FAQ

everythingCREATIVE

What Products Do You Carry?

We specialize in leading landscape, construction, interior stone, and home accent products. Our collection is hand selected, trend-setting, and of the highest quality that the industry has to offer. We specialize in soils, mulches, aggregates, decorative stones, heat treated glass and stones for fire features, natural stone, interlocking pavers & wallstones, curbing, pool copings, steps, landscape accent rocks, imported and domestic square cut tile, building stone, flagstone, basalt water features and columns, water & lighting accessories, synthetic turf, grass seed, home decor, urns & planters, modern fire bowls & fire features, gabion baskets, and a large variety of thin stone veneer.
We recommend that you visit our online magazines for more detail.

What Makes Creative a Unique Shopping Experience?

Everyone at Creative is an industry professional! Our staff has been designed to offer the most elaborate, motivational, positive, supportive, and value added experience when shopping for landscape supplies. Each member comes from a landscape installation, design, or management background. We are all business-oriented individuals with a common investment in the company, and a passion for award winning outcomes where each client wins with every request! Our team is primarily focused on being the best resource we can be for any landscape inquiry, and we thrive on client satisfaction.
Embracing each clients questions with positivity and a genuine motivation for success creates a full circle of positive energy on site, making everyones day easier!
Quickly stated - "We honestly love what we do!"

Do You Sell To The General Public?

Absolutely! Our roots are in landscape design and installation, making it exciting for us to work with the home owner and DIY clientele. We also work with landscape professionals, home builders and renovators, municipalities, school boards, and many other categories of shoppers.

Does Creative Landscape Depot Do Installations?

We do not install but we have a large network of professionals to whom we can refer you based on your specific requirements. Our team consists of industry professionals with both installation and design backgrounds, as well as many landscaping-related certifications. We can guide you in the right direction for a valuable landscape consultation, design, and quote.

Where Do You Deliver And What is the Pricing For Delivery?

Our landscape materials are now travelling all over Ontario. Our main destinations are Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford, and the entire GTA. Our fleet of dump trucks are specially equipped to carry a variety of materials at once. We can haul 2 unique mulches, soils, and decorative stones, often with a selection of skidded material or natural stone to offer the best value to our clients. With the flexibility of our delivery fleet, you should call for pricing and discuss options in order to obtain the optimal delivery arrangement for your project.

How Much Lead Time Do I Need When Scheduling A Delivery?

The demand on our delivery system follows our industries seasonal nature. Between April-June our trucks are under high demand hauling spring oriented products such as mulch, soil amendments, composts, garden soils, regular topsoil, and decorative stones. We recommend ordering up to a week in advance to assure we meet your deadline. During the months of July-September, our trucks are busy with interlocking, natural stone products, and aggregates. During this time, we recommend ordering a few days in advance.
The remainder of the year we aim to meet all delivery requests within 24 hours. The materials ordered and the scale of your purchase will dictate how long it will take to prepare and ship your product. Please pre-plan your ordering and request delivery a few days before required to assure your material is ready on time.

Do You Offer Volume Discounts?

Every client is important to us and we value every opportunity to play a role in all landscapes. Our management staff has the experience and authorization to deal with each request on an individual basis. We understand the benefits that larger orders may contain and will consider this during the quoting process.

Do You Close For The Winter?

No, we are closed during regular holidays, and one week during the Christmas season. Please review our hours of operation for more information.

THE IDEA AND DESIGN STAGE - BEGINNING WITH CREATIVE

What Is The Most Effective Way To Start My Landscape Project?

We recommend starting at our landscape depot. We are a select group of professionals with landscaping backgrounds. Not only do we love to share ideas and help draft your thoughts into a quality design, but we have all of the material right here on site to look at and compare all options. We also have an extensive list of landscape professionals, designers and architects who we can recommend as a best fit for your design and scale of job!

What is a CREATIVEpro?

CREATIVEpros are identified professionals in our local market, focused on many aspects related to landscaping, renovation, and home improvements. Our team has comprised this list of CREATIVEpros, who meet all of the prerequisites involved in managing a successful business, long-term. These Pros will not only offer you value, but they will leave you with an outcome that compliments your home and your personal design style!

