ᐅ Looking for a landscaping contractor, no longer enjoying this.

Before @Tolentino takes over the topic completely: Shape the garden area using a rented mini excavator (on dry soil!), and then

WilderSueden schrieb:

Alternatively, sow green manure plants that break up the soil accordingly. There are plants for that. However, it is not as fast as tilling.

is absolutely correct. For example, lupines break up the soil, loosen it, and create humus. They are inexpensive to buy at agricultural supply stores, easy to sow, and require no maintenance. In late autumn, dig them in (instead of going to the gym) and take advantage of the frost curing.

The following spring, the first beds can be created and the lawn seeded.

Maybe it doesn’t always have to be a landscape gardener, depending on what needs to be done. Civil engineers or groundworkers also sometimes handle the driveway, and if there’s an excavator on site, a skilled operator can level the ground. After that, you can do some of the work yourself as needed. The good thing about gardening is that you can make mistakes without it being too costly. 🙂

Of course, Paul! Discussing landscaping and garden construction here makes perfect sense and is definitely helpful. I completely agree with you that searching for a landscaper has become really frustrating. We hired a local landscaper. Here are my experiences:

Two young guys in a bare office trying to appear very modern, with a catchy slogan, merchandise, and a carved table (all green, of course), looking totally hip. The office is filled with beautiful sample items, they immediately create a great 3D design, and tell you all the green (pun intended) stories under the sun. The price is high but acceptable, and a timely start is promised. There is also an on-site appointment, of course.

Now you, as a desperate homeowner, look at all this and feel relieved to have finally found someone excited about your project and seemingly passionate about their work. There is little information or reviews online yet, but hey – that’s part of the startup mentality, I guess. The contract, of course, contains no price guarantee and no fixed completion date, but you know exactly: if you don’t sign the contract, three others will do it next week, and you’ll miss out again. That’s just how the construction industry looks at the moment, and these providers know this very well.

Afterwards, you naturally have some questions. No problem, you have the cell phone number, email address, and so on. You provide all the information you have, create drawings, take photos. You want everything to run smoothly. Suddenly, no one is as quickly reachable anymore; you stop getting callbacks. Sure, you think, the industry is super busy and the managing director must be so overloaded that responses just take time.

Then you eventually get a price sheet listing hourly rates for all the work not included in the great contract. So now it’s up to you to decide how expensive everything will become. If you forgot something – that’s your problem; you should have known in advance. It’s not the expert’s job to tell you which work is necessary for landscaping...

At some point, you get the message that everything is getting so much more expensive right now. You should know this because you follow the news. There is no fixed price, so they ask you to accept this – otherwise, they’ll have to serve other customers first.

Now it gets messy. The landscaper says they’ve negotiated the absolute best prices just for you, which you’ll never get again in the future. Remember, 8% inflation, everything’s getting more expensive. So please buy the materials now, and everything will be fine. Of course, you must accept administration costs and markups. That’s only natural, Paul. What, you don’t want that? Well, then we’ll have to prioritize other customers – I’m sure you understand. You sign and pay...

Now it gets serious, Paul. Your “super” landscaper cancels the project for some made-up reasons. Now you’re left standing there, completely baffled. You have a contract. You have already paid something. You ask again because you can’t believe it. The answer: “Go ahead and sue us.”

Hmm, nice thought, but what would you sue for? A contract without price guarantees and no promised completion date? Feel free to try, of course, Paul! Then your friendly landscaper will just start next year – and with a hefty surcharge. No problem at all.

Conclusion: You won’t see the money from the excessive advance payment again, and the search for a landscaper starts all over. This time, though, with less money. Congratulations! Makes perfect sense!

I was probably very lucky. I found a reliable contractor (he even gets back to me after 8 PM and searches for the best value options). His price is about 20% lower than the competition, with excellent references. And he requires no advance payment at all. I even offered to pay upfront for the materials, but he gratefully declined. He is starting today with the driveway and the concrete pillars for the fence. Next week, the terrace will follow.

Good luck to everyone still searching.

Mattenzaun schrieb:

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Conclusion: You won’t get that excessive advance payment back, and the search for a landscape contractor starts all over again. This time with less money. Congratulations! Makes perfect sense!

But isn’t that the golden rule number one—to never pay an advance payment higher than the work already completed?
As frustrating as it is, I would be pretty annoyed with myself for being so “stupid” (of course, I’ve made that mistake before too, so I have also been “that stupid” at some point!).