"Working with James was great from the beginning. He put my mind at ease with his product knowledge and his creative designs."
Outdoor Luxury · Clarington, Durham
Outdoor Living Spaces in Clarington.
Clarington is home. Our yard sits in Hampton, so the crews working on a property in Bowmanville, Courtice or Newcastle are often only a few concession roads from where the trucks are parked. For five decades, owner-led by a third-generation stonemason, Astonia has designed and built natural-stone landscapes across the municipality we live in — patios, walls, water features and full grounds, with every load of debris hauled away in our own trucks.
- Since 1975
- 3 Generations
- $5M Insured
- WSIB Covered
- Unilock Authorized
In Clarington
Landscaping that belongs in Clarington.
Clarington is unusually varied for one municipality, and the right approach changes street to street. Bowmanville's older core and the established lots around it come with mature trees, settled grades and a heritage character that a new landscape has to respect rather than overwrite — stone that looks like it has always belonged beside a century home. Courtice leans newer, with larger estate lots on the western edge where there is room to plan a full sequence of patio, planting and gathering space. Newcastle keeps its village feel, and homeowners there tend to want work that reads as part of the neighbourhood, not imposed on it.
Beyond the towns, much of Clarington is rural-edge — acreage, long approaches and properties that roll toward the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Ganaraska. On that kind of land, grade and drainage are the real design problem before a single stone is set: how water moves across a slope, how a terrace steps down to a lawn, how a driveway and entrance hold up through Durham winters. Owning our own small and heavy equipment matters most here, where access is tight, distances are long and a subcontractor's schedule would otherwise dictate the pace of the build.
Homeowners in Clarington are generally making a long-term decision on a property they intend to keep. They value steady, direct communication, crews that are insured and WSIB-covered, and a clean site — no rental bins sitting at the end of a country driveway for weeks. As a Unilock Authorized Contractor working in our own home municipality, we are close enough to stay genuinely hands-on from the first walk of the land through the final planting.
What we build
Outdoor Living Spaces, start to finish.
Outdoor Kitchens
Fireplaces & Fire Pits
Pergolas & Pavilions
Landscape Lighting
Outdoor Living Rooms
Stone Fire Features
The craft
Built from the ground down.
An outdoor living space is the part of a property a family actually uses — so we build it to the same standard as the rooms inside the house. The work spans outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and fire pits, pergolas and pavilions, full landscape lighting, and the seating, dining and lounging areas that tie them into one place you can spend an evening. Everything is designed as a single composition, anchored in natural stone, and laid out so the cooking, the fire and the gathering all face the same direction — toward the people you built it for.
The masonry is where this work earns its place. James is a third-generation stonemason, and the kitchens and fireplaces are built the way a chimney is — proper footings below the frost line, a structural core, and a hand-laid natural-stone face rather than a veneer pinned to a box. Outdoor kitchens are framed for the equipment they'll carry, with stone counters, weather-rated cabinetry and the gas, water and drainage run in before the first stone is set. Fireplaces and fire pits are built to draw and vent correctly, sized to the space so the heat reaches the seating instead of climbing straight up. Pergolas and pavilions are set on real foundations to hold their line through Ontario winters, season after season.
Lighting is treated as part of the build, not an afterthought wired in at the end. We layer it — low light washing the stone, soft fill at the steps and paths, a warmer pool over the dining and fire areas — so the space stays usable and beautiful well after dark, through three seasons of the year. The result is one continuous outdoor room: a place to cook, eat by the fire and stay outside longer than you planned, designed and built by one crew so the kitchen, the hardscape, the lighting and the planting around them all read as a single, deliberate whole.
Because Astonia owns its own equipment and hauls every bit of debris away in its own trucks, a build of this scale moves on its schedule, not a subcontractor's — and your property stays clear, with no rented bin parked on the drive for weeks. James runs the project himself and stays in daily contact from the first layout to the final light being aimed. Crews are WSIB-covered and the company carries $5M in liability insurance, and as a Unilock Authorized Contractor we build to a standard that's independently backed. It's a serious, once-in-a-generation investment, and we treat it that way from the day the stone arrives to the night you first light the fire.
How it works
From first handshake to final reveal.
01
Initial Consultation
We meet you on-site to walk the space, understand how you want to live in it, and talk through your vision and investment — no obligation.
02
Design & 3D Review
Our designer measures and plans your space, then renders it in 3D so you can see it before we break ground. We refine every detail together.
03
Breaking Ground
Our own crews and equipment start at 7:00 AM, keep the site clean every day, and brief you each morning and evening — no subcontractor gaps, no bins.
04
Project Completion
After a final walkthrough, the only thing left behind is your finished space — built to gather on for generations.
The Astonia difference
Why homeowners in Clarington choose us.
Owner-led
Daily communication from James, from the first handshake to the final reveal.
Our own equipment
Small and heavy machines, run by our own crews — no subcontractor delays.
No unsightly bins
We haul every bit of debris away in our own trucks, every day.
$5M insured
Liability coverage above the industry average, for your peace of mind.
WSIB covered
A fully covered, professional crew on every project.
Unilock Authorized
Warranty-grade materials and professional installation standards.
Kind Words
Homeowners across the GTA, on the Astonia experience.
Five decades of referrals across the GTA & Durham — and a Unilock Authorized Contractor. Read more on Google & Houzz.
"The natural stone work and landscape job that James and his crew did is beautiful, outstanding work. The quality is outstanding — we would recommend this company to anyone."
"Astonia was a delight from start to finish. The crew showed up early and worked long days to finish on time. We are now enjoying the most amazing front yard. Outstanding results!"
"As a repeat client, we selected Astonia to transform our simple backyard into a relaxing space amongst a natural setting that will bring us many years of pleasure."
Good to know
Outdoor Living Spaces in Clarington, answered.
Yes. The masonry is built for Ontario winters on footings set below the frost line, and the fireplaces and fire pits are sized and vented to throw heat toward the seating — so the space stays comfortable well into the shoulder seasons. With the lighting layered in, most clients use these areas three seasons of the year rather than just the warm weeks of summer.
We plan and coordinate all of it as part of the build — the gas line for the cooking and fire features, water and drainage for the kitchen, and the wiring for layered landscape lighting — and it's run in before the stonework goes up. Because one crew designs and builds the whole space, the services are roughed in at the right stage instead of being retrofitted later, and licensed trades are brought in where the work calls for them.
We design and build across the GTA & Durham region — including Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Vaughan, Markham, Newmarket, Aurora, King City, Whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville and the surrounding areas.
Every project is different — from focused stonework to a full landscape transformation — so we provide a clear, detailed proposal after an on-site consultation rather than a generic price. Most of our work is a meaningful, lasting investment in your property.
Timelines depend on scope, and you receive a realistic one at the design-review stage before we break ground. Because we own our equipment and run our own crews, we work efficiently — starting at 7:00 AM and keeping the site clean every day.
Yes. We carry $5 million in liability insurance — above the industry average — our crews are fully WSIB covered, and we are a Unilock Authorized Contractor.
More services in Clarington
Outdoor Living Spaces nearby
Outdoor Living Spaces in Clarington, done right.
Book a free on-site consultation. We design, build and plant the whole space — then haul it all away when the last stone is set.
$5M insured · WSIB-covered crews · 3rd-generation craftsmanship since 1975