If you have decided to revamp your outdoor area, your best course of action is to hire a professional landscaping contractor you can rely on to provide excellent services. Landscaping contractors are responsible for planting and maintaining your outdoor plants and maintaining all landscape elements on your commercial or residential property. If you are unsure about how to hire the best landscape contractor, this post will offer several handy tips to help you make the right decision.
The best landscape contractor for you will depend on your project’s budget, timeline, and size. You can follow these steps to ensure that you have chosen the best landscape contractor.
Figure Out The Range Of Services You Need
Your landscape contractors will be doing much more than mowing lawns and pruning fences. How much more they will do depends on your needs. Landscape contractors are qualified to provide these services: clearing and grading land, applying herbicide, installing landscape lighting and irrigation systems and building hardscape elements like patios, decks, water features, pavers etc.
Once you figure out your needs, you can narrow your selection depending on your project’s scope. You will need to figure out whether you need a full service or maintenance landscape company. Full-service landscape companies provide installation, maintenance and design work. These companies will have a wide range of staff, including designers, account managers and a crew that is well trained at performing all services offered. Maintenance companies usually provide lawn services like mowing, leaf clean-up, pruning, and weed eating. They are mainly run by sole proprietors and more suited to domestic landscaping than commercial.
Do Some Research on Local Landscape Contractors
After figuring out the range of services you need, the next step is researching contractors in your area that provide these services. You can create a list of all the registered businesses you find in your area and narrow it down by checking online reviews and ratings. Ensure that you read as many reviews as possible to get an accurate opinion of customer satisfaction levels and any recurring complaints that clients may have posted.
The right landscape contractor should have experience working on projects like yours and testimonials from content clients. You should also ensure that all the landscape contractors you consider have met your state’s licensing and insurance requirements.
Get Referrals
Referrals are a great way to find outstanding services. Consult any of your acquaintances that are likely to have similar landscaping needs. Choosing a company with an existing relationship within your network is always a safe bet. Local online community boards are also expected to point you to a reliable, professional landscape contractor. Make sure you conduct some independent research as suggested above before you hire any landscape contractor.
Interview the Potential Candidates
Online research is a great place to start, but it will not supply you with enough information to make a hiring decision. It is advisable to interview landscape contractors in person, but you can also do it via phone or email. During the interview, you will need to ask pertinent questions that will reveal the nature of the landscape.
Great questions to ask include how long they have been in business, if they are bonded and insured, if they use subcontractors, who pulls the permits required for the project, and whether they can share photos of some of their finished projects. It is also important to determine whether they provide drawings of their plans, detailed care instructions for any plants they may install and a warranty for workmanship and plant material.
Vet the Top Prospects
After shortlisting the contractors you are interested in hiring, you should contact their references to vet their performance before signing the contract. Find out whether the contractor completes projects within budget, on time, whether their staff and quality of work meet expectations and whether the referee would hire them again.
Get Written Quotations
It is advisable to get estimates from at least three contractors before deciding. Professional landscaping contractors usually send a staff member to the project site to analyze the services necessary before drawing an accurate quotation. The quotation should include the company’s contact information, the project’s scope, hourly rates, maintenance schedule, types of plants needed, terms and conditions, warranty information and total cost, including taxes.
Professional landscaping contractors always provide detailed quotations that help you predict how long and how much the project will take. Do not be tempted to hire the landscaper with the cheapest quote because they may cost more in the long run.
When choosing a landscaping contractor, ensure you consider their expertise, experience and track record.
