Installation & Construction Services
Atkinson offers a variety of installation and construction services. These services can be divided into two categories. Hardscaping services and Softscaping services. Hardscaping covers most of our construction services such as patios and retaining walls. Softscaping covers our installation services such as mulch or river rock projects, but other services such as sod, planting, and property cleanups fall under the softscape umbrella as well.
Hardscaping
Patio sPace
There are many factors that determine the price of a paving stone patio making it difficult to create a set square foot price. Most patios we install are under 500 square feet. Typically, these range between $25 and $40 per square foot. Some of the factors that determine the cost are as follows:
Uneven Yard (Slope Changes) – If the yard is sloped or uneven, additional time and materials may be needed to install the patio.
Curved Edges vs. Straight Edges – The shape of the patio will influence the number of cuts needed. More cuts will lead to increased costs.
Access – Patios require a 4-6-inch base of crushed gravel plus the paving stones required for the patio. Poor access will increase the labour time moving the materials in for the project.
Type of the Existing Material/Excavation – If the existing material is a heavy hard packed clay, additional labour time or machine time will be needed to remove it.
Curved Patio Project
This patio was constructed in a backyard with very poor access and mainly curved edges. It is built using Abbotsford Standard Pavers in a Shadow blend color with a charcoal border. The total area was approximately 150 square feet.
PRICE: $5547
Square Patio Project
The patio below is in a backyard with average access. It was a simple design with minimal cuts. We used Abbotsford Standard pavers in a shadow blend color. The overall area was 215 square feet.
PRICE: $4586
These two patio project examples make clear the difference some factors can have on price. Mainly it comes down to a simple factor of more labour/time is needed. Our estimator will work with you to create a project designed for you.
Allan Block Walls
There are many factors that determine the price of a retaining wall. Walls installed by us are usually under 4 feet in height. Typically, these walls cost around $30 – $90 per square foot of wall. For example, if the wall is 2 feet tall and 50 feet long there would be 100 square feet (2’x50’) costing roughly $4,500 – $6,000. Some of the factors that determine the cost are as follow:
Grade Changes (Slope) – If the wall is running along a sloped area, the wall may need “step ups” to follow the height change. These “Step ups” add to both labour and materials.
Access – Retaining walls require a 4-6-inch base of crushed gravel plus the wall blocks. Poor access will increase the labour time moving the materials in for the project.
Base Course – The Base Course (bottom row) of the wall is the timeliest to install as it needs to be perfectly level to build on. If the base course is long in comparison to the height of the wall, the cost will be increased.
Back Yard Wall Replacement
This Allan Block wall was built to replace and old rotting wood tie wall. Swipe the photo to see how it looked before. Factors that contributed to the price of this project include the demolition and disposal of the old wood wall. You can see this is a backyard project as well. While the access was good, there was still a considerable amount of time needed to transport all materials to and from. The project also included Allan Block steps to allow for easy access to the upper terrace.
PRICE: $11,962.58 (only wall ≈ $85/sqft)
Front Yard Wall Construction
This Allan Block wall was built from scratch off the ground level. There was very little excavation/disposal required and you can see it is in the front yard so our material pallets could be staged directly next to the work area. These two factors made work very easy for our team on site, as well as there was no need for any steps up. So you can see that even though this front yard wall is longer (as measured by 70 caps vs 50) and also used significantly more blocks (250 blocks vs 150 block in the previous example ), its budget was much lower due to its simplicity.
PRICE: $10,159 (only wall≈ $30/sqft)
Synthetic Grass
The price of synthetic grass will vary due to different factors. Many of our synthetic grass installations are under 500 square feet. Depending on the project, most installations will cost between $11 – $17 per square foot. Some of the factors that determine this price are as follows:
Access – Synthetic grass requires a 4-6-inch base of crushed gravel. Poor access will increase the labour time moving the materials in for the project.
Waste – Synthetic grass rolls come pre-made in 15-foot widths. Depending on the size and layout of the project there is often wasted materials leading to increased costs.
Type of the Existing Material/Excavation – If the existing material is a heavy hard packed clay, additional labour time or machine time will be needed to remove it.
Large Open Area with Few Cuts and Low Waste
This was a large area synthetic grass installation (approx. 1000sqft). Access was moderate. Being in the backyard it still required a fair bit of material transportation, both during excavation as well as bringing in about 15 yards of base in preparation for the grass installation. Still, this was a very clean and simple install as far as the grass went. Very few cuts were needed and a lot of area was covered simply by using 3 large pieces of grass efficiently and without much scrap gone to waste.
PRICE: $10,083 ≈ $11.50/sqft
Technical Areas with Many Cuts and High Waste
Contrast the previous example with this one. This project is half the area coming in at approx 600sqft (there is one other long thin piece installed that is not visible in this photo). Significant time was needed to cut in and level each stepping stone slab you see. This takes time as well as produces scrap grass waste. Similarly, the long thin pieces of grass must be cut from a 15ft stock width. In many cases, some or all of that excess width turns into scrap waste.
PRICE: $9,912 (grass installation only ≈ $16.50/sqft)
*It is also worth to note that although these two project came in at similar budgets. The large open area project also uses a higher quality grass that cost about 25% more. This further supports the effect some factors have on price.
Softscaping
Sod
The price of sod will vary due to different factors. Installations done by Atkinson range anywhere from a few hundred square feet to a few thousand square feet. Small to average sized installations will cost between $6 – $12/sqft including excavation/disposal, soil installation, sod and fertilizing. Larger sod installation being seeing some price per sqft savings due to economies of scale and may be as low as $3/sqft depending on the situation. Some of the factors that affect this price are as follows:
Square footage – The size of the area is the largest cost determinant. The larger the area the better price we can offer.
Access – Typically, the existing lawn is scraped out, new topsoil is brought in, and the sod is installed. The more difficult the access the more labour time required.
Type of the Existing Material/Excavation – If the existing material is already prepared for the new sod, the installation is quite simple and quick. However, if the existing material is of poor quality and needs to be replaced with good topsoil this will increase the cost.
Significant Height Raising
This sod installation first required a full excavation of the area. The excavated material was disposed of and then several yards of turf soil was brought in to raise the height of the lawn. The total grass area of this project is 320sqft. Swipe to the before photo and you can see just how much the new lawn had to be raised up to be level with the back deck area. The back row of shrubs even had to be removed and then replanted at the new height!
PRICE: $3693 (grass only 320≈ $11.54/sqft)
Minimal Excavation with Terrible Access
This project had the worst access imaginable (swipe to see). Luckily there was minimal excavation needed, and that which was we were able to dispose of in an area below that is going to be covered by a future deck. Still a few yards of turf soil and 50 rolls of sod were moved down the stairs to the job site. This total grass area of this installation is 425sqft (about 100sqft more than our previous example). Even though the grass area is larger, this installations budget came in $500 less than the previous example for two reasons. The first due to our ability to dispose of excavated material directly on-site. The second due to much less turf soil needing to be brought in to raise the level of the new lawn.
PRICE: $3099 (grass only 425sqft ≈ $7.29/sqft)
Atkinson Landscaping is an expert in the landscaping industry. We strive to be the leaders in our industry while helping our clients achieve their dreams. We provide landscaping in Langley, Surrey, and the surrounding areas.
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