How a Darteno Project Works, From First Price to Final Payment

You'll know the price before you sign, and you pay the balance only after you've walked the finished job.

Every Darteno job, from a walkway repair to a new driveway, follows the same six steps. Full payment, change and warranty terms are on the terms page.

When You Pay

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You payTypical timing

Step	What happens	You pay	Typical timing
1. Online estimate	You see a price range	$0	A few minutes
2. Free visit	We measure and check the base and drainage	$0	About 60 minutes
3. Written quote	Itemized scope and price; held 30 days	25% at signing	Within 1 business day of the visit
4. Base work	Dig, haul, pack gravel in layers	$0	First days of the job
5. Install	Stone, wall or drainage, plus cleanup	$0	2 to 14 days, by job
6. Walkthrough	You check every item with us	75%	Last day

Step 1: Check a Preliminary Online Estimate

Start with a ballpark estimate using our online calculator, or book a visit if you are not sure what work you need. Each service has its own estimator page so the numbers are relevant to the type of work you need. If the range fits your budget, book a free visit. If it doesn't, you've lost nothing.

Step 2: Free Onsite Visit

Book your free onsite visit directly through our online scheduler. We visit the property to confirm site conditions and finalize the design. During the visit we review the scope from the online estimate, confirm the paver or block, the colour, and the drainage, and note any adjustments needed based on what we see on the ground. Any changes to the scope or materials are discussed and agreed before anything goes into the written quote.

Contractor discussing project scope with homeowner at a residential driveway in Richmond Hill — Every project starts with a free onsite visit.

We walk the property with you, confirm materials on the spot, and flag anything the online estimate couldn't account for.

Step 3: Sign Your Contract Online (25% Deposit)

Within 1 business day of the visit, we send your written quote. It keeps your online estimate unless something onsite differed from what you entered, and lists the work, materials, exclusions, price and payment stages. Ask questions, then sign online; no second visit needed. The price holds for 30 days. You pay 25% when you sign. It holds your start date and orders your materials. Cancel before we order and you get it all back.

Step 4: Excavation, Grading, and Base Preparation

The crew arrives on the confirmed start date with all equipment and materials already staged for the project. Excavation is completed to the specified depth, spoil is managed onsite, and the granular base is built up in mechanically compacted lifts. It's the step you'll never see again once the stone is down, so we don't rush it.

Plate compactor on a granular limestone base in a residential driveway excavation, clay soil walls visible on each side — Granular base compacted in lifts. The phase that decides whether an interlock surface holds grade through Ontario winters.

Step 5: Installation and Finishing

Paving, wall construction, drainage installation, or other scope items are completed in sequence. Each phase is inspected before the next begins. The site is kept clean throughout, and we keep you updated on progress each work day.

Worker tapping charcoal interlock paver into place in herringbone pattern, bedding sand layer visible at open edge — Pavers set by hand one at a time, each course checked before the next row begins.

Worker placing concrete retaining wall block along the first course, gravel drainage layer visible at base of excavation — The first course sets the plumb and alignment that every block above depends on.

Step 6: Walk the Finished Job, Then Pay the Balance

On completion, the crew performs a full site cleanup and walks through the finished work with you. We review what was built, explain drainage outlet locations and maintenance steps, and leave written aftercare instructions specific to your installation. You pay the other 75% only after you've walked it with us and you're satisfied.

Residential driveway site at end of a work day, paver bundles and wheelbarrow at edge of partially laid interlock surface — Materials staged at the property edge. No debris left on the street or the neighbour's lawn.

Finished grey interlock driveway, swept clean with all equipment removed, at a triple garage — Final walkthrough done, aftercare instructions left, and balance collected when the job is finished.

What If Something Changes?

If we find something under the ground we couldn't see at the visit, like buried concrete or rock, we stop and show you. Nothing extra happens until you approve a written change order with the new price. No change is ever approved by phone.

What If You're Not Happy at the Walkthrough?

Point it out. We fix it before you pay the balance. After that, the 3-year workmanship warranty covers sinking or shifting caused by our base work.

See Your Starting Price

Pick your project for a starting price, or call or text (647) 838-3200.