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  duncan ross January 9, 2012 at 6:16pm

  I have been a member of national paving schemes & been to the agm's where it is staggering (that is the right word) the difference firms can charge regionally. For instance last time out I sat on a table with guys from Liverpool & they were laying block paving @ a flat rate £38/m2 ( & they were expensive for the area), while the lads from Kent were around the £100 mark. We were about in the middle, approx. £65-80/m2, although we do not use rates as such, just as a guide to minimise mistakes.

  Other typical costs: natural sandstone £75-100/m2.

  Close board fencing: £52-90 per linear m, depending on length/obstacles.

  Turf: £10-20/m2 depending on preparation.

  Decking: typical grooved profile £65-85 m/2

  Natural stone walls using derbyshire grit stone ( x1 face exposed) approx. £150-200/m2

  All prices inc VAT AS WE ARE DOMESTIC ONLY.

  Costs are to supply & lay, but always depend on a visual inspection first.

  Educating the customer on price is very important. You may think you are giving away information by providing it here, but LJN should be about increasing the success rates for those people in the business who are about doing a good job for a fair days pay. You will win more good business if you are competitively priced & your rates/price falls in a catergory that the customer was expecting to pay. Cheap prices make the customers doubt the whole quote process & is off putting for them.
• PRO

  Phil Voice January 11, 2012 at 11:23am

  The cost variations by geographical location you highlight is one very good point Duncan - the numbers you quote are significant swings.

  How does a nationwide product supplier go about pricing for different regions I wonder?

  
  duncan ross said:

  I have been a member of national paving schemes & been to the agm's where it is staggering (that is the right word) the difference firms can charge regionally. For instance last time out I sat on a table with guys from Liverpool & they were laying block paving @ a flat rate £38/m2 ( & they were expensive for the area), while the lads from Kent were around the £100 mark. We were about in the middle, approx. £65-80/m2, although we do not use rates as such, just as a guide to minimise mistakes.

  Other typical costs: natural sandstone £75-100/m2.

  Close board fencing: £52-90 per linear m, depending on length/obstacles.

  Turf: £10-20/m2 depending on preparation.

  Decking: typical grooved profile £65-85 m/2

  Natural stone walls using derbyshire grit stone ( x1 face exposed) approx. £150-200/m2

  All prices inc VAT AS WE ARE DOMESTIC ONLY.

  Costs are to supply & lay, but always depend on a visual inspection first.

  Educating the customer on price is very important. You may think you are giving away information by providing it here, but LJN should be about increasing the success rates for those people in the business who are about doing a good job for a fair days pay. You will win more good business if you are competitively priced & your rates/price falls in a catergory that the customer was expecting to pay. Cheap prices make the customers doubt the whole quote process & is off putting for them.
• PRO

  Phil Voice January 11, 2012 at 11:24am

  Well over a thousand now and very high on SERPS too.
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  Kieran Ray January 11, 2012 at 10:54pm

  Thats a good informative article Gaynor!

  I believe the 10% of the price of the house to be a good start, its just a shame too many people under estimate the value of the work involved. Most of the landscaping we do I would say is around the 5% mark.
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  colin richardson January 31, 2012 at 9:20pm

  I agree with kieran Gaynor...

  A very well written and true to point article.
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  Morris May February 22, 2012 at 11:31pm

  Fantastic... and amusing ... and too true
  
  Duncan said:

  To expand on the ''I'm not sure a web page can do that really.'' Which was aimed at the good intentions behind this thread, but here's another example.

  I'm a great believer that a customer needs to be able to look you in the eye and judge the choice of contractor also on a human level, much more so than their presence on the net. We don't have a web page although we should have one I suppose.

  I know of plenty of firms, within say eighty miles of us, with flashy web pages, 'prize winning' companies (of course the prizes are being handed out by the companies shifting the materials.. ;-) no disrespect intended to honest companies, or the suppliers). Win lots of contracts, make lots of money, and their work is total, unadulterated, sh*t.. to put it mildly.

  Day one - customer sees website and 'accreditations' and phones them up, they come to the door and measure up.

  Day two - tear it out and lay sub base

  Day three - 'build' a driveway or garden.

  Day four - Invoice.

  Not possible, just... not... possible, if it is to last any more than a couple of years. Our strip founds and haunching wouldn't have even gone off in that time.

  If anything I'd add to the public advice to be very, very wary of companies offering speed as a selling point, as most of these folk will have a new 'name' every four or five years. I also, personally, take absolutely no heed of kitemarks invented by either suppliers or 'the guild of monoblocking pygmies', as I know for a fact than some do not carry the same build quality or attention to detail to each and every job, for a fact.

  (runs and hides..) 

   
• 

  Morris May February 22, 2012 at 11:46pm

  I dont know whether Philip is still reading this, but it might be as well as to point out the care someone puts into decorating/redeveloping their home. If a customer is expecting a fairly extensive build then they should be expecting to pay a fair amount for 'builders' (sorry landscapers...gulp)

  Similarly for design. If I wanted an extension, I would not expect to be charged £2k for a drawing on a scrap of paper (and I have seen it!), but I would expect to pay for properly drawn out plans and survey. The finer points of a well designed and executed build can add considerably to the value of the property, where as a quick job won't.

  This might not be popular, but one of my tests of a landscape designer (domestic), is how good is their plant knowledge... some of the upstarts are amazing ignorant. However, this does require the potential customer to have some understanding. To me a garden sings a story, through its structure, mystery and surprises; many of which are told by the plants.

  10% of property value seems high for some parts of the country... Surrey! Very overpriced property....
• 

  Colin Hunt February 23, 2012 at 6:40am

  So far, we have not joined the 'essential' website club ...........but do have a basic one under construction.  We have been going for over 30 years, so rely on referalls and contacts made over that time. 

  I can relate to your point about your work standing the test of time and how it benefits you. When block paving  hit the scene in the mid 80's, we follwed the completion of our first ever, with 4 follow-ups in the same road.  Today they all still sit there, no dips, no fallen edges or kerbs, but then we always used a full excavation with a wacked lean mix concrete base and solid concrete benching.  We still(27years later)return to two of those properties regularly for other work and weekly maintenance - that's how it works for us.
  
  Duncan said:

  To expand on the ''I'm not sure a web page can do that really.'' Which was aimed at the good intentions behind this thread, but here's another example.

  I'm a great believer that a customer needs to be able to look you in the eye and judge the choice of contractor also on a human level, much more so than their presence on the net. We don't have a web page although we should have one I suppose.

  I know of plenty of firms, within say eighty miles of us, with flashy web pages, 'prize winning' companies (of course the prizes are being handed out by the companies shifting the materials.. ;-) no disrespect intended to honest companies, or the suppliers). Win lots of contracts, make lots of money, and their work is total, unadulterated, sh*t.. to put it mildly.

  Day one - customer sees website and 'accreditations' and phones them up, they come to the door and measure up.

  Day two - tear it out and lay sub base

  Day three - 'build' a driveway or garden.

  Day four - Invoice.

  Not possible, just... not... possible, if it is to last any more than a couple of years. Our strip founds and haunching wouldn't have even gone off in that time.

  If anything I'd add to the public advice to be very, very wary of companies offering speed as a selling point, as most of these folk will have a new 'name' every four or five years. I also, personally, take absolutely no heed of kitemarks invented by either suppliers or 'the guild of monoblocking pygmies', as I know for a fact than some do not carry the same build quality or attention to detail to each and every job, for a fact.

  (runs and hides..)