The dig is a lottery and the price is not
Rubble, an old pond, a slab you did not know about. Every garden hides something, and a single figure quote means you are the one paying for it.
For landscapers
Garden estimates that explain where the money actually goes
Most of a garden build is underneath it. Customers see a patio and turf; you priced a sub-base, a fall, a retaining wall and nine tonnes of muck away. An itemised estimate is the only thing that makes that visible before the digger arrives.
Why estimating is the worst part of the week
Muck away is a shock every time
Nine grab loads is a real cost that appears nowhere in a customer's mental picture of a garden. Left off the breakdown it looks invented.
Weather turns a three-week job into five
You cannot lay a patio in standing water, but a customer with a deadline and no written programme thinks that is a manning problem.
A real example
Rear garden redesign with patio, turf and raised beds
On the left is what you would actually write down. On the right is what your customer receives.
Your notes
back garden 12 x 8. falls away from the house about 600 over the length so its terracing not levelling. indian sandstone patio 28sqm straight off the back doors, 150 of type 1 whacked in layers, full mortar bed not five spot, i am not going back to relay it in two years. sleeper retaining wall two tiers, oak or brown treated - price the softwood, oak will scare them. lawn 40sqm rolled turf, rotovate and 50mm topsoil first. beds each side 600 wide, membrane and bark. path down the side 900 wide same stone. 3 grab loads of muck. outside tap and lighting is the spark, not us. 3 weeks two lads. access is through the house or over the neighbours fence, need to ask
The estimate
| Item | Qty | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Clear garden, strip turf and grub out existing shrubs | 1 job | £680.00 |
| Excavate and reduce levels, grab-away spoil | 3 each | £960.00 |
| Type 1 sub-base, laid and compacted in layers | 32 m² | £832.00 |
| Indian sandstone patio on full mortar bed, laid to falls | 28 m² | £2,184.00 |
| Sandstone path, 900mm wide, including edge haunching | 12 m² | £984.00 |
| Treated softwood sleeper retaining wall, two tiers | 14 linear m | £1,330.00 |
| Rotovate, 50mm topsoil and rolled turf | 40 m² | £880.00 |
| Raised beds, weed membrane and bark mulch | 1 job | £460.00 |
| Pointing, edging and finishing throughout | 1 job | £380.00 |
| Site clearance, waste transfer and final tidy | 1 job | £290.00 |
| Total before VAT | £8,980.00 | |
An illustration using typical UK rates, not a price list. TradeScribe prices from the rates in your own notes and your saved day rate.
What we know about landscaping estimates
These are the lines that come up again and again on a landscaper's estimate. Mention any of them in your notes, however briefly, and they come out properly worded.
- Indian sandstone or porcelain patio, per square metre
- Type 1 sub-base, laid and compacted
- Rolled turf including topsoil, per square metre
- Sleeper retaining wall, per linear metre
- Composite or timber decking, per square metre
- Planting scheme and topsoil, per bed
- Aco channel or land drain, per linear metre
- Grab-away of spoil, per load
- Garden clearance, per day
- Two-man landscaping crew, per day
Landscaping estimating questions
How do I price a garden when the ground could be full of rubble?
Price the dig to a stated depth and add a rate for anything unexpected: 'excavation priced to 250mm; removal of buried concrete, hardcore or obstructions charged at £320 per grab load'. Gardens in older properties are where builders buried things for a century, and the only bad answer is discovering it with no agreed mechanism.
Should plants be in my estimate or left as a sum?
Leave them as a planting allowance unless the customer has signed off a specific scheme. Plant prices vary enormously by size and season, and a client who falls in love with a mature multi-stem at the nursery will otherwise expect it inside your original figure. An allowance lets them upgrade knowingly.
Do I need to mention falls and drainage on a patio estimate?
Yes, and it is worth a sentence rather than a line item. State the fall you are laying to and which way the water goes, because a patio that drains towards the house is the most expensive mistake in domestic landscaping. If the existing levels force something awkward, that is the moment to price an Aco channel rather than after they have paid.
How do I handle weather delays without looking unreliable?
Put an indicative programme on the estimate in working days rather than calendar dates, and add a line saying that groundworks and laying are weather dependent. Customers accept this easily when it is written up front and resent it enormously when it arrives as an excuse in week three.
Is landscaping ever zero-rated for VAT?
Only in narrow circumstances. Soft landscaping that forms part of a zero-rated new build, and is required by a planning condition, can be zero-rated alongside the main construction. Ordinary garden work on an existing home is standard-rated at 20%. If a client on a self-build asks, send them to their main contractor's VAT position rather than guessing at it yourself.
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