What to Expect During a Backyard Project, Day by Day

A typical backyard project runs like this: a quote, an agreement, a week or so for locates, then a day of removal and digging, a day or two of base, the build itself, a finishing day for sand, edges and cleanup, and a walkthrough with a written aftercare guide. A patio with a wall and new sod is usually one to two weeks on site, weather allowing.

Here is the whole thing day by day, using a backyard in Stoney Creek as the example, because the subdivisions there are where we do a lot of our landscaping in Stoney Creek: a sloped lot, builder sod that has given up, and a family that wants a patio, a bit of wall and a lawn the kids can use.

Before the first day

The quote

You call or send the form with a few photos and the rough size. We usually reply within the hour, and for a flat yard we can often quote by phone, text or email. For a sloped yard like this one, we come out, measure, shoot the levels and look at where the water goes, then send a written quote with each item of work on its own line: the removal, the patio with its base, the wall with its drainage, the sod with its grading, and anything excluded, written down.

The agreement

If the quote is right, you sign the agreement electronically. It carries the same scope as the quote, the price and the HST, the payment stages, a start window, the warranty and the cancellation terms; our post on what a landscaping contract should spell out walks through it. The first payment is made at signing, and your place in the schedule is held in the order agreements come in.

Locates and materials

We call Ontario One Call for the buried gas, hydro and telecom lines. It is free and takes about five business days, and nothing is dug before the flags are in. You pick the paver and the wall block from samples, we order them from the supplier at cost, and the delivery is timed for the day it is needed.

Day 1: removal and the dig

The crew arrives in the morning, walks the job with you, and protects the route in from the gate. Then the old patio, the dead sod and whatever else is going comes out and is loaded for the disposal site. The patio and wall areas are excavated to the depth the base needs, the subgrade is shaped to the fall we measured, and any soft spots are dug out. If anything unexpected is under the ground, an old slab, a stump, a buried drain, we stop and show you before deciding what to do about it.

Days 2 and 3: the base and the wall

Granular base goes in and is compacted in layers, deeper where the wall sits and graded everywhere so water runs away from the house. The wall’s trench gets its clear gravel base, the first course is set level and true, and the courses go up with filter fabric, clear stone and a perforated pipe behind them. The caps go on with adhesive. If a drain or a downspout run is part of the job, the pipe goes in now, while the ground is open. These are the days that decide whether the job lasts; they are also the days with the least to see.

Days 4 to 6: the build

The bedding layer is screeded, and the pavers go down in the pattern you chose, with the border cut in and the edge restraint fixed along the lawn side. A patio of a few hundred square feet takes a couple of days with the cuts. Steps, if there are any, are built into the wall on the same base. The yard starts to look like the drawing.

Day 7: finishing

Polymeric sand is swept into every joint, compacted with the plate tamper, then a second application fills and strengthens the joints. The patio is cleaned. The edges where the machine ran are regraded, and the bed lines are cut. Every scrap of packaging and spoil leaves with the crew.

Day 8: the lawn

The remaining old sod is stripped, the grade is finished so water runs away from the house and off the patio, new topsoil goes in where the builder’s clay is too close to the surface, a starter fertilizer is applied, and the premium Kentucky bluegrass sod is laid tight and rolled. The sod is always the last thing in, so nothing drives over it. Our sod installation page lists what that includes.

The walkthrough

We walk the finished job with you, show you the fall of the patio and where the water goes, and go over the aftercare: keep off the sod until it roots, water it as the written twelve month lawn care plan says, keep cars off the paver edge for a few days while the sand sets, and seal the patio after a few weeks of weather if you want it sealed. The last payment is made on completion, and anything that is not right is fixed then.

After we leave

The 1-year craftsmanship warranty starts. If something we built moves or fails within a year because of how we built it, call and we come back. We are fully insured for the whole job, and we are Hamilton owned and operated.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need to be home?

Only for the first morning walkthrough and the last one, and even those can be done by phone if you prefer. We need the gate open and the hose available.

How does payment work?

A first payment when the agreement is signed, then payments as stages are finished, with the last on completion. The agreement sets out the amounts before anything starts.

How will we know if the schedule changes because of weather?

We call or text as soon as we know, with as much notice as possible, and give you the new day.

Start your backyard

Call (905) 906-0671 or send the form on our contact page with a photo from the back door. We are quick to quote, quick to start, and we answer every call.