What it costs, by node
Lawn
| Work | Typical CAD |
|---|---|
| Sod, supplied and installed | $1.70–$3.50 per sq ft |
| — a 1,000 sq ft front lawn | $1,700–$3,500 |
| Seed | $0.10–$0.20 per sq ft |
| Hydroseeding | $0.50–$1.20 per sq ft |
| Soil preparation | $0.50–$1.00 per sq ft |
Seed against sod is a ten to twenty-fold difference in cost and a several-week difference in when you can walk on it. Peak sod season, May to early July, carries roughly a 10 to 15 per cent premium on quotes.
Hard surfaces
| Work | Typical CAD |
|---|---|
| Interlock patio, standard | $18–$28 per sq ft |
| Interlock patio, premium or complex | $28–$35+ per sq ft |
| Natural stone patio | $25–$50 per sq ft |
| Paver walkway | $15–$25 per sq ft |
| Poured concrete patio, broom finish | $11–$19 per sq ft |
| — exposed aggregate | add $3–$5 per sq ft |
| — stamped | add $5–$9 per sq ft |
| Breaking up and removing an existing surface | add $1.00–$2.00 per sq ft |
Watch one thing in an interlock quote: steps and retaining walls are separate line items and are not inside the per-square-foot rate. A 300 square foot patio at $22 a foot is $6,600, and the three steps down from the door might be another $3,000.
Retaining walls
| Type | Installed, per sq ft of wall face |
|---|---|
| Treated timber | $40–$60 |
| Poured concrete | $50–$80 |
| Segmental concrete block | $60–$100 |
| Natural stone | $80–$150 |
| Drainage behind the wall | add $5–$10 per sq ft |
| Structural engineer, where required | several hundred to $1,000+ |
Square foot of wall face means length × height. A 30-foot wall at 3 feet high is 90 square feet, not 30. If a quote gives you a per-linear-foot number with no height attached, it is not comparable to anything.
Planting, water and light
| Work | Typical CAD |
|---|---|
| Tree planting | $150–$500 per tree, $300–$1,500 for a mature specimen |
| Shrub planting | $50–$200 each |
| Mulch | $45–$100 per cubic yard |
| Garden bed edging | $8–$15 per linear foot |
| Irrigation system | $2,500–$6,000+, about $550 per zone, 4–8 zones typical |
| Landscape lighting | $150–$500 per fixture; $2,500–$7,500 typical project |
Earth and water management
| Work | Typical CAD |
|---|---|
| Light grading | $2–$5 per sq ft |
| Typical regrading | $5–$12+ per sq ft |
| French drain, shallow yard drain | $25–$40 per foot by one source, $55–$95 by another |
| French drain, mid-depth interception | $85–$135 per foot |
| Topsoil removal including haul | $35–$70 per cubic yard, or $1.50–$3.50 per sq ft at 6 inches |
| Minimum job charge for excavation | $750–$1,200 |
| Labour, general landscaping | $50–$125 per hour |
The French drain figures come from two different kinds of company — a landscape and irrigation firm at the low end, a specialist excavation firm quoting by depth at the high end. Both are real prices for different work. Ask how deep.
Grading: the rule almost nobody knows
The Ontario Building Code says a building shall be located, or the site graded, so that water will not accumulate at or near the building and will not adversely affect adjacent properties.
Note what that sentence does not contain: a slope percentage or a distance. Any “six inches in ten feet” figure you see attributed to the Building Code is not in that article. The numbers come from municipalities.
| Municipality | Published grading standards |
|---|---|
| Toronto | Side yards minimum 1.5%; drainage swales minimum 1.5%; front yard to curb 2–6%; rear yard maximum 10% where grades are altered |
| Markham | Yard slope 2–5%; driveway minimum 2% away from the house, maximum 8%; swales 2–5%; minimum 0.15 m between the highest lot grade next to the house and the top of the foundation wall |
| Brampton | “Positive drainage” — continuous downward slope from the wall to the property line. No percentages published |
That Markham figure is the single most commonly breached number in Ontario landscaping. Every spring, people add topsoil and mulch up against the house and bury the gap between the grade and the top of the foundation. Water then sits against the wall instead of running away from it, which is how a decorative improvement turns into the waterproofing and foundation guides.
