Ikigai Landscaping

Landscape design & construction · Vaughan · Toronto · GTA

Custom backyards, built to last.

Landscape design and construction across Vaughan, Toronto and the GTA — interlock patios and driveways, retaining walls, steps, pool decking and outdoor living, designed and built by one crew.

Booking builds now · design in winter, construction from April

DesignLaid out with you, then built by us
1No subcontractor blame games
10Vaughan, Toronto & York Region
FreeItemised written quotes

01 — Design & build

Complete backyard builds, start to finish

New-build backyards in Maple and Vaughan get handed over as graded clay with a fence around it. We plan the whole thing at once — where water goes, where you sit, what you see from the kitchen window — and then build it in one continuous project.

  • Grade and drainage sorted before anything is laid
  • Patio, walls and steps built as one structure
  • Planting, sod and lighting to finish
  • Phased over two seasons if the budget needs it

Design and build

02 — Interlock

Interlock driveways and patios that stay level

Southern Ontario goes through dozens of freeze-thaw cycles every winter. Everything that decides whether a driveway stays level is buried under the stone where nobody can see it — which is exactly why cheap quotes are cheap.

  • Excavation to proper depth for vehicle or foot loads
  • Granular base compacted in lifts, not dumped
  • Edge restraint spiked into the base on every open edge
  • Polymeric joints so the surface stays tight

Interlock and driveways

03 — Outdoor living

Outdoor living areas built for real use

A patio is an outdoor room. Sized for the furniture you own, reachable from the kitchen door without crossing wet grass, lit well enough to use in October, and sheltered enough that you are not driven inside by the first breeze.

  • Pool decking, coping and surrounds
  • Outdoor kitchens and bar areas
  • Fire-pit areas and seat walls
  • Pergolas, privacy screening and landscape lighting

Pool areas and outdoor living

04 — After the build

Maintenance for the properties we build

Maintenance is the smaller half of what we do, and it exists mostly so the work does not quietly degrade. The crew that laid your walkway is the crew that plows beside it in February, which changes how carefully both get done.

  • Weekly lawn care and bed upkeep
  • Spring and fall clean-ups
  • Winter snow clearing and salting
  • Repairs and re-levelling on work we built

Property maintenance

The build calendar

When to start so you are using the yard in summer

Design and quoting happen over winter, site work starts as soon as the ground thaws, and the heavy build season runs May through September. A project booked in February gets built in spring; one booked in June gets built in late summer.

JanDesign
FebDesign
MarQuote
AprSite prep
MayBuild
JunBuild
JulBuild
AugBuild
SepBuild
OctPlanting
NovWrap up
DecDesign

Highlighted months are peak build season. Your month is outlined.

Our work

Patios, driveways, walls and pool decks

A backyard pool with a wide slab deck, planting and a modern house behind it.
Full backyard build
A paved entrance court with gates and landscape lighting at dusk.
Entrance court and lighting
A pool terrace with a pergola, lounge seating and string lighting.
Pool terrace and pergola
A large slab terrace with dining sets, parasols and planted borders.
Dining terrace
A circular paver driveway with a planted island in front of a house.
Circular paver driveway
A paver driveway and lit entrance at dusk.
Driveway and entrance
A backyard with pool, outdoor kitchen, waterfall and paved terrace.
Pool, kitchen and waterfall
An in-ground pool with a wide paved deck and privacy fence.
Pool deck and surround

See all projects

How we quote

An itemised number, not a single figure on a page

You get the quote broken down — excavation and disposal, base, stone, walls, steps, drainage, planting, lighting. That way you can see what each part costs, drop something, or split the project across two seasons without starting over.

  • Photos and the address are usually enough to start
  • Site visit for anything involving grade, walls or a pool
  • Written quote with inclusions and exclusions spelled out
  • No hourly meters and no “starting at” pricing

Start a quote

A slab walkway with low lighting and planted borders.

Service area

Based in Concord, building across the GTA

We keep the route tight on purpose. A crew that spends its day in traffic is a crew that leaves site at four.

Common questions

Before you call

How much does a backyard build cost?

It depends on size, access, how much has to come out first and what goes in. A single patio is a different order of magnitude from a full rear-yard transformation with walls, steps, lighting and planting. You get an itemised written quote so you can see exactly what each part costs and cut or phase it if you want to.

How long does a project take?

A patio or walkway is usually three to six working days. A driveway runs about a week. A full rear-yard build with walls, steps and planting is typically two to four weeks on site, weather permitting.

Do you design as well as build?

Yes. We can work from a plan you already have, or lay the space out with you and then build it — with one crew responsible for the whole thing rather than three trades blaming each other.

Do you do driveways?

Yes, paver driveways and parking pads. They need a deeper base than a patio because of vehicle loads, and the quote reflects that.

Can you work around an existing pool?

Yes. Deck replacement, coping, new stone around an existing pool, fencing and drainage are a regular part of the work. If the pool itself is going in, we coordinate with the pool contractor so the grade and equipment locations are agreed before anything is poured.

Do you maintain what you build?

Yes, and we would rather do both. Lawn care, seasonal clean-ups and winter snow service are available for the properties we build, which is also why our plows do not take out our own bed edges.

Free estimate

Tell us what the yard should do.

Send the address and a couple of photos. You will get an itemised written quote, and an honest answer about what it will cost to do properly.