Why Should I Hire A CREATIVEpro Professional To Design Or Install My Landscape?

Landscapes offer the first curb appeal to your home, and it has to compliment the existing space. Landscape architects, designers, and professionals understand these factors and know where to add value. Even taking your landscaping from “good” to “excellent,” in terms of design, condition, and placement, can add 6% to 7% to a home’s value, according to a Clemson University study of homes in Greenville, S.C.
Another study by the Virginia Tech Department of Horticulture found that well-designed points of interest can increase your home’s value by up to 42 percent.

Are Designs Necessary?

Design takes the questions or concerns out of any design before a shovel goes into the ground. There are many small projects that can be easily drafted, yet a more evolved or extensive landscape requires a foundation to build from. A design allows for a complete quote, and offers a piece of mind for where every dollar will be invested. Landscape designers and architects shape our industry and understand all materials that need to be considered to compliment any investment.

What Do I Need To Have Prepared For A First Consultation?

You should have a general idea of the living space you want to build. Be prepared with a portfolio of photos of landscapes that suit your interest and lifestyle. This will allow a designer to quickly understand your style and goals.We also recommend visiting our depot and consulting with our staff to review all available materials so that you are aware of all landscape products, colour options, and values of raw material. Finally you need to have a budget to work with.This allows the designer or landscaper to work within the financial parameters so that a realistic design can be drafted.

How Much Will A Landscape Design Cost?

Visiting our yard and sharing ideas is free! We can get you one step closer to understanding what materials suit your style and budget, and move your design forward at no cost. The scale of your request will depend on the value of a professional design. Simple renderings or even elaborate 3D designs are often free if that same company is awarded the installation portion of your job. However, designs can range between $200 to thousands. Let's start with a quick visit and align you with a landscape designer that will suit you needs.

How Do I Know Which Landscape Designer Or Contractor To Select?

At Creative Landscape Depot, we take pride in referring you to a list of professional who will cater to your specific design ideas. By sharing with us the scale of your job, the materials of interest, your budget, and a few other key factors associated to your lifestyle and design preferences, we will connect you with an appropriate list of professionals who will understand your request. Our "Referral Program" ensures that you will be serviced by professionals and in a timely manor!
We follow through with our network of professionals to make sure each client is being serviced in a timely and acceptable manor, to ensure that the process is seamless and exciting from start to end!

Why Are No Contractors Getting Back To Me?

In our seasonal industry we experience extreme highs and lows in our traffic and workload. If a contractor is not reciprocating or showing consistent communication, then contact us and we will refer you to a list of professionals who will. If the problem continues, call our staff directly and we will follow up with the trade or align you with another great fit!

SOFTSCAPING & SPRINGSCAPING WITH CREATIVE

How Much Area Does 1 Yard Of Mulch, Soil, Or Decorative Stone Cover?

Depending on how thick the ground cover is applied will depend on the sqf coverage.
Mulch - we suggest 3” thick, which will result in an 100 sqf coverage per yard
Top Dressing - only requires a 1/2” coverage which will result in a 650 sqf coverage per yard
Fine Decorative Stone - should be applied around 2” thick which will allow for a 165 sqf coverage per yard
Larger Decorative Stone - like river rock, require a thicker application to cover all crevices between the stones in order to full cover the surface. Generally these products cover 80 sqf per yard

Why Should I Top Dress?

The application of top dressing turf is the most important aspect of green-keeping. Top dressing has the following benefits:

• dilutes thatch
• improves drainage and optimizes porosity
• feeds microbes and organic nutrients to the existing soil
• increases depth of quality growing medium
• improves surface smoothness and trueness
• promotes finer grasses / healthy turf, reduces disease incidents, promotes deep root development, reduces fertilizer and irrigation input

When Do I Top Dress?

Top dressing should be done in the spring after the frost is fully out of the ground. At that point, grass begins to grow and adding organic matter and nutrient rich soil to your surface is essential. In our region, most topdressing takes place in late April through early June. Many professionals who promote extremely healthy turf also top dress in the fall when there is moisture on the ground due to temperature changes between the days and nights. Fall top dressing takes place between late September through early November.
Top dressing should be undertaken in conjunction with aeration and de-thatching to ensure that the topdress material is integrated into the soil profile.