Do you need approval to regrade?
| Municipality | Position |
|---|---|
| Mississauga | Yes, explicitly. No person may alter grading or drainage without approval. The plan requires an engineer’s or land surveyor’s certification that it will not detrimentally affect adjacent properties. Penalties to $10,000 for an individual on a first conviction, $25,000 after, and $50,000 to $100,000 for a corporation |
| Ottawa | Flat prohibition. The City’s own landscaping guide: “You are not allowed to change the grading of a property” |
| Markham | Lots under an acre: no permit for standard gardening, but the work must not change the location, direction or elevation of any watercourse. An acre or more: site alteration permit. Interfering with required slopes means restoring the swale or paying the City to, plus a fine to $10,000 |
| Brampton | Residential landscaping generally exempt, but do not alter a swale or build in one. A site alteration permit may be required for grade changes |
| Toronto | The approved-grading regime attaches to new-build permits, not to relandscaping. For an existing yard the City treats grade disputes between neighbours as a private civil matter — but directing water onto a neighbour’s property on purpose is a by-law violation |
That Toronto distinction is worth reading twice. Water that reaches your neighbour because you raised a bed is, in the City’s framing, a matter for the two of you. Water that reaches them because you pointed a downspout extension at the fence is a by-law violation. Our eavestrough guide covers the discharge rules.
Retaining walls and permits
The commonly repeated rule is that a retaining wall over one metre needs a permit. That is nearly right and importantly incomplete.
Under the Building Code a retaining wall is a regulated “designated structure” only when it is more than one metre high and adjacent to public property, or provides access to a building, or is on private property to which the public is admitted. A 1.5 metre wall in the middle of a back yard may sit outside that regime entirely — which is exactly why you check your own municipality rather than trusting the rule of thumb.
| Municipality | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Toronto | Permit for a wall over 1 m on or adjacent to public property. No permit on private property not publicly accessible where height is under 1 m. Fee $12.37 per linear metre, effective 1 January 2026 |
| Mississauga | No permit for a wall less than 1 m high |
| Ottawa | Permit for walls over 1 m adjacent to public property, providing building access, or on publicly accessible private property. A wall in the City right of way needs an encroachment agreement |
| Vaughan | The clearest engineering rule in the GTA: walls of 1 m or more require design and certification by both a structural and a geotechnical engineer, must be set back from the property line by at least the wall height, and no wood is permitted. Guards must be shown able to take the extra force above 600 mm |
There is no single province-wide height at which an engineer becomes mandatory on a private wall. Anyone who tells you otherwise is quoting their own municipality at you.
Before you dig: the locate
Requesting a locate through Ontario One Call is free, and it is the law. The relevant rules:
- Submit the request at least five business days before you dig
- Infrastructure owners have five business days for a single address, ten for an advanced request
- Locates are valid a minimum of 60 days
- You may not request one more than 30 days before the intended dig date
Digging without a locate carries an administrative penalty of $10,000, and anyone who hits underground infrastructure can be held liable for the damage, with charges possible from Ontario One Call, the Ministry of Labour and the TSSA.
The reason it matters: in 2021, of 4,402 reported damages to underground infrastructure in Ontario, 35 per cent happened because no locate was requested. A fence post, a tree, a patio excavation and a French drain all qualify as digging.
Who you are hiring
There is no province-wide landscaper licence in Ontario. The trade is Horticultural Technician, and it is non-compulsory — certification is not required to work, and because the trade is voluntary, holders do not appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register.
