Need advice on landscape issues

landscapenovice

New member
We are trying to choose a landscaper---the more research we do, the more confused we get.  Our problem is knowing how to insure that the work will be good quality, when different people are telling us different things.  How do you know that the construction is being done properly?
One of the primary concerns is proper grading.  We thought we found a great landscaper, but he said he was planning on doing 2" of grading for our yard (which is long and narrow, about 10' X 70.'  We see that standard building codes say 6" of grading is standard for a distance 10' from the house, so is our landscaper skimping on the grading?
Also, we have heavy clay soil.  Some say they plan to put 4" of good topsoil, while others say that it's unnecessary, as long as you dig a hole 2X the size of the pot.  Which is correct? 
Can anyone provide any suggestions as to what quality measures we should be looking at?  Thanks for your suggestions!
 
Depends on what your budget is.  I say this because the concerns you mention are valid concerns; but once you bid out the work you may decide to compromise on the scope of work.

Heavy clay soil should be amended.  If your soil is that bad, you should get a soil test so that you know the proper mix of amendment to use.  It gets expensive if you amend all the soil in the areas you plan to plant in; but it is the ideal scenario.  If you go that route, I would amend one foot down.  2" is a waste of time and money.  Most people tend to dig a bigger hole and amend the soil that fills back up that hole as the cost is far less.  That will limit the growth of certain plants; but not so much on plants that have a small root ball.

As for quality of work, I would look at references from neighbors whom you feel have had high quality landscape installations completed.  Alternatively, you can hire a landscape architect to design your landscaping and this person can help bid out and select a reputable contractor to do the work.  If you plan to spend $100K or more on your landscaping this is definately the route to go.  It makes it easy to get an apples to apples price comparison amongst contractors.  Otherwise, each contractor is bidding out their own design and it's apples to oranges.

There have been contractors recommended on this forum that might be another place to look.  However, I would still look for recent references as some contractors have taken on so much work lately that it has affected their ability to do a quality job in a timely manner.  It sounds like you are looking for a high quality installation, which won't be cheap.  The contractors that compete on price are never the ones that do high quality work.


 
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