cost of landscaping?
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me out by giving me a sense of what would be a customary charge for a landscaper and her two assistants. Here’s the reason: My parents hired a landscaper without asking first what her charges would be. (I know, not a good idea.) Turns out, her charge…
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could help me out by giving me a sense of what would be a customary charge for a landscaper and her two assistants.
Here’s the reason: My parents hired a landscaper without asking first what her charges would be. (I know, not a good idea.) Turns out, her charge to supply ground cover and edging along an approximately 80-foot-long, 3-foot-wide stretch of land was $150/an hour — plus an additional $150/hour for EACH of her two assistants. I’m sure they did a good job — they added peat, etc., to the soil, removed the roots of the hedges that had previously been cut down and mostly removed, etc.
But I’m having a hard time with the idea that not only would the lead landscaper get $150/hour, but her two assistants as well, when I assume she pays her assistants a much lower rate.
Any insights into what’s customary would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Are you taking the time it took to complete the job and dividing it by the cost? Or is 3k just the labor rate?
If it’s both labor and materials, 3k is a smallish job.
If it’s only labor and materials were on top of that, then $150 per hr is insane. For example, if I’m bidding a job (I’m a landscape contractor), a non-union going rate would be $65 per man per hr, if it’s a union site (even though there is no landscaping union, there is always overflow) I would charge $120 per man per hr. That is for Huge construction jobs. If it’s a small brownstone, you would expect it to be charged per job.
Next time, be sure they get competitive quotes.
I agree that this should have been a job price, not an “hourly rate.” It’s not genius work to spread peat/mulch and cut out some old roots. Hell, I can come do it for free. 😉 Did your parents pay yet? If not, I would try to negotiate. The workers are just as unprotected for not having a contract.
wow..it looks like your parents were ripped off big time..the hourly rate should have been closer to 35/hr on a bad day(including overhead such as insurance,etc.) for the assistants…post the name of the landscaper so everyone can avoid her like the plague
The total price was a little under $3,000. I’ll check and see what the breakdown was of labor vs. materials.
Agree with Mrs. Limestone that I would expect an overall price not an hourly rate for a job like this. But landscaping in the city is super expensive. Did this include the cost of the plants and all supplies (peat moss etc)? The edging alone could be several hundred dollars –80ft is a lot — depending on the materials used.
Yes, I was absolutely shocked. That’s why I decided to post here. I mean, maybe you could make an argument that someone who is spectacularly talented could charge $150/hour for design services. (Though I’d still find that crazy.) But that still leaves the question of why my parents were charged $150/hour for each of the assistants as well.
Like I said, they (naively) did not ask about the rates before hiring these people. I’m going to talk to them about the importance of doing that, but before I do, can anyone tell me what’s a customary rate for landscaping in the brownstone Brooklyn (Park Slope) area?
Thanks!
That is truly groundway robbery.
I dont really believe in paying skilled people by the hour – she should quote you a cost for the job. If she wants to be slow about it or do it quickly is up to her.
unless they were able to complete the job in an hour, this seems like an excessive price.