How Much Should You Pay a Landscaping Company in Canada?

Before you start shopping for a landscaping company, consider what you want your yard to look like. Landscaping ideas designed to increase your property value can range from simple, inexpensive projects to a complete overhaul of your yard. Once you know what you want, you can start working on a budget and see if you can afford these changes.

Related: 60 Beautiful Backyard Ideas

If you need to adjust your landscaping budget because it turns out to be more expensive than you had envisioned, consider which projects are absolute must-haves right now. Unless your deck is falling apart, it may be something that can wait until you have the money to do a decent job. Maybe you can start with lawn maintenance and some flowerbeds for now.

Related: How to Makeover Your Backyard for Spring for Less Than $100

Not all of the projects you’re thinking of for your yard have to be done immediately. Once you’ve listed the must-haves for right now, place the rest in order of importance. Some beautiful backyard ideas can wait a little longer while you get the front yard in tip-top shape, for instance. It’s best not to be hasty: wait until your budget can cover the costs of doing a great job rather than spending less money now on inferior work that you’ll just have to redo at a later stage.

According to Neuvoo, the average hourly pay for a landscaper in Canada is $21.50. This is the minimum to work from, since it generally only covers the labour costs. When discussing the quote with your landscaper, find out more or less how many hours the job will take and multiply it by the hourly rate to give you a baseline figure to work from.

Ask your landscaper what is included in the rate. If the rate only covers labour costs, you’ll need to budget extra for tools, plants and other gardening supplies, building materials and so on. You may be able to get supplies and materials for less if you buy them yourself, but remember that your landscaper may be able to buy in bulk and can get things at a reduced rate.

The right renovations can increase the value of your home and make it easier to sell. While new kitchen cabinets or a repurposed basement are nice additions, the fact is that your yard is where potential buyers will get their first impression of your home. Carson Arthur, who has handy front yard tips to help sell your home, suggests in the Toronto Sun that you set aside 20 per cent of your renovation budget for the outdoors. This would include about 7 per cent for the front yard.

If your yard is tiny, it may be easy enough for just one person to handle the landscaping, as opposed to the team of people it will take to work on a yard the size of a city park. This can bring down the costs significantly, but it also has a drawback: small yards can limit the size and type of equipment the landscaper can use, which means the job may take longer.

“Location, location, location” isn’t only important in real estate terms, but also in terms of how much your landscaping will cost. If you live far out of town, it will cost more to transport everything needed for the landscaping project, including the workers, materials and equipment.

The ease of access to the area where you want the landscaping work to be done is a consideration many people forget about. However, it can have a huge impact on how – and how quickly – the job will get done. If your landscaper has to navigate a rough footpath or clamber up a hill to get to the work area, it may be near impossible to get heavy equipment there and the work might have to be done by hand instead. So, the more difficult it is to access the work area, the more expensive your landscaping will be.

Like with every other service you pay for, landscaping services by someone who is highly qualified for the job will cost more. Is your landscaper a certified master gardener or even a landscape architect? Then expect to have to pay more than you would for someone who mows lawns on the side.

Related: Organic Gardening: What and When to Plant

The way your landscaper does the job can affect the pricing too, so you need to consider special gardening practices. A landscaper who is an expert in organic gardening or pet-safe gardening may charge more than one who uses chemical pesticides, since the work will be more labour intensive.

If anybody on the landscaping company’s team gets hurt while working on your property, you may be held liable, since you’re considered the employer. There is a way to protect you from this, however. Hiring landscapers who have sufficient liability insurance and have Workers Compensation Board or WCB coverage. These landscaping companies may cost more, but are much better for your peace of mind.

Safety precautions such as providing workers with safety gear for the job costs landscapers more and this will be reflected in their rates. Of course, you can save money in the short term by hiring landscapers who cut corners in the safety department, but if something goes wrong, it will cost you dearly in the long run. After all, you may be held liable for the workers’ on-the-job injuries.

There is a vast difference in the skill required to plant flowers or cleaning up leaves in the fall and building dream decks and patios. For some jobs, your landscaping company may have to get subcontractors, for instance builders or carpenters. These specialist jobs will cost more.

Very few landscaping projects involve the landscaping company simply coming in and adding to what’s already there. More often, they need to clear the area of debris and overgrowth and they may even have to demolish existing structures so that they have a clean slate to work on. You’ll need to consider not only the cost of transporting all this rubbish to the landfill – which can start at around $300 – but also the dumping fees and environmental surcharges.

Whether you want to grow the best lawn in your neighbourhood or add new flowerbeds or a vegetable garden, one of the first things your landscaper will do is to add new topsoil. Good topsoil is essential for new plant growth. OutdoorSpace says that it’ll cost you around $1,750 for adding topsoil to a 2,500-square-foot yard in the city.

Some of the most inspiring Canadian backyard escapes feature gorgeous patios and walkways. Building these involve much more than you might think: after the area has been cleared of the existing base material, the contractor needs to construct and compact a granular base. Only then can the actual patio or walkway stones be added. The cost of adding patios and walkways can range from $15 to over $40 per square foot according to OutdoorSpace.

How much you can expect to pay for a new deck or other wooden structure depends mainly on the size and the type of materials you use. Spruce is less expensive while a low-maintenance, artificial material called composite decking can be quite pricey. Then there’s the material you’ll use for handrails too, which can range from wood to aluminum. As a guideline, OutdoorSpace says you can start at $2,500 for a small deck and $5,000 for a pergola.

A water feature is a great way to instantly turn your garden into an oasis of tranquility. Factors that affect the cost of water features include whether it’s a simple fountain or a large pond with waterfall, the size of the feature, the size of the stone or boulder used and the size and type of sump, pump and filter. OutdoorSpace says that simple bubbler-type water features start at around $2,500, while large ponds with waterfalls can cost upwards of $25,000.

Good outdoor lighting will add value to your yard at night, making it a space you can enjoy after dark too. LED lighting fixtures last for a long time and won’t eat too much of your power budget. You do need to consider how many transformers you’ll need to run your lighting system, as well as the type of fixtures you want to install and how many of these you’ll need. OutdoorSpace says the initial cost starts from around $150 per fixture. However, you can significantly lower the cost by creating cozy outdoor lighting with dollar store finds.