Professional Landscaping Shropshire
Shropshire Garden Design Ltd is a professional limited company, fully insured, registered with the environment agency, and has a reputation which is second to none in Shropshire.
Unfortunately there are a lot of rogue traders and cowboys out there who are more than willing to do as little as possible of the work they promised, take your cash and run.
We are often called upon to sort out nightmare gardens that these so-called professional landscapers have created. The customer then has to pay out again to get someone reputable to do the job properly.
If you have seen the BBC series Rogue Traders, you will have an idea of how bad things can get if you don't get the right company in.
We have seen a lot of very amateur workmanship over the years. Jobs are simply rushed using insufficient materials and the result can often be a nightmare, and is sometimes even dangerous. The most common problems we see are:
- Slabs laid on dry sand, or worse still on barren soil which has simply been raked out. Slabs need to go on a bed of wet mortar to ensure they will not move.
- Block paving laid on very little or no hardcore or laying the blocks on a very thick layer of sand. In both of these scenarios, the blocks will simply sink over time. Block paving requires a good layer of MOT hardcore and/or a good layer of hardcore dust, followed by a thin layer of sharp sand or grit sand.
- Fencing posts insecure. Whether timber or concrete posts, fence post holes need to be 2' deep and the area around the post needs to be filled with a semi-wet mortar mix so that it dries and hardens. This will ensure the post is solid and in the case of timber posts, damp cannot get to the timber and rot it. The same is true for arch and pergola posts.
- Turf laid on inadequate soil. Turf should ideally be laid no more than one day after it is cut from the field, otherwise the turf will dry out too quickly. Also turf is only as good as the soil underneath it. A professional landscaper will lay turf on a good quality sandy top soil to give the turf the nutrients it requires and help drainage.
- Decking boards laid on timber supports which are not thick enough or worse still too far apart. This causes the decking boards to bow and eventually they will crack. Decking may look fantastic but it is only as good as the structure underneath it.
All these methods save them money, which enables them to give you the cheap quote you are looking for. A professional landscaper will cost more but in this industry you really do get what you pay for!
Here are a few pointers to help you the spot 'cowboys' and 'rogue traders' from the professional landscaping companies:
- Firstly, beware of leaflets through the door especially if they are advertising mobile numbers. They are probably passing through the area looking for work, and/or they do not want to be traced if there is a problem.
- Similarly, beware of cold callers at the door. Unless they can give you a registered address or land line number they could be anyone, and once they have your money you may never see them again.
- Find out the company name and make sure it is legitimate. If there is no company name or contact details on their vehicle, they may well have something to hide. Dealing with a registered company does at least give you the guarantee you are dealing with a legitimate business, and some recourse of action if anything does go wrong.
- Always ask to see examples of previous work done. We had a case recently where part of our own portfolio appeared on one of our competitors websites. To gain assurance that what they show you is their own work, ask for the address and contact details. Most people won't mind if you give them a quick call to ask their thoughts on the work they have done.
- Finally, never give any kind of deposit before the work is started. A genuine company will never ask for money up front. Wait until you see the standard of work and service before paying out a deposit.
On the positive side, there are a few very good professional landscaping companies operating in Shropshire and if you don't use us we would rather you use one of these than get caught out.
We are based in Telford and we serve the Telford area including, Admaston, Apley, Aquaduct, Arleston, Brookside, Church Aston, Dawley, Dawley Bank, Donnington, Donnington Wood, Doseley, Edgmond, Edgmond Marsh, Hadley, Homer Lake, Horsehay, Ketley, Ketley Bank, Lawley, Lawley Bank, Leegomery, Lightmoor, Lilleshall, Little Dawley, Madeley, Muxton, Newdale, Newport, Oakengates, Old Park, Overdale, Priorslee, Randley, Shifnal, St Georges, Spring Village, Stirchley, Sutton Hill, Trench, Wellington, Wombridge, Woodside, Wrockwardine, Wrockwardine Wood
For a free no obligation consultation and quotation, click here to e-mail us.
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