Grading, drainage & landscape finishing
The work that makes a paving job look finished and keeps water out of your basement — re-grading, armour stone, retaining walls, sod, garden beds and drainage correction.
Grade first, then everything else
Half the paving problems we are called about are drainage problems. Water leaving a hard surface has to go somewhere, and if the surrounding grade sends it back toward the house or lets it sit at the edge of the asphalt, the surface will fail no matter how well it was laid.
We run the same equipment for grading that we run for paving, so correcting the slope, cutting a swale, or setting armour stone to hold a bank is part of the same contract.
Finishing work includes topsoil and sod, garden bed edging, river rock, tree and shrub planting, and cleanup of everything the paving equipment touched.
What's included
How the job runs, step by step
Water assessment
We find where the water comes from, where it sits, and where it needs to go before proposing anything.
Grade plan
Slopes, swales and any drainage structures set out, with elevations that work with the hard surfaces on site.
Machine work
Re-grading, swale cutting, armour stone or wall construction, and drainage installation.
Finish & restore
Topsoil and sod or seed, bed edging, stone, planting, and cleanup of everything the equipment touched.
The drainage problems we see most
Negative slope at the foundation
The first two metres pitch toward the house. Re-grade it and most basement moisture complaints go away.
Water trapped at a hard edge
Asphalt or a walkway acting as a dam. Either the grade changes or a drain goes in.
Downspouts discharging onto asphalt
Concentrated roof water on a paved surface destroys it. Extend the discharge below grade and away.
Swales filled in over time
Old drainage paths lost to landscaping. Re-cutting the swale is usually the cheapest fix on the property.
Eroding banks
Armour stone or a segmental wall holds the grade and ends the annual washout.
Sod laid on compacted subsoil
Grass on construction-compacted ground will not root or drain. Topsoil depth matters.
Grading and drainage questions
Do you do landscaping without paving?
Yes. Grading, drainage correction, armour stone and sod are all standalone jobs for us. That said, if a paved surface is part of the problem, fixing the grade without addressing the asphalt usually only moves the water somewhere else.
Can you fix water pooling on my driveway?
Usually. First we find out whether the low spot is a settled base, a grade that was wrong from the start, or a blocked drainage path. A birdbath in the middle of an otherwise sound driveway can often be milled and re-laid; a whole surface pitched the wrong way needs re-grading.
Do you install sod after paving?
Yes — topsoil and sod restoration along the edges is part of most of our residential contracts, so the property is finished rather than left with a strip of mud beside new asphalt.
Landscaping & Site Restoration across 26 GTA cities
Book a free site visit
We measure, probe the base and check drainage, then send an itemized written quote within 48 hours. No obligation and no sales pitch.