Interlock patios, driveways, walkways, retaining walls and armour stone in Oakville and Burlington, designed and built by MJ Landscapers.
We walk the property, check access and drainage, and give you a clear quote.
What we build
Driveways, patios, walkways, steps and walls. Most properties need two or three of them, and the money is saved by building them as one project rather than three separate visits.
Most projects combine two or three. Each has its own page with the detail on materials, base depth and what tends to go wrong.
Full replacements, widening and aprons, excavated and based for vehicle loads rather than patio loads. Flexes with frost instead of cracking.
Driveways →Interlock, large-format slab and flagstone, sized around your actual furniture and pitched to drain away from the house.
Patios →Front paths and garden routes, built wide enough for two people and edged so the line stays crisp.
Walkways →Block, natural stone and armour stone, with clear stone and weeping tile behind every run that holds grade.
Walls →Machine-placed limestone for walls, steps, terracing and bed edging on larger or more natural properties.
Armour stone →Before you start
None of these are about which paver you like. They are the things that decide what a hardscape project costs and whether it lasts.
Whether an excavator can reach the work is the single largest cost variable on any hardscape job. Material barrowed through a narrow side yard instead of driven in can change the labour substantially, so we check access on the first visit rather than discovering it on day one.
Drainage and walls before patios, hardscape before planting and sod. Get the sequence wrong and you pay to disturb finished work. This is the main reason a whole-property plan beats booking three separate contractors.
Every hard surface you add stops water soaking in and sends it somewhere else. On a property that already has a water problem, adding hard surfaces without addressing grade makes it worse. We work out where water goes before we choose surfaces.
The depth of excavation and how the granular is compacted decides whether the surface is level in ten years. It is also invisible once finished, which makes it the easiest thing for a cheap quote to reduce. Ask for it to be spelled out on every quote you receive; ours are sent by email.
Doing everything in one mobilisation is cheaper per square foot. Splitting it across seasons spreads the cost and lets you live with one part before committing to the next. Both are reasonable.
A yard that is mostly hard surface reads as a parking lot and holds heat. Beds and planting along the edges are what make hardscape look designed, and they cost far less per square foot than stone.
How we work
Same sequence whether it is a single walkway or a whole frontage. The difference is how many elements are in play.
We walk the property, measure, look at grade and where water currently goes, and check what an excavator can reach. If there is an existing problem - a wall starting to lean, water running at the foundation - we would rather find it now than build over it.
Free, on site, roughly an hour
Before anything is dug we mark the footprint out on the ground and walk it with you, with your furniture on it where relevant. Plans on paper mislead people about size constantly, and this step prevents the most common regret in the trade.
Where size decisions actually get made
A quote you can compare properly against another one, so you can see what changes if you drop or defer something.
No surprises
Drainage and walls first, then surfaces, then restoration and planting. One crew through the whole job, so nobody is waiting on another trade and there is one person answering for the result.
Lawn repaired where machines ran, joints sanded and compacted, site cleaned. We walk it with you at the end and tell you the one or two maintenance jobs that actually matter.
The part cheap quotes leave out
Doing it in stages
Larger projects rarely happen in one go, and that is fine as long as the sequence is planned from the start rather than improvised.
Always the first phase if there is any water issue. It is the cheapest moment to do it and the most expensive thing to retrofit under finished stone.
Anything holding grade goes in before the surfaces that sit against it, because building a wall next to a finished patio means disturbing the patio.
Driveway and patio before walkways, since the big excavations and material deliveries are what tear up a site. Smaller surfaces tie into finished elevations.
Softscape goes in after the machines have finished. This is also the phase most worth doing properly rather than cheaply, because it is what makes the hardscape look intentional.
Questions
With drainage and grade, then structure, then surfaces, then planting. If water currently runs toward the house or sits on the lawn, that gets solved first because everything built afterward sits on top of it. Beyond that, start with whatever you look at or use most - usually the frontage or the main patio - since that is where you feel the improvement daily.
Yes, and it is common on larger projects. The important part is planning the whole thing at the start so each phase is built to elevations that work with the next one.
Per square foot, yes. One mobilisation, one excavation, one set of material deliveries and one crew visit costs less than three of each. The trade-off is a larger single bill and a busier site for a longer stretch. For most people the deciding factor is budget timing rather than total cost.
Yes, and on anything involving more than one element we would rather design it. Hardscape decisions constrain each other - where a wall sits changes where a patio can go, and both change where water ends up.
A single walkway is one to three days. A driveway is three to five. A patio with a seating wall is roughly a week. A whole frontage or a multi-element backyard is two to four weeks depending on access and weather. We give you a schedule with the quote and tell you which days the driveway or the main entrance will be out of use.
Anything from spring thaw through late autumn works for hardscape, and the shoulder seasons are often easier to book. Winter is generally not workable for excavation in this climate. If you are planning for next season, booking over the winter usually gets you a better slot in the schedule.
On site, after measuring. We will also tell you where we think you should spend less.
Give us a call today and one of our experienced landscapers will visit your property to assess it, discuss your needs and goals, and provide you with a free, no-obligation estimate.
A well-designed retaining wall can do more than just hold back soil—it can enhance the beauty, functionality, and value of your outdoor space. At MJ Landscapers, we specialize in designing and installing retaining walls in Oakville and Burlington, providing homeowners with durable and aesthetically pleasing solutions.
Retaining walls serve multiple purposes, including:
The first step will involve a consultation and site assessment, where we will discuss your vision and assess your property to understand its unique characteristics. We’ll be able to provide personalized recommendations that align with your goals and your property’s requirements. Next, we’ll create a detailed design and select the most appropriate size of armour stone to achieve the desired aesthetic and functionality. We consider factors such as drainage, soil type, and existing landscape elements to maintain the integrity of your landscape. The next step involves proper preparation, which is crucial for the longevity of the installation. We’ll excavate the area, establish a stable foundation using high-quality base materials, and ensure proper grading to facilitate drainage.
Using specialized equipment, our skilled installers precisely position each Armour Stone, ensuring stability and alignment. Careful placement during this phase gives a cohesive and structurally sound result. After the stones are in place, we backfill and compact the surrounding areas, install necessary drainage solutions, and clean the site, leaving you with a pristine and enhanced outdoor space.
If the whole property is changing, start with a plan for all of it rather than one element.
Learn more →Every surface you add moves water somewhere. Worth solving before you build.
Learn more →Planting along the edges is what stops new hardscape reading as a slab.
Learn more →Get started
We will walk it with you, work out the right order, and quote it so you can build it all now or over a few seasons. No charge.
