the finished yard. See Solid Ground.

Sunken flagstone fire pit, with a putting green and pool beyond — Our master plan, and the finished yard. See Solid Ground.

Related work

Small city patio at dusk with concrete squares, pergola and fire feature

Toronto, 2014–2015

Nothing to Dig

No lawn on purpose: concrete squares with artificial turf strips, a timber pergola and built-in benches on a tight Toronto lot.

View from inside the pavilion back up the timber arbour walk to the house

Flamborough, 2015–2018

Escape Plan

The cottage, brought home: a 25-by-50-foot concrete pool, a timber pavilion and a pool cabana, 200 feet from the house on an open field in rural Flamborough.

Curved brown deck reaching out over a terraced, planted slope

Waterdown, 2014–2015

Into the Trees

One step out from the sliding doors: a curved PVC deck pushed out over a steep Waterdown slope, with armour stone terraces and paths to a lower patio.

See all our work

Common questions

Do I need a design before I call?: No. Call us with what isn’t working and your ideas. If you already have plans from an independent landscape designer, we can build from those too.
What comes after the first meeting?: It depends on your project, and we agree it at the meeting. Often it’s a written scope and fixed price. Sometimes it’s a sketch. For larger or more complex yards, we sometimes start with a design phase, which can be a paid step.
What will it cost?: It depends on the size of the yard, the materials, any pool or structures, and what the ground needs. We give you a rough budget range at the free discovery meeting.
Do you stand behind the work?: We guarantee our work.
How far ahead should I plan?: Earlier than you’d think. Good builders book up, and some approvals take months, so planning early gets you the start you want.