What is Overseeding?

Overseeding is simply adding grass seed to the topdress soil amendment when applying it over the turf surface. Remember that this should be done in conjunction with aeration and de-thatching to promote the most effective outcome and overall health of your grass.

Why Should I Use Mulch?

Using mulch has the following benefits:

• improves the fertility of the root zone by adding organic matter as it decomposes
• keeps the root zone cool and moist in high summer heats
• offers the soil better drainage and permeation of moisture as the mulch fines break down into the soil
• aesthetically appealing with a wide range of colours to compliment your home

Why Use Creative Gro-Max Vs Standard Garden Mix?

Standard garden mixes normally contain a portion of clay as it is not removed during the screening portion of the native soil. Creative’s Gro-Max contains:

• a more well balanced complete soil
• lighter weight blend of compost, aged bark, peat and soil
• better drainage that resists compaction
• stronger optimum root growth and plant health
• higher organic matter content, optimum pH, water holding and porosity

HARDSCAPING & LANDSCAPING WITH CREATIVE

What Elements Should I Consider In My Design?

This is an elaborate question.We recommend reading our article related to complimentary landscape materials: http://www.creativelandscapedepot.com/blog/the-landscaping-art-of-incorporating-all-important-elements-materials/

Why High Performance Bedding Sand (HPB) Vs Chipstone?

HPB only cost a marginal difference vs chipstone, yet it self compacts and saves time and money during the installation process. By removing the need for a compactor the job becomes quicker and easier, and meets a compaction / density within hardscape standards.

What Value Does Landscape Lighting Offer?

Landscape lighting has many benefits and ultimately looks fantastic at night. By adding lighting you can enjoy your landscape well into the evening and night, and enjoy your investment for more hours of the day. Lighting should always be considered with any landscape investment or excavation so that conduits and cables can be installed at the same time and under any hardscape surfaces for future access.

Why Use Techo-Bloc Vs Other Hardscape Manufacturing Brands?

Our philosophy has always been to provide our clientele with the absolute best quality, industry-leading manufactured or raw landscape materials that exist. Techo-Bloc not only shapes the interlocking industry with design in its paving systems, but with its strength, packaging, warranty, and customer service.
To review all benefits in detail we recommend reviewing the Techo Benefits page: https://www.techo-bloc.com/product-benefits/

What Colour Of Interlocking Pavers or Wallstone Should I Select?

Each home has so many elements and existing colours. It's important that we compliment the existing colours with a paver or wallstone that suits. When you come tour our yard and discuss ideas and colour with our staff, be sure to bring photos of your home from all angles, and a sample brick or stone from your homes exterior. We have all colour options available and installed on site to find a complimentary match, and we also have hand sample boards for your convenience to bring home and hold against existing structures to find the best stone. If no colour seems to work with your existing elements, then we suggest any tone of grey which is neutral and works with everything.
The CREATIVE team and our network of professionals can assist you during this selection process!

Should I Consider Waterscaping In My Landscape Design?

The visual aesthetic and sound of water is enjoyable to everyone. Consider even a small water feature which doesn't require much investment when planning your landscape. Piping and electrical lines should be considered during any excavation stage for future access if a water feature is in your plans.There are many questions that our staff can assist you with as we have a water specialist on site. How do you maintain a water feature? How do you get rid of algae? How do you prevent birds from eating your fish? Should you have fish? Is a water feature a lot of maintenance? All of these are questions that the CREATIVE team can help you with during the planning stages.

How Much Are Pavers Per Square Foot?

Pavings stones have a large range in price, and are available in many sizes, textures, thicknesses, colours, and are available in both pre-cast and natural stone. Interlocking pavers have many benefits compared to square cut or cobble stone natural stone products, however the elegant of a limestone or sandstone paver can really compliment many designs.
It's very important to note that each paver may require a unique sub-base and aggregate base which can significantly change the overall square foot cost of an installation. Make sure your quotes have a detailed summary of what depth, product, compaction, drainage, geotextiles, and labour will be involved in the base application.
A properly installed base will greatly reduce maintenance costs and improve the longevity of your paving stone and overall investment.
Please visit our interlocking pavers magazine to review all options.

Do You Sell Landscape Lighting?