One exception, and it is new. Ottawa now licenses hardscape contractors, approved in October 2025 and effective 1 March 2026. It applies to any business installing or reconstructing driveways, parking areas, retaining walls, steps, patios, walkways or pathways on private property using hard landscaping materials. If you are in Ottawa, ask for the licence.
Everywhere else, what you can actually check:
- Landscape Ontario membership — a trade association with a code of ethics and a public “find a professional” directory. It is a membership lookup, not a regulator’s register, and it is worth exactly what an association membership is worth.
- Certified Landscape Horticulturist Technician (CLHT) — a voluntary industry certification with written and practical exams and continuing education.
- A WSIB clearance certificate, or a straight answer about the exemption. Note the trap: a landscaper who works only for homeowners, hired and paid directly by them, may legitimately have no WSIB coverage and no clearance. That is lawful, but it means your liability exposure is higher and the insurance certificate becomes the more important document.
- A liability insurance certificate with live dates, sent by the broker rather than photographed from the truck.
Our guide on contractor licensing in Ontario explains the broader picture of what is and is not licensed.
Season: a narrow window, and one myth about it
| Work | Window |
|---|---|
| Sod, spring | Mid-April to early June, best late April to late May. Soil temperature needs 8–10 °C, and soil lags air temperature by two to four weeks |
| Sod, fall | Late August to 1 October in the GTA, 15 September further north |
| Interlock and hardscape | April once the frost is out, through to early or mid-December |
| Hard stop | Subgrade freeze, not cold weather. Excavation and compaction work fine in the cold; frozen ground does not |
Why frozen ground ends the season, in one sentence from an Ontario installer: compaction drives air out of soil at optimum moisture content, and freeze that moisture and the soil turns rigid — so a base built on frozen ground settles when it thaws in March.
And the myth worth killing: autumn is not cheaper. Sod carries a 10 to 15 per cent peak premium in May and June, so booking sod in September genuinely saves. But for hardscape, as one contractor puts it, labour costs the same in October as in June. What you get in autumn is availability and attention, not a discount — lead times in the August to October peak run six to ten weeks.
What actually fails, and why
Almost every landscaping failure in Ontario traces back to the base or the water. From the paver manufacturers themselves:
| Requirement | What it should be | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Base depth | 4–6 inches for walkways, 8–12 for driveways, deeper in clay | Thin base, which most of the GTA’s clay will not forgive |
| Compaction | In layers of 3–4 inches — a plate compactor will not compact more than about 4 inches | One pass over a thick base, leaving the lower layers to settle later |
| Separation fabric | Geotextile, so clay does not migrate into the granular base | Plastic sheeting, which traps water instead of draining it |
| Surface slope | 1–2%, which is a half-inch fall over four feet | Level, or worse, sloped back toward the house |
The consequences are the ones everyone recognises: settling and displacement, water sitting in the base, frost heave, and weeds coming up through joints within two seasons.
Red flags
| What you see | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| One lump sum for the whole yard | You cannot compare it to anything or see what was cut | Ask for sod, hardscape, walls, planting and drainage as separate lines |
| No mention of a locate | It is free and legally required, and the penalty is $10,000 | Ask for the locate ticket number before excavation |
| Base depth not stated | It is the difference between a patio that lasts and one that moves | Get the base depth and the compaction method in writing |
| Retaining wall quoted per linear foot | Without height it is not comparable, and walls are priced by face area | Ask for length, height and square footage of face |
| New beds built up against the foundation | Municipalities require clearance between grade and the top of the foundation wall | Keep the gap. This is the most common self-inflicted water problem |
| Regrading proposed with no mention of approval | Mississauga, Ottawa and Markham all regulate it, with fines | Confirm what your municipality requires before soil moves |
| Work scheduled onto frozen ground | A base built on frozen subgrade settles at thaw | Push to spring rather than accept a December install |
Frequently asked questions
Not province-wide. Horticultural Technician is a non-compulsory trade, so certification is voluntary and holders do not appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register. Ottawa is the exception — it began licensing hardscape contractors on 1 March 2026 for driveways, retaining walls, steps, patios and walkways. Elsewhere, check Landscape Ontario membership, CLHT certification, a WSIB clearance and a current liability insurance certificate.
