How to price interlock and hardscape jobs for 2027

Short answer: to price interlock jobs, don't use one rate per square foot. A driveway needs a deeper dig and more base than a patio, and access, cuts, curves, borders, steps and haul distance all move the cost. Build your rates from last season's finished jobs, grouped by job type. Price labour by the crew-day, then add overhead and price to a target margin.

How to price interlock jobs in six steps

1. Pull last season's finished jobs and sort them by type.
2. Break each job into lines, each with its own unit.
3. Price labour by the crew-day at a loaded rate.
4. Add overhead and price to a target margin, not a markup.
5. Add adders for steps, cuts, access, haul, removal, locates and permits.
6. Protect the quote with a validity period and written price-change terms.

Winter is the time to do this, before 2027 quotes go out. The method below works on paper or in a spreadsheet. Near the end there's a price sheet template and a checklist to run before every quote.

Why does one per-square-foot number get you in trouble?

Most crews start with one number. It worked on a few backyard patios years ago and became the rate for everything. The trouble shows up on a driveway.

You quote a driveway off your patio rate. A driveway carries vehicles, so it needs a deeper dig and more base underneath. That means more loads out, more aggregate in, more compaction time and maybe a second bin. The pavers on top cost about the same per square foot. Everything under them doesn't. The job looks fine on paper and closes well under the margin you wanted.

Small jobs have the opposite problem. On a 90 sq ft walkway repair, your fixed costs (getting the crew there, delivery, the compactor) are spread over very few square feet. Add a tight backyard where every paver goes in by wheelbarrow, and one rate can't be right for all three.

Step 1: Pull last season's finished jobs

Your best price list is the work you've already done. Over the winter, pull last season's finished jobs and sort them by type:

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

For each job, note the square footage (linear feet for walls and borders), crew-days, materials, equipment, disposal, delivery and the final price. Then work out actual cost per square foot for each job type.

Expect the numbers to differ by type; that's the reason to keep separate rates. If your records are thin, start with the jobs you remember best. Our guide to job costing for contractors covers the cost buckets to track from now on.

Step 2: Break the job into lines

A per-square-foot rate hides the parts of the job that change. Lines show them. For a typical install, give each of these its own line with its own unit: dig-out and disposal (loads or bins), base aggregate (tonnes), bedding layer, pavers (square feet, with a waste allowance for cuts), border (linear feet), edge restraint (linear feet), joint sand, compaction and other equipment (days) and delivery (loads).

To get base tonnes: area in square feet × base depth in inches ÷ 12 gives cubic feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards, then multiply by the tonnes per cubic yard your supplier gives for that aggregate, and ask whether that figure allows for compaction. Do the same for the dig-out to count loads or bins.

Lines pay off three ways. A cheaper option shows exactly what changes. Extra driveway base shows up as its own line instead of a silent cut to your margin. And at closeout you can see which line went over.

Step 3: Price labour by the crew-day

Labour is where guesses do the most damage. Price it in crew-days: how many days your crew will be on site, times what a crew-day actually costs you.

Work out a loaded crew-day cost

A loaded crew-day is every wage on the crew for one day, plus what you pay on top of wages. That includes your employer share of CPP and EI. The CRA says that for CPP contributions "the employer and employee portions are the same," and that for EI "the employer portion is generally 1.4 times the employee portion" (CRA: CPP and EI responsibilities).

It also includes WSIB, where each business pays a rate per $100 of insurable earnings that depends on its class and its own claims experience (WSIB: 2027 premium rates). Add vacation pay, public holiday pay, benefits and anything else you pay per person per day. These costs change every year, so ask your bookkeeper or accountant to confirm your loaded rate per person.

Get crew-days from your own history

How many square feet a crew lays in a day depends on your crew, the paver, the pattern and the site, so don't borrow a production rate from the internet. Use the crew-days from Step 1 for each job type. Price dig-and-base days and laying days separately; they often use a different crew and equipment.

Step 4: Add overhead and price to a target margin

Overhead is everything that doesn't belong to one job: the yard, insurance, trucks between jobs, the office, software, your evenings spent quoting. Divide last year's overhead by last year's revenue. That share has to come out of every job's price. Your target gross margin has to be bigger than that share, or the job loses money once overhead is paid.

Then price to a margin, not a markup. Markup is a percentage added on top of cost; margin is the percentage of the price you keep. Mixing them up is a quiet way to underprice every job.

The formula: price = direct cost ÷ (1 − target margin). For a 35% margin, divide cost by 0.65.

A worked example

Example numbers, not industry averages. A patio costs $6,500 direct: three crew-days for a small crew at a loaded $1,000 a day ($3,000), materials ($2,500), and equipment, disposal and delivery ($1,000). Overhead is 10% of revenue, and the target gross margin is 35%.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Same job, same costs, and the markup version leaves about $1,100 less. Set your own target margin; the 35% here is not a recommendation.

Step 5: Build adders for what changes the job

Adders price the conditions that add time or material. Keep them on your price sheet so you aren't inventing them at every site walk:

• Steps and walls: priced per step or per linear foot, never folded into the square-foot rate.
• Curves and heavy cuts: more saw time and more waste.
• Tight access or hand-carry: no machine access means more crew time per square foot.
• Long haul: distance to the site, and to wherever the dig-out goes.
• Removal: old concrete, asphalt or pavers coming out, priced by the load or bin.
• Locates and permits: lead time, paperwork and fees before dig day, including boulevard permits on driveways (see below).

