Backyard Landscaping in Hamilton
A whole backyard built in the right order by one crew: the grade and the drainage first, then the patio and walls, then the deck and fence, with gardens and new sod last. Lumen Landscaping builds backyards across Hamilton: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
- Fully insured
- 1-year craftsmanship warranty
- Hamilton owned and operated
Quick to quote, quick to start, we answer every call.
Serving Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville and the wider region, from Guelph to Niagara.
Get your fast, free quote
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Backyard landscaping
Whole backyards, built in the right order
Lumen Landscaping plans and builds whole backyards across Hamilton, Burlington and the towns around them: the grading and drainage, the interlock patio and retaining walls, the deck, fence or pergola, and the garden beds and new sod that finish it. One crew does it in the order that keeps each step from undoing the last. For a free written quote call (905) 906-0671 or send the form on this page. A lot of the time we can quote by phone, text or email from a few photos and measurements; when the yard needs a look at the slope or the access, we come out.
Order matters more in a backyard than anywhere else. Sod laid before the patio gets driven over by the machine. A deck built before the grade is fixed sits over a puddle. A bed planted before the wall goes in gets dug up again. When one crew builds the whole yard, the machine comes in once, the ground is shaped once, and the last thing in is the lawn you walk on.
You do not have to do it all at once, either. Plenty of yards are built over two or three seasons: the ground work and the patio this year, the deck next spring. We plan the stages so each one finishes cleanly and nothing has to be torn out later.
Our Work
Backyards from our crew
The order we build a backyard in
Every backyard we build follows the same order. Your written quote lists each stage on its own line, so you can see exactly what is included and build it all at once or a stage at a time.
- 1. The grade and the drainage: The ground is shaped so water runs away from the house and toward somewhere it can leave, swales are kept open, and any French drain or downspout line goes in while the yard is open. Read about yard drainage. Everything after this sits on it.
- 2. Patios, walls and steps: Interlock, slabs or stamped concrete, retaining walls and garden walls, steps and walkways, each on a compacted gravel base, built while the machine can still reach every corner.
- 3. Decks, fences and pergolas: The carpentry goes in once the hard surfaces and the finished grade are set, so every post lands where the patio and the slope say it should. See fences and gates and the pergola page.
- 4. Gardens and trees: Beds dug, planted and edged, with mulch or river rock, and shrubs, cedars and trees placed where they have room to grow.
- 5. New sod, last: Old turf out, topsoil in where the ground is thin, and premium Kentucky bluegrass sod laid tight and rolled as the last step, so no machine or wheelbarrow ever crosses it.
- 6. The walk-through: We walk the finished yard with you, show you where the water goes, and leave written aftercare for the new lawn and plants.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“I highly recommend Lumen Landscaping for anyone looking to get interlocking and custom landscape work done. Super professional!”
“Thank you for creating such a beautiful stone wall. Your craftsmanship and attention to detail made our space look amazing - we couldn't be happier!”
“We recently hired Lumen Landscaping to build a stone patio in our backyard, a concrete pad for our shed. … The owner is professional and highly knowledgeable, providing great advice and solutions for a reasonable price.”
Planning
What to decide first
You do not need a plan on paper to call us, but a few answers make the first conversation faster and the quote closer to what you want. Designs are available on request for bigger projects, so you can see the layout before anything is built.
- How you will use it: Dinner for six, a lounge corner, a hot tub, a lawn for the kids or a garden. The patio is sized to the table you own, not the other way round.
- Sun, shade and the view: Where the afternoon sun lands, which window looks out on the yard, and what you would rather not see from the patio.
- Where the water goes now: Look after a heavy rain. Wet corners, a soggy side yard or water against the house tell us what has to be fixed first.
- What stays: A good tree, a sound fence, the shed. We build around what is worth keeping instead of starting from bare dirt.
- This year and later: What you want done now and what can wait, so the first stage is built to take the next one.
- The way in: How wide the gate and the side yard are. It decides how the machine and the materials reach the back.
Why Hamilton homeowners choose Lumen for a whole backyard
Fully insured, 1-year craftsmanship warranty, Hamilton owned and operated. Quick to quote, quick to start, we answer every call. One crew does the grading, the hardscape, the carpentry and the planting, so nobody has to line up four trades around one yard.
- The right order: Ground first, sod last, every time, so no finished work is driven over or dug up again.
- Materials at cost, no markup: Pavers, block, lumber, soil, plants and sod are billed at what they cost us, and the contractor discount is passed straight to you.
- A written quote, stage by stage: Each part of the yard is its own line, so you can build it all at once or over a few seasons.
- Over 40 five-star Google reviews: Homeowners around Hamilton rate our work five stars, and you can read every review on Google.
Good to know
Small backyards, new-build lots and how a project runs
Small backyards. A small yard needs fewer things done well: one patio sized for the furniture you own, a narrow bed along the fence, a strip of lawn or none at all. Large slabs make a small space read bigger, a slab path set in gravel turns a muddy side yard into a walkway, and a privacy screen on the deck often does more than a taller fence.
New-build lots. A new house usually comes with builder’s sod on compacted clay, a swale along the back or side lot line that is part of the approved grading, and no patio at the back door. We start with the grade and keep the swales working, then build the patio and any deck, then bring in topsoil and lay new sod. Most of the new-build backyards we do in Waterdown, Binbrook, Mount Hope and upper Stoney Creek follow exactly that order. If the builder’s lawn is already going brown, read new build lawn failing.
