What does a stone garden wall cost in Manotick?

There are too few published prices to quote a range for a freestanding stone garden wall. For this kind of job, ask each contractor for a written quote and compare them directly.

What the price will turn on: the length and height of the wall, whether you want dry-laid or mortared stone, the type of stone (fieldstone, cut limestone, or another), how level the ground is, how the base is prepared, and what the quote includes for stone supply, delivery, and disposal of any excavated material. A wall along a lot line may count as a fence under the City's Fence By-law, which limits fences on residential property to 1 m in a front yard and 213 cm in any other yard, measured from grade at the base; ask the City whether your wall counts. A wall that holds back soil is a retaining wall rather than a garden wall, and that is a different scope of work.

Before anyone starts, ask whether the job needs the City of Ottawa hardscaping licence. The City's hardscaping contractor licence covers hard landscaping features on private property such as retaining walls, steps, walkways and patios, and excludes "pools, decks and fences" and "minor repairs or minor alterations". It does not say where a freestanding garden wall falls, so ask the City. You can also check the City's published list of hardscaping licence holders to see whether a contractor appears on it.

A written quote for a stone garden wall should spell out the length and height, the stone type and source, base preparation, mortar or dry-laid method, joint profile if mortared, and cleanup and disposal.

Before work starts, ask the contractor for a written contract with the full scope and price, and request a WSIB clearance certificate if you want one (it is valid for up to 90 calendar days).