Queries about pricing, average costs and the types of landscaping materials and finishes that prove the most cost-effective are very common. Still, we’re always keen to reiterate that no matter how many landscaping pricing guides you compare, no experienced landscaper would be able to provide a verified cost without inspecting your garden in person.
That’s because landscaping services are tailored to every property and outside space. They need to be adjusted to account for the curve of your driveway, the soil type in your garden, the amount of soft landscaping you need to fill planted borders, and the exact measurements of fences or walls you’d like installed.
In-person visits are essential to ensure our quotations are accurate and reliable, but they’re also a great opportunity to have a chat with a landscaping design professional, access recommendations about the best approaches, and ensure you have a clear idea of the costs and timescales involved.
What to Expect From an Initial Visit From The Best Landscapers in Gloucestershire – Our Landscaping Team
Cotswold Paving and Landscaping has a sterling reputation for customer satisfaction. We ensure every prospective client gets to meet with our landscapers first hand, whether they want a rough estimate, to ask questions, or to gain confidence that we have the expertise and resources to complete their landscaping work to the highest possible standards.
Initial visits to your home carry no obligation and are simply a part of the service where we’ll get an idea of the vision you have and your priorities in what you want your garden to deliver.
We’ll organise a convenient day and time to come to you, and during that visit we can:
- Chat about how your garden works now, the areas you’re dissatisfied with, and the types of finishes, hard landscaping and features that will meet your expectations.
- Review the standard of existing features like walls and fences to determine whether repair or maintenance work is needed before your landscaping project can start.
- Take measurements of all the dimensions of the garden to allow for precise planning, design work and ordering of materials if you decide to go ahead.
- Look at the feasibility of the design features you want – such as checking if there is access to wiring, cabling or a water supply where these might be necessary.
From there, we can start putting together more detailed quotations or share ideas on how to transform your garden. We can also provide comparable estimates if you’re considering real grass turfing versus an artificial grass installation, for example.
Our advice is to steer clear of any landscape gardening firm that offers a price ‘sight unseen’ because this is highly likely to be subject to change, or indicative of low-quality services.
What Should I Expect to See in a Gloucestershire Landscaping Quote?
In some cases, we can deliver a quote straight away, but in others will spend time drawing up outlines of the work we’ve discussed with you, either because you want to take some time to look at all the options, or because you’ve not landed on your final layout and need to have this confirmed before we can offer a dependable quote.
When that quotation arrives, you need to ensure it covers every applicable detail, without room for ambiguity or vague ‘per hour’ pricing without clarity about the anticipated hours required, and the minimum and maximum cost.
Professionally prepared landscaping quotations should include:
- Information about timings, such as the expiry date at which the quote will cease to be valid, the date when a deposit falls due, any staggered payments during the work for larger landscaping projects, and the final end payment date.
- Specifications for all materials involved, from natural stone and decking slabs to block paving, grass cutting, concrete, planting and water features. These specifications mean you know exactly what you’re getting and can then decide if you want to upgrade or switch, understanding the impact on your overall costs.
- All relevant work, which may include clearance and disposal if the garden is currently overgrown or will need sections to be cleared, VAT for services and materials, and finishing touches like lighting or seating.
Itemised quotes set out what is involved in each stage of the landscaping job, the labour and third-party costs covered where applicable, and a total to ensure you can plan and budget accordingly.
The Importance of Setting Realistic Budgets for Landscaping Projects
A tricky aspect for clients new to landscaping can be that they’ve never contracted a professional team before, and don’t have a baseline to work out whether a quote is competitive and reasonable. They may not know whether the materials included represent a fair price, and if they’re ultimately getting good value for money.
The best advice here is to begin with a budget, which is the amount you’re prepared to pay for the work you require. It’s always advisable to discuss this with us from the very first visit so we can provide input to ensure you achieve your objectives while remaining on track.
That could mean recommending alternative materials with a lower initial cost, advising on the proportion of the work we can complete within that price bracket, or simply delivering a quotation which you can compare with those from other companies.
In every case, when you decide to proceed, you should check that there is a contract or set of terms in place, which acts as protection against substandard workmanship, and means you’re not left wondering when your work will start or what it will cost.
Although rare, there are instances where homeowners pay a deposit, never to hear back from an unethical landscaper or agree to go ahead without realising that the variables in their quote mean the final invoice could be multiple times what they’ve expected to pay.
Checking the background of your landscaper and verifying that they’re a trusted, reputable team with the expertise you need can save a lot of headaches later on and ensure you pick a landscaper you can trust to deliver. Get in touch with our Gloucestershire landscaping team for a free quote.