Landscaping and hardscaping, Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake

Landscaping in Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake

Patios, walkways, retaining walls and outdoor living for cottages and homes on Rice Lake's south shore and across Hamilton Township. Send the form and an owner calls you back today.

  • ✓Same-day callback from an owner
  • ✓Design meeting on your property, written quote after it
  • ✓One crew, owners on site every day of the build
Get your free landscaping consult
A few quick questions. An owner calls you back today.
Prefer to talk? Call (705) 208-7121
32 reviews, most of them for yards and stone work
Owners on site
One or both owners on site every day of the build
Our own machines
Excavators and skid steers we own, so the base and the stone are one crew's work
Locates before every dig
Ontario Dig Authority locate filed before the machine arrives

Landscaping in Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake

Landscaping in Hamilton Township covers two kinds of yard: Rice Lake frontage at Bewdley, Gores Landing and Harwood, and country lots on the Oak Ridges Moraine. On the lake the asks are usually a patio and steps down a sloped bank and a wall that holds the grade, and inland they run to larger terraces, walkways and outdoor living. Thor builds the base with its own machines, with an owner on every job.

Patios, walkways and walls

The stone you walk on every day, laid on a base built to stay flat through a Kawartha winter.

  • ✓Natural stone, flagstone and interlock patios
  • ✓Walkways, front entrances and stone steps
  • ✓Armour stone and block retaining walls
  • ✓Pool surrounds
  • ✓Grading, drainage and sod to finish the yard

Outdoor living

The pieces that turn a yard into the place everyone ends up on a summer night.

  • ✓Fire pits and seating areas
  • ✓Pergolas and privacy screens
  • ✓Outdoor kitchens
  • ✓Decks and fences

We run our own excavators and skid steers, so the base under your patio is dug, graded and compacted by the same crew that lays the stone. The base is what decides whether a patio stays flat through freeze and thaw.

Walls that need them get structural drawings and a permit before we dig, and every build ends with a walk-through and a written warranty contract.

Building yards in Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake: what changes here

Permits and locates

Hamilton's site alteration by-law lets up to 200 millimetres of soil go down for lawn dressing, landscaping, flower beds or vegetable gardens without a fill permit, as long as the ground within 600 millimetres of any property line stays as it is and no swale or ditch changes. More fill than that takes a Township permit. On the Rice Lake shoreline and near creeks and wetlands, the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority permits site grading and fill in its regulated area. Locates go to Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call) first.

The ground you are on

The Official Plan maps sand barrens, savannahs and tall-grass prairies among the key natural heritage features on the Hamilton Township part of the Oak Ridges Moraine. Sandy, fast-draining ground like that makes a stable base, but it washes where water runs off a patio. We grade every hard surface to shed water into planting or a stone swale, and compact the base with our own machines.

The rule that shapes the build

Inside the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan area, which takes in Bewdley, Cold Springs and parts of Gores Landing, wetlands carry a minimum vegetation protection zone of 30 metres, with an area of influence reaching 120 metres. A patio, wall or regrading near a wetland on the moraine gets checked against that zone before design. We map the wetland edge at the first visit and keep the stone work outside it.

Communities we cover from here

BewdleyGores LandingHarwoodBaltimoreCamborneCold SpringsPrecious CornersPlainvilleRice Lake

How landscaping in Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake works, in four steps

1
First visit
We walk the property with you, talk through what you want, and give you rough numbers so you know where the project sits.
2
Design and quote
Our designer meets you on site and works through every detail. A 10% deposit locks the scope and materials, and the final quote is the exact price for the job.
3
Drawings and permits
Structural drawings where a wall needs them, permits filed, the schedule set.
4
Build and warranty
One or both owners on site every day. A final walk-through, the final invoice and a written warranty contract.

Recent builds

Stone fire pit and seating built by Thor Construction
Pergola and privacy screen built by Thor Construction
Front entrance stone work by Thor Construction

What our customers say

★★★★★

“Thor Construction company did some hardscaping for us in our backyard around the pool. Right from the start they were responsive, they worked with us on a design that was functional for the space and stayed within the agreed budget. Their work was fabulous!”

D 1072
Pool surround, hardscaping · Google review
★★★★★

“Thor construction company did a great job on my landscaping for my new home, great design idea for my garden and driveway and walkway plus patio thanks for the great job, we highly recommend them”

Jeremy Thorsen
New home, full landscaping · Google review
★★★★★

“Can't say enough about Thor Construction Company. They transformed my backyard space into a perfect little getaway; can't wait to host this summer! They were professional, hardworking bunch and I would recommend you chose this company for your backyard or landscaping needs...big or small!”

Matthew Tynkaluk
Backyard rebuild · Google review

Landscaping in Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake: your questions answered

How much can I build up a garden without a permit?

Up to 200 millimetres of soil for landscaping, flower beds or vegetable gardens, with no change within 600 millimetres of a property line and no change to swales or ditches. Past that, the Township's site alteration permit applies, and we file it.

Who approves work near Rice Lake?

Ganaraska Conservation covers grading and fill on the land along the lake, and Parks Canada covers anything on the lake bed because Rice Lake belongs to the Trent-Severn Waterway. Our Rice Lake shoreline page covers that side of the work.

Is my yard inside the Oak Ridges Moraine plan?

If you are in or near Bewdley, Cold Springs or parts of Gores Landing, probably. The Township's Official Plan places those settlements inside the plan area. We check the designation and any wetland setback at the first visit.

What do you build?

Patios and walkways in natural stone, flagstone and interlock, armour stone and block retaining walls, stone steps, pool surrounds, fire pits, pergolas and privacy screens, outdoor kitchens, decks and fences, plus the grading and sod that finish it.

How does pricing work?

The first visit gives you rough numbers. After the design meeting you get a detailed quote, a 10% deposit locks the scope and materials, and the final quote is the exact price for the job.

What size of project do you take on?

Most builds start around $20,000, from a patio and wall up to a full backyard at $150,000 and more.

When can you start?

One crew builds a limited number of yards each season. Designs signed over the winter are scheduled first for spring.

Do I need a permit?

Most patios and garden walls do not. A retaining wall over 1 metre of exposed height next to public property, access to a building, or private property the public is admitted to is a designated structure under the Ontario Building Code: it is designed to the Code's structural rules and takes a building permit, and we arrange the engineering. Anything close to the water needs the conservation authority's permit first. We check at the first visit.

Who is on site?

One or both of the owners, every day of the build, managing the job and keeping you and your neighbours in the loop.

Other areas and services

Every page has the local permit office, the ground and the rules for that area.

Ready to plan your build, Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake?

Send the form and an owner calls you back today. Or call now and talk to the person who will dig the job.

Get your free landscaping consult
A few quick questions. An owner calls you back today.
Prefer to talk? Call (705) 208-7121
Thor Construction Company
Bobcaygeon, Ontario · Serving Central Ontario, north of the GTA
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