Landscaping in North Vancouver
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Typical price: CA$1,400–CA$55,200
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Landscaping prices in North Vancouver
| Job size | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front yard refresh Beds, mulch, shrubs, and edging | CA$1,400 | CA$3,200 | CA$6,000 |
| New lawn (sod) installation Grade, soil, and sod for an average yard | CA$1,400 | CA$2,950 | CA$6,000 |
| Interlock patio or walkway Excavation, deep granular base, and pavers | CA$3,700 | CA$7,350 | CA$16,600 |
| Full backyard landscaping Hardscape, planting, and lighting for a typical backyard | CA$9,200 | CA$23,000 | CA$55,200 |
| Retaining wall Engineered wall with drainage, frost-depth footing | CA$3,700 | CA$8,300 | CA$18,400 |
How to hire a landscaping pro in Canada
- Get 3 itemized bids specifying base depths — Canadian freeze-thaw cycles destroy paving on inadequate sub-bases, so specification matters more than in mild climates
- Verify liability insurance and provincial WCB/WSIB coverage
- Request utility locates before any digging (Ontario One Call, Click Before You Dig, and provincial equivalents) — required before excavation
- Check municipal permits for retaining walls (commonly required above ~1m), grading changes, and structures
- Confirm frost-appropriate construction: footings below frost line for structures, polymeric-sand jointing, and drainage designed for spring melt
- Book early — the construction season is short (roughly May-October) and good contractors fill by late winter
- Structure payments around milestones with 10-25% deposit
Landscaping is unlicensed in most of Canada (business licensing aside), but utility locates before digging are mandatory through provincial one-call services, and municipal permits commonly apply to retaining walls and grading. Freeze-thaw engineering — frost-depth footings and deep granular bases — is the technical standard that separates real contractors from cheap ones.
Budgeting first?
See the full breakdown of what drives landscaping prices — job sizes, unit rates, and how to save.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time of year to book landscaping?
Construction (paving, decking, walls) suits the drier months; planting establishes best in the local planting season (autumn or spring in most climates). The booking sweet spot is the off-season: quotes are keener, scheduling faster, and your project is ready to enjoy when the good weather arrives. Spring inquiries in North Vancouver hit peak-demand pricing.
Can I supply my own materials or plants to cut landscaping costs?
Sometimes — but contractors mark up materials partly to warranty them, so supplying your own paving usually voids the guarantee on the surface (though not the workmanship). Plants are the better DIY-supply candidate if you can source quality stock. Discuss it at quote stage; springing owner-supplied materials on a contractor mid-project causes friction and disclaimers.
What should be in a landscaping contract?
A drawing or written scope, itemised price, payment schedule tied to milestones, start window and estimated duration, who handles waste and any permits, a variations process (changes priced in writing before work), warranty terms on hard landscaping, and a plant establishment/replacement policy. No contract, no project — verbal landscape deals go wrong at the first rain delay.
What's the difference between softscape and hardscape, and why does it matter for price?
Softscape is living material — turf, plants, trees, soil. Hardscape is built structure — patios, paths, walls, decks, pergolas. Hardscape typically costs 2-4x more per square metre because it involves excavation, sub-bases, and skilled construction. Shifting your design 20% from hardscape to planting is the single biggest lever for cutting a landscaping quote.
What does landscaping cost in Canada?
Canadian project costs track US figures roughly at par in local currency: typical projects CAD $2,000-$15,000, full backyard builds $15,000-$60,000, hardscape at $15-$35/sq ft installed. The short season concentrates demand — winter-quoted projects often price 10-15% better than mid-summer bookings.
How does the Canadian climate change landscaping construction?
Freeze-thaw is the design constraint: paver bases need 8-12 inches of compacted granular (versus 4-6 in mild climates), structural footings must reach below frost line (1.2-1.8m in much of the country), and drainage must handle spring melt. This adds 20-40% to hardscape costs versus mild-climate equivalents — a cheap quote usually means a shallow base that heaves by year three.
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