On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 18:15:25 GMT, wrote:

I have decided to get some help in to get my back garden into good
shape, as I don't have the time required at the moment. I feel that
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at
the moment to make the effort to get to that point by myself.

I have had one estimate so far for £150

You most certainly need more than one estimate at whatever skills
level you require. Would you be looking anxiously through the window
as the chosen one(s) wander round with secateurs. Would you be quite
happy with someone meandering their way with a lawn mower.

Maybe you should get a willing laddie/lassy to mow the lawn - and no
doubt give them a little repeat business from time to time.

Horticultural students often advertise in news agents windows and
they, although appreciating a little more for their skills than they
might have got for mowing the lawn, don't have the overheads of self
employment already embarked on in earnest.

If you do the Yellow Pages take the advice which I have always
kicked myself for not having had he bravado in the past to follow. Ask
for references but particularly three customers for whom they have
worked within the last three months. That should be easy enough for
them - a satisfied customer is always more than happy to provide a
reference. Write them down and then ask if you can have the phone
numbers where you can contact them. If they get uppity, they're not
kosher. If it's fine and dandy, they and their customer parted on a
friendly basis.

Just some thoughts

Good luck

Hussein
Grow a little garden

spam block - for real addy, reverse letters of second level domain.

Stephen Howard wrote:

snip

My initial reaction is that, in Hampshire at least, the rate seems on
the high side, if you are looking for moderately skilled labourers. On
the other hand, it seems petty good if you are getting experienced
gardeners who will provide their own equipment and clear up after
themselves.

I'd agree with that. One of my clients is an experienced jobbing
gardener and goes out for a rate of £15 per hour.
If it's just mowing and weeding I'm pretty sure you could use just
about anyone ( even my kids can do a pretty reasonable job with just
the barest of supervision...from my hammock...with a gin and
tonic.....ahem ).

Colleagues of mine who are trained (above college Horticultural
standard) but not working full time. charge 12 - 15 hr as 'jobbing'
gardeners. This is out of town in north of England. This is with no
tools supplied and disposal of waste is extra..

Disposal of waste is expensive, if your doing it as a full time I
believe you get charged 'industrial' waste charges, when I worked for a
short period as an interior landscaper we used to dump the clippings
with the rest of the office waste. (Not my job to argue with the boss!)

And as others have mentione dif you add in insurance/travel etc.....

//
Jim
North London, England, UK

"Stephen Howard" wrote in message

I'd agree with that. One of my clients is an experienced jobbing
gardener and goes out for a rate of £15 per hour.
If it's just mowing and weeding I'm pretty sure you could use just
about anyone ( even my kids can do a pretty reasonable job with just
the barest of supervision...from my hammock...with a gin and
tonic.....ahem ).

Regards,

Hmm are you bribing or blackmailing them?

O

Paul Kelly wrote:

"hayley" wrote in message
...
my partner's father gardens for about £5 an hour. He is very good but does
it more for a hobby. Maybe you should ask around locally to see if anyone
has a gardener who does it more for love of the job and would do yours for
less?
Hayley


and people wonder why there are so few good and qualified Gardeners around!
No wonder when the market rate is dragged down below poverty levels by the
hobby amateur!


Good doesn't = qualified, qualified doesn't = good-)

So yes, there are a 'few' good *&* qualified gardeners around,.. A rare
species??

//
Jim;-)

I have decided to get some help in to get my back garden into good
shape, as I don't have the time required at the moment. I feel that
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at
the moment to make the effort to get to that point by myself.

I have had one estimate so far for £150 - for 2 chaps to work for half
a day. Now, the time seems about right to me for the work involved,
(though it would take me a lot longer I'm sure) but I have no idea
what is "the going rate" for such work, so I don't knwo if this is
cheap, reasonable or a bit steep. my initial thoughts were that it
was a bit more than I'd expected, (I'd thought more like £100) but I
may have just been guilty of wishful thinking?

Dose anyone have any experience of paying for gardening work? Can
anyone comment?

