Can you comment on this landscaping/gardening quote

[mylifeisgood]

I have a small garden of about 4.4m wide and 14m(?) long.
One end will have a small patio, the other a small area of decking, the middle will be all planting with a path through.
I have been given a quote to:
lay the patio
build small retaining walls in concrete blocks
render and waterproof the retaining walls
to lay an informal path (16 sq m)
remove all existing vegetation
put down decking (12 sq m).

The quote inc VAT comes to £8520. This does not include the slabs for the patio.
I have asked the builders who are doing work on the house to do it, because it would just be easier, but I think that I could do better elsewhere, couldn't I?

[redfairy]

I have not got a clue how much it should cost but would be picking myself off the floor if I'd read that quote. Definitely get more quotes OP.

[GardenDragon]

That does seem an awful lot, especially if your builders are already on site doing other stuff. I would get some more quotes, I am sure you could get the price down!

[samsam123]

about half that amount would be more like it

[CuttedUpPear]

Labour costs usually come in at double the price of the materials required for the job.
If you have a breakdown of costs on the quote, or if you know the measurements, you can work out the costs of the materials yourself and calculate labour.

Removing vegetation will depend on how much there is, and are they taking it away themselves?

[funnyperson]

I wonder if it is the retaining walls for the garden which are costing. Maybe put up fence instead and give up the decking?

[Liara]

are the materials for the path and decking included? What kind of wood are you having (prices vary wildly according to this)?

It doesn't strike me as an insane amount, it is about 7k ex vat and is probably 1-2 weeks work. If materials are about 1/3 of that (fairly typical), then you are talking under 5k to them for the work, which is not unreasonable (if it is 10 days, that works out to 500 a day, which is what I was paying in London over 10 years ago for similar work).