Ryan Heath Professional Landscaping offers a high quality product and great service at a reasonable price. We deliver value by designing and building landscapes that are functional, beautiful and long lasting. We use quality materials and cutting edge installation techniques to ensure the long term viability of your investment. Above all this, we are a reputable company offering a professional service. We will now outline the specifics of many of these points.
Long lasting landscapes
Because of our specific construction techniques used, we warranty our hardscape installations for between 3 and 5 years. However, we are confident that the quality and durability of your landscape will extend well beyond the end of the warranty.
Quality Materials
We pride ourselves on using materials that are the best value to the customer. Our interlocking paver manufacturer of choice is Permacon. Permacon (in our view) is one of only 3 manufacturers in our area who produce pavers using a very strong concrete mix (the other 2 being Unilock and Oaks). The strength and durability of the paver is of the highest importance beyond any questions of texture, shape, size or colour. That being said, Permacon is a leader in interlock styles and textures and has many wonderful colour blends that are easy to match to and often quite earth-tone based.
Installation Techniques
We pride ourselves on going above and beyond the industries minimum specifications. As a standard, all our hardscapes are installed using Ultrabase. Ultrabase is a slightly drier type of concrete that we order from various suppliers (It is a 13 MPA mix with zero slump, meaning that it is a little weaker than the concrete used to pour a house foundation and that the mix is only damp as it comes out of the cement truck). We install the Ultrabase at least 4″ thick for walkways and patios, and at least 6″ thick for driveways, steps, walls and commercial installations. For all steps and walls, the base course row is set directly into the damp Ultrabase specifications bonding them together. The use of Ultrabase creates a uniform and consolidated base under the entire hardscape, taking away any possibility of settlement in problem areas, such as car tire tracks or areas immediately adjacent to the house foundation. The Ultrabase also guarantees that edge restraint will be securely fastened preventing any migration of the last row of interlock. Ultrabase offers more flexibility than a regular slab of concrete would provide, and thus is less likely to have problems with cracking. On top of the Ultrabase, we use approximately 2″ of HPB (High performance Pipe Bedding). The HPB acts as a screed bed allowing for a smooth finish to be achieved. The HPB also acts as a drainage layer allowing water to travel horizontally under the interlock and drain out the side of the paved surface. After the pavers have been installed, polymeric sand is used to fill all the paver joints. The polymeric sand has a natural plant binder mixed in during production that causes the sand to dry rigid but also resoften after multiple hours of water exposure. All of this results in sand that does not wash away in heavy rains, but also hardens when dry to keep ants and weeds at bay. The sand does also reduce water infiltration leading to drier conditions in the base material.
Whenever we are working around the perimeter of a house, we inevitably run into a few downspouts that drain water from the eavestroughs. We highly recommend these be dealt with at the time of construction and we accommodate for them in our quotations. Depending on the situation and their orientation, we will make different recommendations on how to deal with the water they emit. In most cases we will be recommending that the water be piped under any walkways or patios to drain out into an area of turf using a pop-up emitter. This solution gets water away from the foundation of the house where it can cause damage and addresses all different amounts of rainfall. The PVC piping used to direct the water is white in colour and in most cases will be somewhat visible. If the colour is not aesthetically pleasing, the visible portion of the pipe can be painted after the completion of the project. However this is the responsibility of the homeowner due to the difficulties with matching existing paint colours.
Reputable Company
We have been in business for 7 years operating under our present name. We are members of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, and of Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association. Our owner is a Certified Landscape Professional, a North American certification showing excellence in landscape business management. We are known by the suppliers and manufacturers that we deal with by our quality installations and by our ethical business practices. We are display builders for Permacon and have built over 20 displays at landscape supply yards as well as home and trade shows. We have been involved with the Holmes Group on 2 projects that will be aired on HGTV in the fall of 2009. We volunteer our time with numerous charity projects in the GTA such as “Rachel’s wish”, a project through the Make a Wish Foundation where we coordinated the hardscape installation, and “Janet’s Garden”, a project with Rethink Breast Cancer. We have a 2 million dollar general liability policy through Statefarm Insurance Company protecting you against any loss or damage to persons or property. All our employees are covered by WSIB in case of any injury while they are working on your property. We back our installations with warranties that either meet or, in most cases, exceed industry standards.
Professional Service
Our field staff are polite and courteous. They work hard to keep your property and the surrounding areas as clean as possible. For projects lasting longer than 1 day we bring, or have delivered, a portable washroom to ensure that your property is being respected.
What to expect during you initial consultation
The goal of the initial consultation is to gather enough information to prepare a quote for construction of the project or a quote for design services if required. For straightforward projects where the client has a good idea of what they’re looking for, we are able to take basic measurements and prepare a computerized concept design on the spot. Only with a design are we able to provide an accurate quote. Any quote that is prepared without some form of design or specifications creates the opportunity for disagreements between the contractor and the client. The design specifies the size and orientation of all required landscape elements. From this design (time permitting), we will prepare a quotation including all the elements discussed. The quote will be completely itemized so that each element will be listed independently. Any quote item listed as an upgrade is an additional cost to the item that precedes it. The first item on each quote is ‘Mobilization’ which covers the costs of transporting equipment to and from the job site, the cost of rental of a portable toilet for the duration of the project, and the costs associated with securing the utility locates for the property. All material selections and colour recommendations are provided at the beginning of the quote. The colour of hardscape product has no impact on the costs of the project. Our quotes are very thorough and often include elements that other contractors may have overlooked. This is why we guarantee no surprises during the construction process. If additional elements are required, such as an extra step or a small retaining wall that was not listed in a design that we prepared, it will be built at no additional cost to you. However if you request extra services beyond the scope of work listed in the quote, these services will be completed on a time and materials basis.
Once the concept design and quotation are prepared, you will then be given an opportunity to book the project at which time we will schedule a start date for construction. To confirm your project, we require a signed contract (which consists of the design, the quote and our construction contract that is attached to this email) and an appropriate deposit. Our payment schedule for projects under $15000 is a 25% deposit, 25% on the first day of construction and the remaining 50% the day the project is completed. For projects between $15000 and $60000 a 20% deposit is required upon signing the contract, 20% required on the first day of construction, 25% at completion of a project milestone, 25% at completion of a second milestone and the final 10% at the end of the last day of construction. For projects over $60000, special arrangements will be made to create a customized payment schedule. Once a project is started, our crews will be there working on site every day until the project is completed barring any inclement weather or unforeseen material shortages.
If after being presented with the quote you are not prepared to schedule construction at this time, feel free to contact us in the future to schedule the project. All quotes are valid for 30 days after which time the costs of materials will need to be verified. All designs remain the intellectual property of Ryan Heath Professional Landscaping unless a design fee has been paid. Clients using RHPL designs for construction by other contractors or for do-it-yourself projects will be billed for site visit and design time at $75 per hour. Clients requiring full design services due to the size and/or complexity of their project will be quoted a design fee based on $65 per hour for the estimated time required to measure and survey the property, prepare one or more concept designs, preparation of final design, one set of revisions as well as all presentation and consultation time. Further design services are rendered for $75 per hour.
To assist in the design and site measurement process, please have a copy of your property survey available when possible.
Should you have any questions that have not been addressed, feel free to check out the FAQ section of our website or give us a call at 905-967-0295.
Thank you for inquiring about our services and we look forward to helping you realize your landscape dreams.
