Choosing The Right Landscaping Contractor

Sometimes even your best efforts at maintaining your yard and landscaping can be insufficient to combat pest infestations, weed growth, heavy rains or drought conditions. If you’ve been looking at your yard and thinking it’s time to call a landscaping contractor for help, you are not alone. For those who have never hired a landscaper before, it can be difficult to know how to choose the right one. To ensure that your experience is as positive as possible, you need to consider a few things before you make your choice. Here are some tips to help you.

Create a Vision for Your Yard

It’s important that you start the landscaper search with a clear picture in your mind of what you want from your yard. Consider not only the actual layout and design but also the budget that you are willing to commit to the project. Whether you’re looking for a complete overhaul or just someone to clean up and revitalize what is already there, know what you need before you start looking.

One of the reasons that this is important is because you may actually need other services before you hire your landscaping contractor. If you are looking for a complete redesign of your backyard and you don’t know what to do with it, you might want to reach out to a landscape architect or designer first. That way, you can have the plan established before you start looking for a landscaper.

Start With a List of Recommendations and Local Landscapers

Look through some of the local online service sites for local landscaper listings, and post on your social media platforms to request recommendations and feedback. Compile a list of all of those contractors so that you can start assessing the candidates and narrowing down the list. If there are any landscapers on the list that you already know you’re not interested in, eliminate them right from the start.

Research the Landscaping Contractor Options

Once you have a list of recommendations, either from your local searches or your social media circles, it’s time to weed out the ones that aren’t a good fit. Start by eliminating any landscapers that aren’t bonded, insured and licensed. You want the peace of mind that you will get what you pay for. Then, search for online reviews for the remainder. Narrow the list to the ones with the best reviews.

This should leave you with a much smaller number of potential landscapers than you started with. Narrow it down even further by looking for photos of past work, either on the company’s social media profiles or their website. If you see any work that doesn’t resonate with you, or a company doesn’t post pictures of their work, you can eliminate them from consideration and focus on the ones that have proven themselves as good candidates so far.

Call Each Potential Landscaping Contractor for a Quote

The service quote process is the final step to narrow down the options one last time before you choose. Start by only considering the landscapers that come out to provide you with a quote in person. This is more important than you think because an in-person quote allows the landscaper to evaluate your property, including its size, condition and any concerns before they give you a quote. This eliminates any surprises that may have otherwise come up had they not seen the property first.

Ask your landscapers about the types of work they specialize in. Make sure that they are familiar with the type of work you need. Further, look for companies that will guarantee their work. If they are willing to stand behind it and fix things if something goes wrong, that reflects well for the company’s integrity.

Finally, you should be provided with a clear, detailed service quote in writing at the end of the process. This allows you to compare quotes, service offerings and other details.

Choose Your Landscaping Contractor

After you have received all of the quotes and met with each potential landscaper, it’s time to choose the one that is right for your needs. Consider the services they are willing to offer, the cost of the project and how comfortable you feel with each possible contractor. Choose the one that you feel will do the best work and fits your budget, but make sure that you get the service contract in writing. Don’t work based on a verbal agreement. Written contracts protect both of you and clarify the entire project to reduce the risk of miscommunication.

If you consider these tips as you’re looking for a new landscaper, you’re sure to find someone who is an ideal match for your project. Just remember that landscapers have different styles and skills, so it’s important to choose accordingly. If you have more questions or want more information about the services of a landscaping contractor, contact us at Canepa Landscaping today.