rates of pay for gardener?

hi, just a general question, I am not a gardener but am wanting someone to lay down a patio and basically make my garden look nice! How much should gardeners charge per hour for this service? Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Lynds, I make gardens, & usually Landscapers will charge you per job not per hour, it depends on the size of the area, whether it's level, the materials, access to site etc. A rough guide would be �£50 - �£75 per man, per 1/2 day (that's here in the midlands, in London, you might want to figure on about 15-25% more. What you can do when you ask for an estimate, is get them to break down the figures, there are many rip off merchants who will use cheap rubbish materials & charge a fortune (surprise, surprise!) I always break jobs down into components if people ask. Get several quotes, see if you can perhaps source the materials cheaply yourself (good builders merchants NOT diy store). If possible ask to see previous work & make sure they guarantee it. Avoid anyone with only a mobile number. Also if you get into hourly rates rather than a fixed price, some people will drag the job on & on!

Hope this helps!

[ April 11, 2005, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: Bayleaf ]

 

hi lynds
try to get someone on recomendation some local neighbours might help or local gardening centers

 

Thanks very much, it's actually a different situation than hiring an unknown gardener, my dad is an excellent gardener in his spare time (he's made our garden stunning with water features, sleepers and a pond) and I want him to make over my garden at home, my landlady will be paying him so I was wanting to know what I should tell her to pay him - thanks for all the info!
Lyndsay

 

Hi lynds
i work for Pots and plots in manchester and we charge �£15.00 per hour for general gardening, mowing of lawns cutting and prunning edging etc.
plus we take all cuttings and rubbish away with us. Hope you dad has great satifaction out of his work he gets, just like us.
Take care flower and ask him to take before and after pics, would be nice to see the end results on here. Turl

 

Hi Turl & Lynds

General gardening not chargeable at same rate as landscaping, which is what Lynds is after. I do both, & wouldn't charge garden rate (which tends to be regular & repeated) for one off project - hourly rates don't work for this, Industry standard is to charge in "man days". Easier to do proper quotes for jobs, + clients not frightened into wondering what will happen if job goes over. Similarly if I were to take on a contractor, I would expect to pay him/her a one off fee, not per hour, so that he wouldn't be paid,as Nathan says, for nipping here & there, drinking tea, & scratching his bum! (I would expect him/her to take proper breaks though!)

 

Hi everyone
thanks for all the info again.. i really should post pics of my dads garden, it really is beautiful with arches, huge pond, rockery, sleepers paving, water features etc.. which he created from a plain grass garden himself...he loves it so much we keep saying to him he's running out of space to do things! will keep you posted about my garden makeover!
Lynds