How much would a Gardener cost?

Leif

pinkcandyflossprincess wrote: »

Leif I lived in Brixham for many years, I think the problem is because a lot of people retire to Devon, you do get a lot of people who prey upon the older clients so sure in some aspect it attracts these type of rouges. saying that my moms chap does his next doors gardening, guttering , general handywork for free...because shes old and he was obviously brought up to help his neighbours so there are a few gooduns there:o

Yes, I agree. It certainly does attract rogues, although where I now live there are quite a few elderly people, and my neighbour across the road has attracted quite a few unpleasant types. He tells them where to go. I think in general there is an underclass of rogues that prey on the elderly, and the weak, and a lot of companies rip off elderly people, using hard sell techniques. I am sure most people in Brixham are very nice, and would be shocked by the behaviour of a small group of scum.

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

.

I tend to agree with cyclonebri1 (is he fond of Dyson's ?)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

PM sent chap:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Patchwork_Quilt

My best friend is a gardener and charges £15 per hour. She has insurance and her own tools. She also does a great deal 'after hours' like watering plants when people are away, so she offers a good service.

demystified

blueeye wrote: »

I need to get a gardener to come in once a week as I have just simply run out of time to keep it in order, not that its a fantastic garden but someone to do the mowing and weeding and cutting back etc.

How much do should I pay someone to do this?

mininum wage upwards. Depends on how competent/qualified they are. Qualified with professional tools, references and rubbish disposal included expect to pay around £15 an hour (here at least, may be more in central London etc)

bobwilson

lolly5648 wrote: »

In London it seems to be £20-25 per hour. I think this is exorbitant but haven't got the strength to dig out borders etc myself. The pampered teenagers in my area don't seem interested in earning extra money either

agreed! We've made around 10 calls to gardeners, only managed to get 3 quotes, £22+ per hour plus £4 per bag for garden waste, the 3rd said his minimum charge was £500 + £extra for garden waste disposal! Most gardeners can't be bothered to even quote, apparently they're too busy making money..

Everyone outside London doesn't realise how lucky they are... the teenagers and kids aren't interested in working for money around here at all. I wish I knew where all these £10 or £15 per hour gardeners were.. Sadly, with hayfever I can't mow the lawn or de weed the borders myself, and don't have the time.

It's hard to justify paying £45 to someone from around the corner for 2 hours.

glasgowdan

What makes anyone say £20/hr is exhorbitant?

If someone said they could cut that 30m run of hedge for you top and sides for £20, would that sound reasonable? What if they pulled out top spec equipment and did it in 1hr, neatly, and tidied away... would you turn around and complain?

How about a lawn, average front and back lawn cut, if someone said they could do it for £20 a cut, that sounds fine right? Again, what if they rattle around it in 40 minutes, perfectly neat, tidy, straight lines. What right would you have to then complain about that 'hourly' rate?

People have to live you know. This week I'm having to spend £800 sorting my van. Try keeping a business running for £10/hr. It's less than slave labour.

And get your heads out of the victorian ages.

The_Hurricane

tanith wrote: »

I know someone who just has her lawns front and back mowed and it costs £20 every fortnight... it only takes him about 45 mins

You have to remember the cost of equipment, maintenance and fuel and along with disposing the grass/waste - £20 p/h is not too bad and I'm sure the gardener is taking home a lot less.

glasgowdan

The_Hurricane wrote: »

and I'm sure the gardener is taking home a lot less.

Around half of that £20 to be roughly precise! Remember gardeners have high running costs compared to plumbers, painters, joiners etc. There are anything up to 10 different machines to service, repair and fuel, consumables such as strimmer line, gloves/visors, mower blades, 2 stroke oil, pesticides, nozzles, a lot of diesel in van mileage, then training, certificates, PL insurance, trailer purchase and servicing, ... I could actually fill a whole page but will stop at this little list to begin.

I reckon anyone running their own business and working hard deserves to earn national average wage. That's currently £26,500. That equates to roughly £21000 take home.

Assuming a 40-hr billable working week over 42 weeks a year, that's 1680 hours to earn £21000 take home, or £12.50 per hour. To take home £12.50 an hour a gardener needs to charge approx £25/hr. Any less and it's not worth the stress and hard work of running a business.

cyclonebri1

glasgowdan wrote: »

What makes anyone say £20/hr is exhorbitant?

If someone said they could cut that 30m run of hedge for you top and sides for £20, would that sound reasonable? What if they pulled out top spec equipment and did it in 1hr, neatly, and tidied away... would you turn around and complain?

How about a lawn, average front and back lawn cut, if someone said they could do it for £20 a cut, that sounds fine right? Again, what if they rattle around it in 40 minutes, perfectly neat, tidy, straight lines. What right would you have to then complain about that 'hourly' rate?

People have to live you know. This week I'm having to spend £800 sorting my van. Try keeping a business running for £10/hr. It's less than slave labour.

And get your heads out of the victorian ages.

The fact that that is twice the uk average wage?????


The second bold bit????:T:T welcome to the real world chap, it's what we all have to do, you forget that there is a plethora of employers that thrive on Victorian principles, it ain't the workers mate?????

glasgowdan

Cyclonebri can I ask what it is you don't understand about how a rate works? That £20 doesn't go into their pocket. Read my other reply above.

I know how the real world works thanks and haven't seen £20 an hour for a few years! (I'm in the better direction incase you wonder).