Yes, and we have a lighting specialist on site to assist both retail and commercial clients. We sell Kichler lighting products, which are industry leaders in quality, innovation, and warranty. Our extensive inventory of spot lights, LED lights, hardscape lights, under mount lights, up and down lights, path lights, and so many other systems and accessories are available to view. We would be happy to coordinate a consultation to assist in your design and installation ideas, and to provide a quote for all materials required to light up your home.

Do You Cut Or Customize Stone?

In fact we do! Although we are limited due to the tools we have available, we definitely will custom cut and shape anything on site. We offer hand rocking for hearths, copings, mantels, and many other home accents. We also offer drilling for water features and other requirements.

What is efflorescence?

There is a chance that after a few weeks or months pass, a white haze may appear on the surface of your pavers or walls. This is known as efflorescence. It may appear randomly or in certain areas, and will be more pronounced on dark colour pavers. The white haze may give the impression that the colour is fading. When wet, the white disappears and the colour of the pavers is enhanced. When they dry, the white haze reappears.

There's no reason to be concerned that your pavers are damaged or defective. The concrete pavers are experiencing a natural process that occurs in all cement based products. But the condition will usually correct itself with time and exposure to the elements.

All concrete products contain cement, which contains calcium. Although concrete pavers are solid, strong and very dense, they contain millions of microscopic capillaries that run from the interior to the surface. During wet weather, moisture enters these microscopic capillaries and reacts with the calcium to form calcium hydroxide. As the stone dries, the water riser to the surface. At surface, the water evaporates while the calcium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide to create calcium carbonate (the white haze).

Efflorescence will stop when the supply of calcium hydroxide is exhausted. Over time, the efflorescence that does occur will also be washed and worn away by rainwater.

Can efflorescence be removed without the wait?

Yes. Although efflorescence will eventually go away naturally, there are commercial cleaners available that are specifically formulated to remove efflorescence from the surface of the concrete pavers. However, these cleaners will not prevent additional efflorescence from occurring if you use them too early. If you only want to clean the pavers once (say just before you seal them), we recommend you wait approximately 10 rainfall/drying periods before you even clean the surface deposits as most of the efflorescence should occur by then. Please note that it is necessary for wetting, and then drying, to occur for efflorescence to be drawn out of the stones. Ultimately, if you can allow a paver or wall stone to over-winter, we believe that this moisture absorbing and drying process eliminates all efflorescence from the core of the concrete product.p\

During arid periods, watering the driveway using a sprinkler can help expedite the process.

Please note, most cleaners contain acid and detergents, so be sure the follow all label directions and environmental regulations when using these cleaners.

What are the benefits of interlocking pavers?

Concrete pavers do not crack like asphalt or poured-in-place concrete - each unit has joints that allow for a small amount of movement without cracking. Independent interlocking pavers shift and move during the changing of seasons with frost, yet they also re-settle back into their original place, if the installation was done correctly by a professional.

Concrete pavers are easy to repair and/or replace, especially when repairs are being done to the base or underground utilities. Asphalt, concrete, and stamped concrete can’t make this claim.

Resists deterioration from freeze-thaw cycles and deicing salts better than asphalt and better than ordinary poured-in-place concrete.

Snow removal is the same as with other pavements, just plow, shovel or use a snow blower.

Concrete pavers come in many shapes and colors, making the design process more exciting, and offering many more options to suit your homes style, and your personal design interests.

Paving stones should last much longer than alternative pavements under normal use.

Is it acceptable to use crusher dust as bedding under concrete pavers?

No. Most crusher dust has too many ne particles that get washed out as water ows through the material, and large stone akes that break down under repeated loads from tires. These two factors result in settlement and ruts developing in driveways.

Concrete sand is recommended - it’s the same sand mixed into concrete pavers and poured, cast-in-place concrete.

Do I have to seal my pavers?

Sealing is not essential in many applications, with the exception of areas around swimming pools (sealer provides chemical resistance to pool chemicals).

However, sealing concrete pavers can be recommended to enhance and maintain colours, and makes it easier to remove stains and spills. The sealer also helps keep the joint sand in place and in turn prevent weeds and ants.

Can dirty or broken stones be replaced?