Sod goes down mid-April to early June or late August to the first of October in the GTA, and needs soil at 8 to 10 degrees. Hardscape runs from April, once frost is out of the ground, to early or mid-December, with the hard stop being a frozen subgrade rather than cold air. Sod is 10 to 15 per cent dearer at the May and June peak, but hardscape labour costs the same in October as in June — autumn buys you availability, not a discount.
Yes. Requesting a locate through Ontario One Call is free and legally required. Submit at least five business days ahead, and no more than 30 days before you intend to dig; locates are valid for a minimum of 60 days. Digging without one carries a $10,000 administrative penalty, and you can be held liable for damage to buried infrastructure.
In several municipalities, yes. Mississauga requires approval to alter grading or drainage, with fines up to $10,000 for an individual. Ottawa states you are not allowed to change a property’s grading. Markham requires a site alteration permit on lots of an acre or more and prohibits altering watercourses on smaller ones. Toronto treats most grade disputes between neighbours as a civil matter, but deliberately directing water onto a neighbour’s property is a by-law violation.
Generally only for walls over one metre that are adjacent to public property, provide access to a building, or sit on private property the public can access. Toronto and Mississauga both use the one-metre line with that public-adjacency condition, and Toronto charges $12.37 per linear metre. Vaughan requires both a structural and a geotechnical engineer at one metre and prohibits wood. Check your own municipality, as there is no single provincial rule for a private wall.
It depends entirely on which nodes you buy. Sod runs $1.70 to $3.50 a square foot installed, an interlock patio $18 to $35, a poured concrete patio $11 to $19, retaining walls $40 to $150 per square foot of wall face, irrigation $2,500 to $6,000 and landscape lighting $2,500 to $7,500 for a typical project. General landscaping labour runs $50 to $125 an hour.
Sources
- Ontario Building Code, Sentence 9.14.6.1 (surface drainage), via a published Building Code reference; the legally effective edition is O. Reg. 163/24, in force 1 January 2025, checked 19 September 2026
- City of Toronto — lot grading requirements for infill housing; when do I need a building permit; designated structures permit guide and 2026 fees; 311 guidance on drainage between private properties, toronto.ca, checked 19 September 2026
- City of Mississauga — Lot Grading and Municipal Services Protection By-law 0172-2020 and penalties; when a building permit is required, mississauga.ca, checked 19 September 2026
- City of Markham — Engineering Design Criteria Section F, lot grading; site alteration requirements, markham.ca, checked 19 September 2026
- City of Brampton — residential surface drainage and lot grading guidelines; City of Ottawa — Landscaping Education Guide, March 2026, and hardscape contractor licensing effective 1 March 2026, checked 19 September 2026
- City of Vaughan — Section 2.4 Lot Grading, retaining walls, vaughan.ca, checked 19 September 2026
- Ontario One Call — homeowner requirements, and compliance offences and administrative penalties under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, ontarioonecall.ca, checked 19 September 2026
- Skilled Trades Ontario — Horticultural Technician (441C), a non-compulsory trade; Landscape Ontario — selecting a landscape contractor and CLHT certification; WSIB — expanded compulsory coverage in construction, checked 19 September 2026
- Unilock — paver base preparation and compaction guidance, checked 19 September 2026
- Pricing ranges: Sodding Canada, HomeStars, SpaceShift, Techo-Bloc, UrbanTasker, MCL Concrete, Maverick Landscaping, The Sprinkler Company, OCM Excavation and Seven Stones Landscape, all checked 19 September 2026
Municipal grading and permit rules differ across Ontario and change without notice. Confirm with your own municipality before altering grade or building a wall. Carpenter Bee does not design or perform landscaping work.
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