As you know, getting the garden sorted is top of this year’s list. So this January, we met up with three landscapers in our area with the hope of getting our garden makeover started this spring. As you can see from the picture above we have let the garden go. Badly! No matter what we do, the grass still has weeds and the pavers are so old and crumbly, they just never look clean. I cannot wait for all that to change this summer. To be able to sit outside and actually enjoy what I’m looking at will be bliss!
First Things First
Our town has a Facebook group page and I narrowed down landscapers by checking who was the most recommended locally. I even went so far as to message people who had recommended them and asking if they could send on pictures of the work or asking if they could give me any extra info.
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, ask them to visit you garden to get a quote. (They should, of course, come when it’s daylight!) To get the most accurate quote, you want to give them as much detail and as possible – I showed them the exact tile they would using, pictures I found on Pinterest of the exact steps I wanted and I was really clear on exactly what I wanted to do – down to the cm measurements! But you’ll want them to measure the garden themselves too!
We were lucky that the most genuine fella we found was also the cheapest (when does that ever actually happen?!) – so it was, of course, an easy decision!!!
Why Do We Want It In Writing?
Now, during the house renovation, we got kinda burned by the electrician. We still have issues that we’re waiting on him to fix. So to avoid anything like that happening again, we put together a few detailed questions and invited our landscaper-to-be over to go through the questions/answers. He was very happy to do so. We emailed everything to him, along with the quote and made sure we got an email in return, agreeing to everything. This has really put our minds to rest and we are feeling nothing but excitement about what’s to come! The best news is – he’s able to start at the end of March. Aaahhh, only one month away!!!
So Here’s Our Lists of Landscaper Questions Along with Some of the Answers!
1. Will you rebuild the wall where a section is being removed? Corner section/wall of current patio to be removed/disposed of and remaining wall to be rebuilt using existing stone.
2. Will you add a layer of blinding before the tiles are laid? (This ensures the area is dry and level before placing the tiles) Material underneath existing patio paving to be removed/disposed of and replaced with required layer of blinding, which will be compacted. Removal/disposal of old paving from patio.
3. Have you laid a patio using ceramic tiles before? Yes. New paving to be laid and grouted. Tiles and grout to be provided by the customer.
4. Are you insured to cut the trees/bushes at back of garden? Yes. They will be trimmed back to wall at back of garden. No climbing or vertical access platforms required for this. Trimmings to be removed/disposed of.
5. Will new topsoil be put down before garden is re-seeded? (The grass in our garden is basically field grass – mostly weeds and of very poor quality) Grass in garden area to be removed/disposed of and replaced with new topsoil and re-seeded.
6. Some of the grass area will be decked instead. Can gravel be laid here? Re-seeding not required for area where decking will be built. Layer of gravel to be placed here instead of topsoil/seeding.
7. How will you address the drainage issue outside the patio door? (When it rains, water collects right outside the door) Tiles are to be laid with a very slight slope to allow water to drain off. Eco drain to be installed to take water away from outside back door and this is piped into the nearby storm water drain. A recessed patio tile will hide the storm drain cover.
9. How long will the work take from start to finish? Approximately 2 weeks to complete from start date to finish.
10. What is the agreed cost of works?
**We also asked him to send us photos/videos of any recent patio work using ceramic tiles.
Hopefully this will all be of some help to you if you need to hire a landscaper. Maybe there are some of you reading this that can add other landscaper questions to the list – please comment below with them and help each other out! And don’t forget now is the time to start buying garden furniture. (I’ve just bought these!) Everything nice was sold out so early last year!