How we quote
What actually drives the cost of a garden or a grounds contract
We don't publish a price list, because no two gardens and no two sites are the same — and a number pulled out of the air helps nobody. What we can do is tell you exactly what we look at when we price a job, so the quote you get makes sense when it lands. When pricing jobs we make every effort to meet the needs of the customer and their budget: on a small patio in Bishop's Stortford the whole job came in on the figure the client had set.
The size of the job, and how much of it is groundwork
Biggest single factor
Most of the cost of a landscaping job is under the surface, not on it. Stripping out old paving, digging to depth, carting away spoil and consolidating a base take time and machinery, and they are what makes the finished surface last. A patio relaid on a proper base costs more than one dropped onto sand — and is still there in ten years.
The materials you choose
Yours to steer
Block paving, budget slabs, riven and sawn natural stone, timber decking and specialist surfacing sit at very different price points, and the same layout can be built in any of them. We'll show you the realistic options for your budget rather than quote one specification and leave you to guess what the alternatives would have cost.
Access, disposal and recycling
Often underestimated
Whether a machine can get to the back garden, how far the spoil has to be barrowed, and how much waste comes off site all move the figure. Everything we take away goes on to be recycled rather than to landfill, which is the right thing to do and is priced into the job openly.
Frequency, for grounds maintenance
Priced as a schedule
Commercial grounds are quoted as a schedule, not a day rate: the areas involved, the standard you need them kept to, how often we visit and what is included on each visit. Seasonal work like leaf clearance, hedge cutting, markings and pit maintenance is set out separately so you can see exactly what falls inside the contract and what sits outside it.
What moves the price
- How much of the existing garden or surface has to come out before anything new goes in.
- Ground conditions — levels, slope, drainage and what turns up once you start digging.
- The materials specified, especially for paving, walling, decking and surfacing.
- Access for machinery, and how far material and waste have to be moved.
- Whether specialist work is involved — drainage, tree removal, stump grinding, markings or safety surfacing.
- For grounds contracts: the areas covered, the standard required and how often we visit.
The only way to get a real figure is to have us out to look. Paul will walk the garden or the site with you, tell you what's actually involved, and put a written quote to it — with no charge and no obligation either way.
Get a real figure for your job.
The visit and the written quote are both free, and neither commits you to anything. Tell us what you have in mind and we'll put a clear figure to it.