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Original poster

Garden maintenance cost blew my mind.

141 replies

Boleynforsoup · 14/05/2026 17:35

I had a gardener round to quote for trimming some hedges back from my back gate that overhang from the property behind, weeding the patio and jet washing it. Taking all garden waste with them He’s said half a days work for a couple of them max. He’s just emailed me the quote: £750!!! My flabber is truly gasted…. Is this really the going rate?! 5 years ago without the jet washing I paid someone £45!!!

OP posts:
fedupandtired1 · 14/05/2026 18:17

Do it yourself . We were fed up off people not turning up so we just did it our self . It tools weeks of hard graft but was worth it

SeaToSki · 14/05/2026 18:16

Go back and ask how much per hour if you pay for time and materials. Then see what that comes out at. If you go with that though, you would want to be there while they do the job as you dont know yet if they are efficient at working or will take a break every 10 mins.

FlyingApple · 14/05/2026 18:15

Well who's paying him similar?

GothicCola · 14/05/2026 18:15

Insane. I paid £120 back in January to do a general tidy of my garden before my house went on the market. That included mowing my (fairly sizable) lawn, cutting back 3 hedges, jet washing my patio and drive and taking all the waste away. There was 2 of them.

Oblahdeeoblahdoe · 14/05/2026 18:14

Taking the piss...

arethereanyleftatall · 14/05/2026 18:14

Omg I just looked at Amazon - a jet washer is only £100!!! Defo diy

Glittertwins · 14/05/2026 18:14

Our gardener is £40/hr. He can generally get everything into the gardening waste bin but occasionally needs to use the council recycling bit for which he does have a licence.
What the OP has been quoted is rather a lot and I’m presuming she is paying for the water supply for the jet washer too.

arethereanyleftatall · 14/05/2026 18:13

ToffeeCrabApple · 14/05/2026 17:46

My neighbour paid hundreds to have someone jetwash her drive.

I just did mine myself with a karcher. Its not difficult. Ive also stopped paying for cleaning, painting, those sorts of smaller jobs, as people wanted paying so much. These aren't skilled jobs, I can do these things easily myself.

Absolutely agree with this. Get the right tools, go to YouTube to find how to do it, and DIY is so so much easier than you think. If you think about it, it isn’t the top table kids going in to these professions, so I’m not sure why we’re so scared of it!

ShanghaiDiva · 14/05/2026 18:12

we pay £100 once per year to have our trees and shrubs cut back - about 2 hours of work. He fills our green waste bin and then takes away at least 2/3 dumpy bags. We have a pressure washer and do the patio ourselves.
£750 seems incredibly expensive.

pepinillo · 14/05/2026 18:11

Could be a F-off quote (quote high for a job they don't want to do so if the quote is accepted at least you are getting paid a ton to do it). I would get some more quotes to get a better idea if the going rate in your area.

arethereanyleftatall · 14/05/2026 18:11

arethereanyleftatall · 14/05/2026 18:10

That is absolutely ridiculous. It’s unskilled work 0.5 x 2, so one days work, the labour should be max £200 (which is still £25 an hour, way above any other salary with no qualifications necessary).

Obvo more on top for your van, insurance, jet washer, time to quote etc but that should be about £100, so £300 would be a reasonable quote

arethereanyleftatall · 14/05/2026 18:10

That is absolutely ridiculous. It’s unskilled work 0.5 x 2, so one days work, the labour should be max £200 (which is still £25 an hour, way above any other salary with no qualifications necessary).

DonTBeacunt · 14/05/2026 18:09

That’s a monumental amount of cash.

I may change careers!

Barrenfieldoffucks · 14/05/2026 18:06

Massive price. We run a drainage firm, and when we quote repairs etc it works out around that per day (perhaps a littleore), for 2 guys. They'll turn up in £60k's worth of drainage van, perhaps with a £20k digger etc etc etc.

So that for half a day for some trimming and pruning? Mega bucks!

viques · 14/05/2026 18:05

frozendaisy · 14/05/2026 17:47

Any younger family members want work?
Be cheaper to buy the equipment and pay them!

Or better still hire the equipment!

Marble10 · 14/05/2026 18:04

I also had this shock 🤣 I thought I’d pay £100 max. But ended up £300 (one man). Also pay grass cutting / weeding every other month for £80. I thought I’d get that done for £20 🤣

Lulumush · 14/05/2026 18:04

And cheaper than your millionaire gardener!!

SquirrelRed · 14/05/2026 18:04

That price seems ludicrous to me. I know the cost of everything has gone up so tradesmen need to charge more, but that's just ridiculous. I can't believe anyone can afford to pay that!

Lulumush · 14/05/2026 18:04

Tip - before investing in a Karcher, spray the patio with Patio Magic and leave. Reapply a week later if necessary. I've used it for five years and I don't bother spraying anymore as it kills all the black and green. I use weedkiller on moss and grass between the paving stones if i have to. Much easier than jetting!

Bristolandlazy · 14/05/2026 17:59

AuContrairePubicHair · 14/05/2026 17:57

DP is a gardener. I've just read him your post and he says "where the fuck is this gardener driving from, Mars?" Grin

Ha ha ha ha. Brilliant.

Bristolandlazy · 14/05/2026 17:58

Buy a jet wash. It's so satisfying, it's free therapy!!

Sounds expensive to be, but I'm a tight wad. My parents pay about twenty pounds an hour for hedge cutting but that's extremely cheap.

billysboy · 14/05/2026 17:58

a 16 ton grab lorry is only £350 for a kerbside pickup

YabbaDabbaDooooo · 14/05/2026 17:58

tiramisugelato · 14/05/2026 17:52

I think the price is mainly for disposal. It costs a fortune to take things to the tip.

That's what I was going to say.

Hence the reason there's so many garden bonfires around here.

The council take the piss with commercial waste, even when it's green waste.

AuContrairePubicHair · 14/05/2026 17:57

DP is a gardener. I've just read him your post and he says "where the fuck is this gardener driving from, Mars?" Grin

Fluffypuppy1 · 14/05/2026 17:55

Get a few quotes.

My dad was quoted £950 for two people to tidy his garden. It wouldn’t have taken more than two hours for two people. He instead went with a neighbour’s gardener who charged him £100.

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