How to Prune Wisteria This January
Learn How to Realistically Budget for Your Garden Makeover
The Danger of Free Garden Design Quotes
It’s very appealing to be offered free quotes and garden designs. The risk with free quotes is they are only an estimate and never the final investment. When a finger in the air approach is taken to compiling a quote, you will discover the final figure will severely spiral from the original you were given because contingencies will crop up that were never accounted for such as what’s going on below ground.
Comprehensive Site Survey
Without a comprehensive site survey to understand your garden’s size, levels, and access (to name a few key details,) it is impossible to know the exact investment for your new garden.This is why we always start with a garden site survey before we design your garden.
80% of Garden Landscaping and Construction Costs
So, you’ve searched countless websites, picked the perfect porcelain paving for your new patio, choose the render colour for your new walling, and calculated the investment per square meterage based on the item cost you’ve seen on the internet. Concluding what you think your garden should be worth.
You may be surprised to hear that almost 60 – 80% of the cost of a garden is in areas that you won’t even see.
That means, up to 80% of the investment you make will purely be underground. All the groundworks, preparation, and drainage you hadn’t accounted for. Patios, paths, or driveways all rely on good foundations and correct drainage. The sub-bases are the most important part of the construction. Get this wrong and you will have a whole host of issues further down the line.
Foundations and Drainage
Patios, paths, or driveways all rely on good foundations and correct drainage. The sub-bases are the most important part of the construction. Get this wrong and you will have a whole host of issues further down the line.
The pathways and paving areas in your new garden consist of several critical layers to ensure the correct installation that stands the test of time. The correct paving installation consists of compacted soil subbase, weed-suppressing fabric, crushed aggregate, a full mortar bed, and finally your chosen decorative paving stone – only a very small proportion compared to what you have calculated for in your estimates.
Even the removal of soil and waste from a garden is a very expensive action, so always bear in mind.
Don’t Believe Everything You See on TV
Love watching those garden makeover shows? So do we, it’s great to see gardens created by some of the top designers in the country. However, they are a false representation of what is achievable. Remember, they provide the labour for free, and as we’ve already said, a lot of investment is made in the groundworks and preparation which is often where most of the labour is.
Get a Realistic Idea from Professionals
Before you consider a landscaper or designer as being ‘too expensive,’ remember there’s always a lot more work that goes into preparation for your perfect garden. Way more than you will ever physically see. Furthermore, with 25 years in the business, The Garden Design Co can source the materials needed for your garden and landscaping much more cost-effectively than any individual consumer (and most, if not all, other garden design and construction companies.)
If you just want to chat through some ideas, you can book in for your free telephone call-back consultation with an expert or learn more about Garden Landscape Construction by The Garden Design Co now.
