Swimpool 360 handles interlock installation for patios, walkways, pool surrounds, steps and landings across Toronto, York Region and Durham, plus repairs on interlock that has sunk or filled with weeds. Every job follows a written base specification you can check in the open dig, before pavers cover it.
Standard concrete pavers, usually 60 mm thick, are the most forgiving interlocking pavers. Small units ride over minor base variation, and a herringbone pattern resists twisting feet and wheeled barbecues best. Large-format slabs, from about 24 inches across, show any high spot as a lip, so we screed to a tighter tolerance and set each one with a mechanical lifter. Grass joints like these need a wider set-out.
Natural stone comes calibrated (sawn to even thickness) or uncalibrated; uncalibrated pieces are bedded one at a time, which is where the extra labour in a stone quote comes from. Porcelain pavers, about 20 mm thick, absorb almost no water but cannot bridge a soft spot, so they go on clear chip or a concrete pad with a porcelain-rated joint filler. Still choosing a surface? Our interlock vs flagstone vs stamped concrete guide weighs lifespan and upkeep; this page is about how we build.
Dining and lounge patios sized to the furniture you own and pitched away from the house. We paint the outline on the lawn so you can stand inside it before we dig.
Plan an Interlock PatioFront entries, side-yard paths and garden routes, wide enough for two where it counts and cross-sloped so meltwater runs off the side.
Discuss a WalkwayPaver surrounds over compacted pool backfill, falling away from the water with a flexible joint at the coping. Our deck materials guide covers surface choices.
Pool Deck Materials GuidePrecast units, stacked slabs and stone treads on compacted base with matching risers, plus door landings deep enough to clear a storm door.
Discuss StepsContrasting edge courses, circle kits under a fire table, bands that hide cuts along curves, and colour changes that mark out dining and lounge zones.
Add a Border or InlayWe lift sunken sections, rebuild the base beneath, reset the original pavers so the patch matches, and refill tired joints with fresh polymeric sand.
Book an Interlock RepairWe measure, check your grades and drainage, and send a written quote that spells out the base you are paying for. Call 647-239-7665 or request a visit online.
Our standard for a walking patio or walkway on a typical GTA lot. Wet clay, hot tub pads and anything carrying a vehicle get a deeper section, written into the quote.
| Layer | What we install | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation | 8 to 10 inches below finished grade, 10 to 12 on wet clay; sod, topsoil and roots all removed | Organic soil keeps rotting, and the interlock follows it down. |
| Subgrade | Plate compacted and probed; soft pockets replaced with granular | A base is only as firm as the ground under it. |
| Geotextile | Fabric over clay or silt, lapped at seams | Keeps clay and stone from mixing. |
| Granular A | Lifts of 4 inches or less, each compacted, run 6 to 8 inches past the finished edge | Thin lifts compact through; the overhang gives edging solid ground. |
| Bedding | About 1 inch of screeded concrete sand, or 1/4 inch clear chip under slabs and on wet sites | Thick bedding shifts and ruts. |
| Pavers and cuts | Off a squared string line; edge pieces kept to a third of a unit or more where possible | Slivers loosen and break first. |
| Edge restraint | PVC or aluminum edging spiked every 8 to 12 inches, or a concrete haunch on tight curves | Stops the field creeping outward. |
| Joints | Polymeric sand swept in, compacted, then mist-activated | Locks units and resists washout and weeds. |
| Slope and water | About 2 percent fall, checked with a level; downspouts redirected | Water under interlock is what lifts it in February. |
House footings around Toronto go roughly 4 feet down to get below frost. Interlock does not need to, because it is a flexible pavement that rides the ground up and down as one mat. What keeps it flat is a base that drains, leaving little water inside to freeze, so the budget goes into fabric, thin damp-compacted lifts and a planned fall rather than an extra foot of digging.
An interlock walkway carries more foot traffic per square foot than any patio, much of it in the dark in January. Entry walks are at least 42 inches wide, 48 where two people walk together, and pitched across their width so meltwater leaves over the side instead of freezing in a stripe. Side-yard paths must not block the shared drainage swale many GTA lots have along the property line.
Steps are where small errors become trip hazards. Every riser in a flight matches, typically 6 to 7 inches, and precast units or stacked slabs sit on compacted base, never loose fill. Door landings stay below brick weep holes and siding. Want step lights later? We lay empty conduit now so our landscape lighting team can pull wire through without lifting a paver.
Eight stages, usually 2 to 8 working days on site depending on size. A repair or re-sand is often done in a day.
We measure, read grades at doors with a laser level, and note downspouts, trees and gate width.
Your quote states dig depth, base thickness, lift size, bedding, paver line, edging and drainage. The outline is painted on the lawn.
Ontario One Call locates, a check for private lines such as irrigation, and any tree, ravine or grading rules.
Sod, topsoil and roots come out to depth, spoil is trucked away, and the subgrade is compacted and probed for soft spots.
Fabric over clay, then Granular A compacted in lifts of 4 inches or less, run past the finished edge and shaped to the fall.
Bedding is screeded, pavers go down off a squared string line, and cuts are made wet or with dust extraction to control silica.
Edging is spiked into the base, the field is plate compacted, and polymeric sand is swept in, compacted again and misted.
We clear residue, repair lawn edges and walk the finished surface with you.