Cheers,
Sam

When we moved to our new house I was too busy with my job to spare time to do the
basic labour and groundwork such as digging the garden, laying a path and some
other general DIY type jobs. So I put an advert in a local newsagents asking for
an "Odd Job Person - Rate £4.50 per hour, cash in hand". We ended up with two
semi-retired men working for us for several months. Generally they did a good job,
but we had to keep a close supervisory eye on them and be very explicit in what we
wanted them to do. However, if you take this route be sure to check their
references and their contact number/address or you may just be inviting rouges or
conmen into your garden. This approach worked very well for us.
--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

"Drakanthus" wrote in message
When we moved to our new house I was too busy with my job to spare time to
do the basic labour and groundwork such as digging the garden, laying a
path and some other general DIY type jobs. So I put an advert in a local
newsagents asking for an "Odd Job Person - Rate £4.50 per hour, cash in
hand". We ended up with two
semi-retired men working for us for several months. Generally they did a
good job, but we had to keep a close supervisory eye on them and be very
explicit in what we wanted them to do. However, if you take this route be
sure to check their references and their contact number/address or you may
just be inviting rouges or
conmen into your garden. This approach worked very well for us.

Do you *really* want to watch them every minute? When I was self employed I
spent far too long sorting out problems these characters had created. You
get what you pay for.

Rod

On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 18:15:25 +0000, sparky wrote:
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at

I have had one estimate so far for £150 - for 2 chaps to work for half
a day. Now, the time seems about right to me for the work involved,

Well, think about it this way - that's £75 each, and if they work 4hrs,
equates to £18.75/hr, or if they work 5 hrs, £15/hr. What you have to
decide is whther this is reasonable! I'd say that was probably on the
expensive side! (Pre-tax, NI values used of course...)

Sarah

In article , Sarah
Dale writes
On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 18:15:25 +0000, sparky wrote:
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at

I have had one estimate so far for £150 - for 2 chaps to work for half
a day. Now, the time seems about right to me for the work involved,

Well, think about it this way - that's £75 each, and if they work 4hrs,
equates to £18.75/hr, or if they work 5 hrs, £15/hr. What you have to
decide is whther this is reasonable! I'd say that was probably on the
expensive side! (Pre-tax, NI values used of course...)

Sarah


It all comes down to what people will pay.

When I started my business I attended the local college on Forecasting,
Advertising, Banking etc etc and one of the Seminars was with Colin Day,
Sales Director of Poole Pottery. He split us up into groups and gave us
all an article. He told us what the material costs were, manufacturing
costs, advertising, overheads etc and asked us to come up with a price.
We all crunched figures and one by one the groups were asked what we
would sell this for .97p, £1.03, .99p etc etc etc
'This article sells for £3.45' "How did you get that calculation?" 'It's
what the public will pay'

:-))

I learnt a lot from that.

My son in law has just replaced his Rolls Royce. £109,000.00 Does it
cost that much to make? Do the materials cost that much?

"It's what the public will pay"

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions. H.M.S.Collingwood Association Chatham May 30th - June 2nd
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

Do you *really* want to watch them every minute? When I was self employed I
spent far too long sorting out problems these characters had created. You
get what you pay for.

Rod


I guess it depends on who you get. We were lucky plus we're not the sort of people
to be taken for mugs. Both men were hard working and reasonably skilled in the
jobs we asked them to do. My wife supervised them periodically and provided cups
of tea. We paid them cash at the end of each day. Had they not been up to the job
they wouldn't have made it past the first day. I think the key thing with this
sort of labour is to give them the right sort of jobs to do - and for the men to
be honest about their abilities in different areas. Since we knew exactly what was
required for each task, there was little chance of them making a bodge job. I
wouldn't have dreamt of letting them lose with the house electrics for example.
However, one claimed to have had a lot of experience rendering so we allowed him
to do the garage which was badly in need of re-rendering; and three years later it
is still sound. We ended up letting him skim the plaster in the hall and stair
well - which he did to a high quality for a fraction of the cost a builder had
quoted for us.
--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

In article , Sarah
Dale writes
On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 18:15:25 +0000, sparky wrote:
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at

I have had one estimate so far for £150 - for 2 chaps to work for half
a day. Now, the time seems about right to me for the work involved,

Well, think about it this way - that's £75 each, and if they work 4hrs,
equates to £18.75/hr, or if they work 5 hrs, £15/hr. What you have to
decide is whther this is reasonable! I'd say that was probably on the
expensive side! (Pre-tax, NI values used of course...)

Sarah

It all comes down to what people will pay.