Sloped yards. On the escarpment and on lots that drop toward a ravine, a slope you cannot use becomes two or three flat levels held by retaining walls, joined by steps. See the sloped backyard page for how that works.
How a project runs. You call or send the form, and we reply fast, usually within the hour. Many backyards can be quoted by phone, text or email; a sloped yard or a tight side yard gets a visit. The quote is written, with each stage on its own line. If it is right, you sign a written agreement. Payment is a first payment when the agreement is signed, then payments as stages finish, the last on completion. Read how we work for the whole process.
What affects the price of a backyard project
- The size of the yard and how much old patio, sod and soil has to come out
- How much grading or drainage the ground needs before anything is built
- The patio material, walls, steps and how many levels there are
- The deck, fence or pergola, and the materials you choose for them
- Plants, topsoil and the square footage of new sod
- Access for the machine through the gate or the side yard
The written quote is free and holds for the work it describes.
Service Areas
Backyard landscaping in Hamilton, Burlington and nearby
We build backyards in Hamilton, including Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, Mount Hope, Binbrook and Glanbrook and Flamborough, and across Burlington, Grimsby, Oakville, Mississauga, Cambridge and Guelph, plus Milton, Brantford, Caledonia, St. Catharines, Smithville, Vineland and the Niagara Region. Related: front yard landscaping, hardscaping, stamped concrete and tree and shrub trimming. See all our service areas.
Related
Start from what you are seeing
Backyard problems we fix: water pooling in the yard, no privacy in the backyard, clay soil where nothing grows and a muddy side yard.
FAQs
Backyard landscaping questions
With the ground. We look at where the water goes, how the yard slopes and what is worth keeping, then plan the stages in order: grading and drainage, patios and walls, decks and fences, gardens, and new sod last. Tell us how you want to use the yard and send a few photos, and we will tell you what comes first.
Yes. We build interlock and slab patios, retaining walls, steps, decks, fences, pergolas and sheds, and we plant gardens and lay new sod. One crew means one schedule, one written quote and one point of contact, and no finished work gets damaged by the next trade coming through the gate.
No. Many yards are built over two or three seasons, and we plan for that. The first stage is usually the grade and the hard surfaces, because they need the machine. The deck, the planting or the lawn can follow later, and we leave the yard tidy and usable between stages.
Usually the ground work and the patio first, then the deck. The machine needs room to dig and compact the base, and the deck is built to the finished grade so nothing sits low. Where a deck steps down onto a patio, we plan the two together so the levels meet cleanly.
A patio with a wall and new sod is usually one to two weeks on site, weather allowing; a deck or a fence adds a few days. Your written quote comes with a timeline, and we try to give a heads-up on any delays and let you know when we are coming, with as much notice as possible.
Quite a lot. A small yard looks best with fewer, larger pieces: one well-sized patio, large slabs instead of small pavers, a narrow planted bed along the fence and a deck with a privacy screen. We keep a path wide enough for a wheelbarrow and a snow shovel, and we skip anything that crowds the space.
With the grade and the soil. Builder's sod usually sits on compacted clay with a thin skim of topsoil, so it browns off. We keep the lot's swales working, build the patio and any deck, then loosen the ground, add real topsoil and lay new sod last.
Yes. A slope can be turned into two or three flat levels held by retaining walls, with steps between them, and drainage behind every wall so water does not push it over. The patio goes on the flattest level near the house. It is often the most useful change a sloped yard can get.
It should, because we fix it first. Before any patio or sod goes in, we regrade so water runs away from the house and add a swale or a French drain where the ground cannot shed water on its own. Building a new yard on top of a wet one only buries the problem.
When the job needs it. A lot of the time we can quote by phone, by text or by email from a few photos and rough measurements, which is faster for you. A sloped yard, a tight side yard or a drainage problem usually gets a visit so we can check the grade and the access. Either way the quote is written and free.
The size of the yard and what has to come out, how much grading or drainage the ground needs, the patio material and any walls or steps, the deck, fence or pergola and their materials, plants and the square footage of sod, and access through the gate. Each is a line on your written quote, and materials are billed at cost with no markup.
A first payment when the agreement is signed, then payments as stages finish, the last on completion. The written agreement lists every payment before anything starts, so you always know what is due and when. We take cash, e-transfer and cheque.
Patios, gardens, sod and grading are landscaping, which does not need a building permit in Hamilton, though a site alteration permit can apply if the grade changes a lot. Decks are the usual exception: any deck attached to the house needs a permit, and so does a larger detached deck raised off the ground. A shed or gazebo over 15 square metres needs one, and a tall retaining wall can. We tell you before we quote.
How it works
Getting started is easy
- 1
Call or send the form
Tell us what you have in mind. We reply fast, usually within the hour.
- 2
Get your free quote
We look at your project and send you a clear, written quote quickly.
- 3
We build it
We start quickly and back our craftsmanship with a 1-year warranty.
Get Free Quote
Get a free backyard quote
Tell us what you want the yard to do, roughly how big it is and what is there now, and send a few photos if you have them. We get back to you fast, usually within the hour, with a free written quote.