For dirty stones, one option is to clean them. Creative carries several different cleaning products that will remove every- thing from oil to gum.

Where replacement is preferred, simply scrape out the sand surrounding the stone, remove the dirty or broken stone using a couple of screwdrivers, insert the new stone, replace the jointing sand, and hammer the stone down with a rubber mallet to compact it.

Can I colour match old stones when I replace them?

Paving stones usually become faded over time, so it makes it difficult to match the colour after many years. Two ways of dealing with this include:

1. When you first install your pavers, place a few extra pieces in a similar setting to your driveway (i.e. same amount of sunlight) so that they can be used when required.

2. Remove stones from the outside edges of your driveway or walkway to use as replacement pieces, and install new stones along the outside edge to act as a border. The more stone you require to fix an area, the wider you may need to make the new border or soldier course perimeter. It is recommended that the new stones along the border be a different but complementary colour so that the colour fading is not as noticeable.

What is a segmental retaining wall?

A Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW) consists of a series of inter- locking segmental pieces that are stacked up to create your re- taining wall - think of it as a large scale LEGO block wall. SRWs can be used for a number of applications including soil retention, erosion control and landscaping.

What is geogrid?

Geogrid is a high tensile polypropylene or polyester material that is typically used to stabilize the soil mass behind a wall. The number of grid layers and lengths are determined by the wall system being used and what is being retained behind the wall. For example, the installation of geo grid should be considered for a parking lot in which surcharge loading is present or a wall with a slope behind it, as the pressure may negatively affect the wall.

What is the difference between a gravity SRW and an engineered SRW?

A wall that is able to resist the soil pressure behind it (i.e stay standing after the soil has been put back behind it), and any surcharge loading at the top of the wall (roadway, parking lot, building), by relying on its sheer weight is considered a gravity wall.

When geogrid is used in cooperation with the interlocking seg- mental pieces to reinforce the soil behind the wall, the wall de- sign is typically engineered - hence the name engineered SRW.

How tall can I build a segmental retaining wall?

The height of your wall depends on site conditions, the type of product used, the batter of the wall, and whether or not it is includes a geosynthetic reinforcing (engineered wall).

Site conditions that need to be considered include soil types (gravel, sand, silt, clay, combination thereof), soil characteristics (grain size, grading), in-situ state of soils (very loose, loose, com- pact, dense), groundwater conditions, slope of ground above and below the proposed wall, presence of surcharge loads above the wall, and overall ‘global’ slope stability.

In terms of the type of product, the heavier and deeper (depth measured back from the front face) the unit, the higher the wall can likely be constructed without having to add reinforcing. For example, our Quickwall product should only be stacked 18” to 24”, while our Ridgewall system can be built in excess of 13.8 ft without geotextile reinforcing.

The batter or setback of the wall is the angle of the front face of the wall as compared to a vertical straight line starting at the toe of the slope. Walls that are straight faced (i.e have no batter or setback), cannot be built as high as walls that have a batter. With many of our retaining walls, you have the option of straight or setback construction.

Because of the additional support provided by the geogrid, an engineered SRW can be built higher than a gravity SRW.

In short, it is always recommended that you talk to one of our CREATIVEsales representatives prior to constructing any retaining wall project.

Is a concrete footing required at the base of the wall?

No, a solid concrete footing is actually detrimental to a SRW sys- tem because it prevents the wall from being able to shift naturally (keep in mind, the ability to shift naturally rather than crack is an advantage of a SRW system).

A well compacted base of proper aggregate material is the best material for the retaining wall footing.

Is a drain required behind the wall?

When water builds up behind your retaining wall, a hydrostatic pressure results that can compromise the integrity of the wall. To prevent this from happening, it is always recommended that 12” of good drainage material be placed behind the wall, and a perforated sock-covered drain be placed at the back of the foundation, to provide a means for the water to drain away. This backfill system should be wrapped with geotextiles to prevent sediment and other granular from contaminating the drainage system. Please speak with a CREATIVE rep for more information and direction.

Should I seal my retaining wall front face?

It is not recommended that you seal the front face of your retain- ing wall as you will possibly prevent water from seeping out from between the individual units. Keep in mind that the ability for water to seep through the wall, rather than build up behind it, is one of the advantages of a segmental retaining wall system.