When I started my business I attended the local college on Forecasting,
Advertising, Banking etc etc and one of the Seminars was with Colin Day,
Sales Director of Poole Pottery. He split us up into groups and gave us
all an article. He told us what the material costs were, manufacturing
costs, advertising, overheads etc and asked us to come up with a price.
We all crunched figures and one by one the groups were asked what we
would sell this for .97p, £1.03, .99p etc etc etc
'This article sells for £3.45' "How did you get that calculation?" 'It's
what the public will pay'

:-))

I learnt a lot from that.

My son in law has just replaced his Rolls Royce. £109,000.00 Does it
cost that much to make? Do the materials cost that much?

"It's what the public will pay"

Mike
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions. H.M.S.Collingwood Association Chatham May 30th - June 2nd
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 10:06:24 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote:


"Stephen Howard" wrote in message

I'd agree with that. One of my clients is an experienced jobbing
gardener and goes out for a rate of £15 per hour.
If it's just mowing and weeding I'm pretty sure you could use just
about anyone ( even my kids can do a pretty reasonable job with just
the barest of supervision...from my hammock...with a gin and
tonic.....ahem ).

Regards,

Hmm are you bribing or blackmailing them?

A bit of both, with a healthy dose of magic thrown in to sweeten the
pill.

What I do is bury a few 50p pieces - then show each of them where to
dig ( just so they both get fair shares ) and tell them there is
buried treasure left over from the days when the sea used to be 30
miles further inland and pirates roamed our back garden.
A few experimental digs with a trowel reveal a small cache of coins -
at which point they practically fight over the gardening tools...while
I sneak off for a well-deserved Chota Peg.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Stephen Howard wrote in
:

What I do is bury a few 50p pieces - then show each of them where to
dig ( just so they both get fair shares ) and tell them there is
buried treasure left over from the days when the sea used to be 30
miles further inland and pirates roamed our back garden.
A few experimental digs with a trowel reveal a small cache of coins -
at which point they practically fight over the gardening tools...while
I sneak off for a well-deserved Chota Peg.

*Scribble scribble*

Damn....I just gotta make a note of THAT one!

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^W^W^W^W uk.rec.gardening, I
heard hayley say...
my partner's father gardens for about £5 an hour. He is very good but does
it more for a hobby. Maybe you should ask around locally to see if anyone
has a gardener who does it more for love of the job and would do yours for
less?

Maybe they could. But will they be declaring the income for tax etc,
etc. I have charged 10 / hr, and not had problems getting customers,
but I have to cover the overheads of being self employed.

--
Fenny
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Sam wrote in message
I have decided to get some help in to get my back garden into good
shape, as I don't have the time required at the moment. I feel that
once everything has had a good prune and weeding and the grass is cut
back I will be able to keep on top of things, but cannot find time at
the moment to make the effort to get to that point by myself.

I have had one estimate so far for £150 - for 2 chaps to work for half
a day. Now, the time seems about right to me for the work involved,
(though it would take me a lot longer I'm sure) but I have no idea
what is "the going rate" for such work, so I don't knwo if this is
cheap, reasonable or a bit steep. my initial thoughts were that it
was a bit more than I'd expected, (I'd thought more like £100) but I
may have just been guilty of wishful thinking?

Dose anyone have any experience of paying for gardening work? Can
anyone comment?


A number of the locals around here (just S. of Staines) use a chap that
charges £15 per hour with a minimum of £45. I don't think he's a qualified
(or even good) gardener though, just good enough for some tidying up and
grass cutting, edging, etc, basic work. I see his vehicle parked all over
the area so he is in demand.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

Paul Kelly wrote:

Don't forget, you are not just paying for the hours spent on the job.
Form the point of view of the guy's business, the amount charged has
to cover (inter alia) time spent estimating, Dead time between jobs
(ie after half a day on your garden, what time after travelling will
they be able to spend on the next job), insurance & Public liability
insurance (if they are reputable), tools & equipment etc etc.

Sorry I don't agree. Estimating the cost of a job should not be chargable.
If you put in a claim to a prospective employer for time expended during the
interview do you think you would get the job. No!

Traveling to the next job is not your problem. I can not claim tax rebate
for traveling to work costs why should a gardener.

Insurance & Public liability insurance (if they are reputable), tools &
equipment etc etc. Yes