Is your Landscaper properly qualified, licensed, experienced and insured? Here’s everything you need to know before hiring them.
You’ve been dreaming of making over your outdoor area for years and you’re finally ready to put your big plans into action. Searching online for a Landscaper near you or asking for a recommendation on Facebook is a great start, but you shouldn’t hire the first person that pops up on your screen.
Before engaging any landscape contractor, you need to make sure they’re fit for the job and you’ll be covered if anything goes wrong. Here are eight important questions to ask before you commit to working with them.
Landscapers must complete one of the following qualifications to obtain a licence to perform landscaping in NSW:
FC Hortcare Landscaping owner Steve Cuneo holds a Cert III in Landscape Construction and a Cert III in Retail Nursery. All of the FC Hortcare Pty Ltd team are appropriately qualified or are apprentices who are obtaining their qualifications on the job.
Residential Landscapers are required to be licensed for Structural Landscaping or Building by NSW Fair Trading. You can ask your Landscaper for their Contractor Licence Number or search for the name of their company on the Service NSW Public Register.
On the Public Register, you’ll find the landscaping company’s licence number, whether their licence is current, their history of insured work and whether they’ve ever been issued any public warnings or made any insurance claims. FC Hortcare Landscaping Pty Ltd’s Public Register profile shows that licence number 306409C is current and the company has a squeaky clean track record.
We can’t stress the importance of this question enough. In the unlikely event that something goes wrong with your landscaping project, your Landscaper should have the appropriate insurance cover to protect and compensate you. But most of the covers aren’t compulsory, so make sure to ask!
Here are five types of insurance your Landscaper should have:
FC Hortcare Landscaping holds all these types of insurance, including HBC for large projects.
Even if your Landscaper ticks all the boxes in terms of qualifications, licensing and insurance, they might be new to the game. A highly experienced landscaping company is much more likely to produce top-quality work and avoid costly mistakes and delays.
The FC Hortcare Landscaping team has over 70 years of combined landscaping experience and over 100 years of combined landscaping and nursery experience. That’s right – we also own Plant Trade Nursery in Anna Bay and we can provide expert plant advice along with some of the best plants available!
Just say no to an informal verbal quote! Make sure your Landscaper sends you a detailed written quote to ensure you have a record of it and understand the breakdown of costs.
Our team will come to your house to evaluate the scope of the work and send you a free, no-obligation quote. Our cost breakdown is clearly outlined for full transparency. If you have any questions about our quote, we’re always happy to answer them.
Under the Home Building Act 1989, any job for which the cost of labour and materials is more than $5000 requires a written contract.
We’re stringent about meeting all the legal requirements for every job we undertake. You can rest assured that your rights will be protected with our industry-standard contracts.
The Home Building Act 1989 states that the maximum deposit you can be required to pay before the work starts is 10 percent. If the job is over $20,000 and is required to be covered by HBC, your Landscaper isn’t legally entitled to ask you for a deposit until they’ve shown you the Certificate of Insurance. You can check the validity of their HBC insurance certificate here.
You’ve probably guessed by now that we follow all these protocols for every job we do!
Ask your potential Landscaper when they can start the work, how long it will take and if delays are possible due to material supply or staffing issues. It’s no secret that the unexpected can happen, but your Landscaper should take all eventualities into account.
It’s also worth asking your Landscaper about the size of the team that will be working on your project. A one-man operation may take six months or more to complete the same job a team of Landscapers can complete in a matter of weeks.
It can become frustrating to live in a construction environment for an extended period and the timeframe can easily blow out further if your Landscaper becomes unwell. With FC Hortcare’s extensive team of Landscapers, you can avoid these frustrations.
We also have a proven track record of providing realistic deadlines for our projects and achieving them. We will do everything in our power to ensure your job runs smoothly and on time – and, most of all, that you’re happy with the final result.
Our expert landscaping team is fully qualified, licensed, experienced and insured. Contact Steve today for a free, no-obligation quote on 0423 173 360 or office@fchortcare.com.