Why a Good Patio Quote Starts With Measuring the Grade

A good patio quote starts with measuring the grade because the slope of your yard decides almost everything about the job: which way the patio drains, how much digging there is, whether a step or a small wall is needed at the edge, and whether water will end up against your foundation. A quote written without those numbers is a guess with a dollar sign on it.

This is how we price interlock patios in Hamilton, and why, on a sloped lot, we would rather see the yard than quote it from a photo. Many quotes we can give over the phone, by text or by email. A patio against the house on a lot that falls two feet from the back door to the fence is not one of them.

What the grade decides

Where the water goes

A patio needs a gentle fall away from the house so rain runs off it and away from the foundation. If the yard already slopes toward the house, as many do on the escarpment side of Ancaster where the lots step down from the brow, the patio cannot simply follow the ground. The base has to be built up at the house or cut down at the far edge, and sometimes a drain has to be added where the water will collect. Our yard drainage page covers those fixes.

How much digging there is

Excavation is the first big line on any interlock quote. On a flat yard it is a known depth across the whole area. On a slope, one side of the patio might need very little digging and the other side a lot, or one side might need fill brought in and compacted instead. Only a measurement tells you which, and the difference is a day of work.

Whether you need a step or a wall

If the ground falls more than a few inches across the patio, a level patio will end up above the lawn on the low side. That edge needs a step down, a small retaining wall, or a planted slope. All three cost money and change the look, and none of them should turn up as a surprise after the quote. On a bigger drop, the wall becomes the main part of the job; see retaining walls in Hamilton.

The door and the step heights

The finished patio should meet the back door with a safe, even step, not a lip, and not a drop. Working back from the door sill sets the height of the whole patio, and that height is what tells us how the far edge will meet the lawn.

What we measure

On the visit we take the dimensions, then shoot the levels: the door sill, the four corners of the patio area, the low spot in the yard, the fence line and the top of the foundation. We look at where the downspouts empty and where the water sits after rain, and we check the side yard access for the machine and the gravel. It takes about half an hour. The quote that follows lists the excavation, the compacted bedding base graded for drainage, the pavers you choose billed at cost, the edge restraint, the polymeric sand, and any step, wall or drain the grade calls for, each as its own line.

What goes wrong when nobody measures

• The patio drains toward the house. The basement is damp within a year.
• The low edge ends up a foot above the lawn with no step, and someone turns an ankle.
• The base is thin on the high side and thick on the low side, so the patio settles unevenly and the pavers tip.
• The price goes up on the first day, when the digging turns out to be twice what the quote allowed for.

Every one of these is a repair we have been called to fix on patios that were a few years old.

Comparing quotes fairly

If one quote measured the grade and another did not, they are not pricing the same patio. Ask each contractor how the patio will drain, what happens at the low edge, and how deep the base will be on each side. If the answer is a shrug, the quote is a starting number. Our guide to comparing landscaping quotes in Hamilton lists the other questions worth asking.

Frequently asked questions

Do you check the slope before you give me a price?

For a patio against the house, or any patio on a sloped yard, yes, in person. For a small walkway or a flat backyard pad we can often quote from your measurements and photos by phone, text or email.

Can a patio be built on a sloped yard at all?

Yes. The patio is built level and the slope is taken up at the edge with a step, a wall or a planted bank. Many of the best backyard patios in Ancaster and Dundas sit on ground that was far from flat.

Will the price change once you start digging?

Not because of the grade, since that was measured. If something unexpected is under the ground, such as an old patio base or a buried stump, we stop and talk to you before we go on.

Book a quote for your patio

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