Locate and permit lead times in Ontario

Ontario One Call now operates as Ontario Dig Authority. Its site says to submit a locate request at least 5 business days before you dig, and that locates are free and required by law (Ontario Dig Authority). Those public locates don't cover everything. The site says private lines on the property, such as gas lines to BBQs or pool heaters and electrical lines to sheds, detached garages or lights, are not included in the public locate process and need a separate private locate (Ontario Dig Authority: homeowners). Ask the homeowner what runs under the yard, give a private locate its own line where one is needed, and build both into the start date you promise.

Permits depend on the municipality and the work. The City of Toronto's building permits page says a permit is needed for "most construction, demolition, additions, or major renovations." That is an example of where to look, not a rule for hardscape. Even a plain driveway can need a permit. In Toronto, you need a street work permit from Transportation Services before you build, rebuild or repave a driveway or walkway that crosses City property such as the boulevard, sidewalk or curb (City of Toronto: driveway and walkway permits on City property), and widening a driveway can bring in zoning and front-yard parking rules. Toronto also needs a building permit for a retaining wall more than one metre high on or next to public property or a building entrance, or on private property open to the public (City of Toronto: when do I need a building permit). Check your own municipality before quoting any driveway, boulevard, grading or wall work, and give any permit or drawing its own line.

Step 6: Protect the quote from material price changes

A quote written in November is often installed in May, and supplier prices can change in between. Put a validity period on the quote, long enough for the customer to decide and short enough that your costs haven't moved. For jobs booked months ahead, decide in writing what happens if supplier prices change before the job is scheduled. If you quote homeowners in Ontario, that wording has limits. When an estimate is part of a renovation contract, Ontario says the final price can't be more than 10% over the estimate unless the customer agrees to new work or a new price (Ontario: your rights when starting home renovations or repairs). Write your price-change wording so the customer agrees in writing to any change before work starts, and have a lawyer who knows Ontario consumer protection rules review it before you use it. Check your supplier's current price sheet before winter quoting rather than guessing at the market.

A price sheet template you can copy

Copy this into a spreadsheet and fill in the cost and price columns from your Step 1 numbers. If your driveway and patio rates differ, keep a version for each.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Presenting the price: options, HST and payment schedule

Put options side by side

Show a standard paver and a premium option on the same quote. Because the job is in lines, only the paver line and the total change.

Show HST on its own line

In Ontario, the HST rate is 13% (CRA: GST/HST rates by province). If you're registered for GST/HST, show it as a separate line for each option, so the customer sees the real total. If you're unsure whether you need to register, or how HST applies to a deposit or a discount, ask your accountant.

Write the payment schedule on the quote

Tie payments to stages the customer can see: a deposit at booking, a payment when the base is done, the balance at completion. Then the invoice matches the quote.

Check Ontario's rules before you set your standard schedule. If the homeowner signs a renovation or repair contract of $50 or more at their home, they get a 10-day cooling-off period to cancel (Ontario: home renovation rights), and Ontario's guide for renovation businesses says any deposit has to be refunded within 15 days of their cancellation notice (Ontario: guide for home renovation businesses). The same consumer page tells homeowners to keep down payments to a minimum, and recommends no more than 10%. Ontario's Construction Act also has holdback and lien rules: a payer on a contract where a lien can arise holds back 10% of the price as work is supplied, until lien rights expire. Ask a lawyer how these rules apply to your homeowner jobs, your deposit and your start date.

Put the warranty in writing

Settling calls happen, sometimes two summers later. Write what's covered and for how long. Keep photos of the base depth and compaction, and a note of who was on the crew, with the job. Homeowners keep certain legal rights however your warranty is worded, so have your lawyer check any exclusions once.

Checklist: before you send an interlock quote

• Job type set, and that type's rates used
• Dig-out depth and base matched to the job type
• Disposal, equipment and delivery on their own lines
• Crew-days from similar past jobs, at your loaded rate
• Adders in for access, cuts, curves, removal and haul
• Price set to your target margin, not a markup
• Locate and permit lead time in the start date
• Private locate priced where private lines may run
• HST shown as its own line for each option
• Validity period, and price-change wording your lawyer has checked
• Payment schedule and warranty terms on the quote, checked once with your lawyer

Checked against the CRA, WSIB, Ontario Dig Authority, City of Toronto and Government of Ontario pages linked above, and the text of Ontario's Construction Act, on November 11, 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with your accountant or lawyer.

How voice-to-quote and Bid Advisor check a quote against past jobs

NexusCRM by NexusAI GTA was built inside Reformity Inc., its founder's own GTA general contractor (not an arm's-length customer), which started in fencing and landscaping. In NexusCRM Pro, voice-to-quote lets you record the site walk on your phone. NexusCRM transcribes it, matches the customer and drafts a priced quote from your own past quotes, and lines under your historical low get flagged. The AI Bid Advisor then checks the quote's margin against your price sheets and up to 25 similar completed jobs, so you see a thin margin before you send it. You review every draft before it goes out.

When the customer accepts online, the invoice, the job, the schedule and the crew notice happen without retyping. Receipt capture turns a photographed receipt into itemized expenses on the job's P&L. See how this fits interlock contractors and landscapers and hardscape crews.

AI is built into every plan. Voice-to-quote, Bid Advisor and receipt capture start on Pro. AI Caller is a separate add-on, billed by talk minute. The AI Caller is in early access.

See a site walk turn into a quote

To see a site walk turned into a priced quote, book a 25-minute demo. We'll map your lead-to-invoice flow, walk it live including voice-to-quote, and give you a straight answer on fit. Or call (437) 241-6287.