Access drives the schedule as much as size. A gate about 5 feet wide lets a compact track loader carry soil and stone; narrower side yards mean a smaller machine or wheelbarrows and often an extra day. Base work runs from spring thaw until frost gets into the soil, so a winter site visit is the surest route to an early-season start.
New interlock runs $25 to $40 per square foot installed, with excavation, haul-away, base, edging and polymeric sand included. These are typical 2026 ranges in CAD before HST.
| Project | Typical Size | Installed Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| Front entry landing | About 60 sq ft | $1,800 to $3,200 |
| Interlock walkway | 4 ft x 30 ft (120 sq ft) | $3,000 to $4,800 |
| Interlock patio | 200 sq ft | $5,000 to $8,000 |
| Interlock patio | 350 sq ft | $8,750 to $14,000 |
| Pool deck or surround | 600 sq ft | $15,000 to $24,000 |
| Large entertaining patio | 800 sq ft | $20,000 to $32,000 |
| Precast or stone steps | Per step, installed | $450 to $1,100 |
| Contrasting border or banding | Per linear foot | $15 to $30 |
| Lift, re-level and reset existing interlock | Per sq ft | $8 to $16 |
| Clean and re-sand with polymeric sand | Per sq ft | $2 to $4 |
What moves your number: the paver family (standard pavers sit low, porcelain, slabs and stone sit high), the cutting that curves and borders create, how far each load travels from the truck, and whether an old pad has to be broken out first. Small landings cost more per square foot because a crew, a machine and a load of base arrive either way.
Pricing a pool too? The backyard pool planner works out surround square footage from your traced yard. Prices are estimates for the GTA as of 2026; request a site visit for a written quote on your property.
Most interlock repair calls trace back to a few shortcuts that are invisible on handover day and obvious two winters later.
| What you see | What usually caused it | How we prevent it |
|---|---|---|
| Dips and sinking | One deep base layer compacted only on top, topsoil left in, or uncompacted trench backfill | Topsoil out, thin compacted lifts, soft trenches bridged with clear stone |
| Weeds and ant hills | Plain sand, half-full joints, or polymeric sand hosed out during activation | Joints filled to just below the bevel, light misting, dry forecast |
| Winter heaving | Water trapped over clay, a downspout emptying onto the patio, or a fall toward the house | Fabric, a verified fall and downspouts rerouted before the base goes in |
| Spreading edges | No edging, or spikes driven into loose bedding sand | Base run past the edge so every spike bites compacted stone |
| Lips between slabs | Large slabs on uneven or overly thick bedding | Tighter screed, thinner bedding, mechanical lifters |
| White haze | Polymeric dust left on the surface before wetting, or efflorescence from new concrete | Surface blown clean before misting; efflorescence fades on its own |
Already living with one of these? A dip by the back door or a weedy walkway rarely means starting over: we rebuild just the failed section of base and reuse the original pavers. Where a patio is pitched toward the house or the base has failed throughout, a rebuild is the honest call, and we will tell you which you have at the visit.
Good interlock contractors measure instead of eyeballing. Our crews aim to keep neighbouring pavers within about 3 mm in height and the surface within about 10 mm under a 3 metre straightedge, and the fall is read with a level at the house wall and the outer edge before any joint sand is opened. Joints stay in the 2 to 5 mm band polymeric sand makers call for.
You are welcome to inspect the dig and base before pavers cover them, against the depth and lift size printed in your quote. Warranty terms are written into that quote too, not promised at the door. First-season care notes: use a plastic shovel blade or raise the snowblower skids, and prefer calcium chloride to rock salt. On a big slab patio like this one, garden design and planting softens the stone.
Excavation depth, base thickness, lift size, bedding and drainage, all in writing before work starts. Swimpool 360 builds interlock across Toronto, York Region and Durham.
Dense clay till under much of Toronto, Vaughan, Markham and Brampton holds water for days after a storm, so fabric and a full-depth base are non-negotiable there. The Oak Ridges Moraine gives King City, Aurora, Stouffville and Uxbridge sandier, faster-draining ground that loosens easily, so the subgrade is dampened before compacting.
Toronto ravine lots, and lots near creeks or valleys regulated by the TRCA, Lake Simcoe Region or Central Lake Ontario conservation authorities, may need approval before grades change. Many zoning bylaws set a minimum share of front-yard soft landscaping, which limits walkway widening. We flag these at the visit; confirm current rules with your municipality.
Newer homes in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Ajax and Whitby usually sit on an approved lot grading plan, with a rear or side swale carrying water for several houses. We set paving heights so that swale keeps working, because blocking it is a classic cause of wet basements and neighbour disputes.
From Zephyr our crews cover Toronto, York Region and Durham, from Etobicoke to Oshawa and north to Newmarket and Uxbridge, with selected projects in Peel and Halton. The service areas page lists every community, and the gallery shows finished backyards.
Every landscaping and hardscaping service we offer.
Block, natural stone and armour stone walls for grade changes.
Low-voltage step, path and patio lighting.
Beds and planting that soften new hardscape.
Hedges, privacy trees, screens and pergolas.
Patio surfaces compared on cost and lifespan.
Choosing the surface and coping around a pool.
Lay out a pool and paving at true scale.
New pools planned together with the surround.
Tell us the rough size, what the space is for and how we get into the yard. We will visit, measure and send a written quote with the full base spec.