We pride ourselves in being one of the best landscaping companies in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. From offering excellent customer service from the beginning of your project and beyond to the excellent craftsmanship that defines our projects, we are here to support you through your landscaping needs.
We offer you the quality of a large business with the personal touch of a small business. There is no doubt in our minds that we will offer you the best price along with the best quality. Something that is difficult to find in any home renovation industry.
How can we support this claim?
Often times if you deal with a large business operation, you are paying for the overhead that they incur as a business. That means that built into your price is their office space, administrative staff, sales team, and their large equipment that is mostly dedicated to their commercial work. Here at Ever After Landscaping we stick to residential work, are completely mobile with our office, and you deal with me (Mike, the owner) from the start of your project to the end.
There is no dealing with a sales person who has you sign a contract and then passes you off to somebody that has never dealt with you before and does not know exactly what you are looking for with your project. I am there with you from the first consultation, to the design, to the implementation. There is no one else you are dealing with. Just me. That means no communication errors. You have open contact with me at anytime.
So, what about the quality of work?
Well, I have been in this industry for more than 10 years and installing on my own for most of those. I began on the supplier side of the business so I am knowledgeable with all of the products that are available on the market. That means I can provide you with the best products on the market and help you select the best option that suits your needs and style.
On top of that, I understand the best installation practices and implement them on the job site. As a company, we are always working to learn about new innovative technology and installation practices so that we can install a project for you that will keep your project looking great for many years to come.
With any landscaping project, planning and preparation is a large portion of your investment. Ensuring that you have a proper base installed for your landscaping project is the most important part of your project. Here is what a proper base installation includes:
- Excavation
- Sub-Grade Preparation
- Fabric Installation
- Sub-Grade Preparation
For patios, walkways, and retaining walls, we always install a minimum of 6″ to a maximum of 8″ for a base. It is extremely important that the soil is removed and we get to the sub-grade of your property. Generally in Kitchener-Waterloo we are dealing with a heavy clay content. The more clay content in your sub-grade, the more preparation is required. Unfortunately this is missed in many installs as further understanding and installation practices have developed over the past few years. Many contractors who have not caught up to these installation practices are missing out on the benefits for you the client.
Base preparation begins with identifying the sub-grade soil, likely clay. We always perform an amendment of the clay and compact it. Clay does not allow for a lot of water to drain through. An amendment allows for more water bearing ability of that sub-grade. What we do is lay down a small layer of portland cement along with 3/4″ angular crushed clear stone and compact it. This allows for a much great water bearing ability of that sub-grade to allow for better drainage thus preventing the freeze-thaw cycle.
After this, we lay down a geo-textile fabric. If contractors are not using this to separate the sub-grade from your base, then they are far behind the times in terms of installation. What this fabric does is act as additional support for you project as well as a protective layer to prevent the migration of your base to your sub-grade or vice-versa. This is an extremely important step that cannot be missed in an installation process.
Finally, we are ready for the preparation of the base where we install either a Granular A or 3/4″ crushed stone. The difference comes from the application of the product. If we want to allow for higher traffic or vehicular traffic, we will install Granular A to support these loads. It is a 3/4″ crushed stone down to fines that allow for a greater load bearing capacity. The 3/4″ crushed stone option allows for better water drainage thus reducing freeze-thaw cycles, but is not ideal in high traffic areas and vehicular traffic areas. Both are acceptable installation methods, but it depends on the application. The final base preparation method would involve the installation of a synthetic base that spreads the load of your project out over a great area, reduces the labor cost of your project, and insulates your base which will reduce the effect of freeze-thaw cycles.
With this, we have prepared a base that will support your project for many years to come. The base will never be seen by anyone who sees the final product of your project, but is so crucial in creating a firm foundation that will withstand the test of time. This is where almost every project fails.
Following the base preparation, we are ready to screed a bedding layer that will prevent weeds and insects, as well as allow for water drainage. This product is called High Performance Bedding or HPB and is a 1/4″ crushed aggregate that sits on top of your base and acts as a leveler for your interlock or retaining wall. It allows for the passage of water and is the best alternative to what has been used traditionally in the installation which is sand. Sand allows weeds to take root, it washes away, and insects love it. HPB is larger than sand and angular, this prevents washing away, weeds are less likely to take root in them, and insects cannot manipulate them. Also, as a business we can even work in the rain with HPB which allows us to save you money. Rain days eat away from our revenue which makes running a landscaping business more expensive. If it is expensive for a business, that means it is expensive for the consumer. We make it more affordable for you by using this material.
Finally, we install the interlock with our design in mind and the best practices. We reduce the amount of cuts to make your product look whole or make strategic cuts to ensure that your product looks the best that it can. Edge restraint is installed appropriately to prevent the shift of paving stones and polymeric sand is installed to prevent insects, weeds, and the movement of your stones. If we are installing a retaining wall, we ensure that drainage stone and pipe is installed behind your wall to prevent the load of water and soil from pushing on your wall which is the major lead to most failures in retaining walls.
Whether you need a driveway, patio, walkway, or outdoor living space installed, Ever After Landscaping is here to help you with your landscaping needs. We want to be the number one landscaper of choice for you and are dedicated to make this experience one that you can reflect back on positively when you are enjoying your space.
Lastly, at Ever After Landscaping we understand the value of your investment and stand by our mission to hold this industry to a higher standard. Interlock is the best product to install for so many reasons, but it needs to be installed properly. We want to be the contractor to do it for you. Make sure that you contact us, regardless if you are wanting to hire us or not. We want to make sure that you are finding the right contractor for your project or that you are installing your project properly yourself.