Garden Clearance Costs. Get Quotes Here

What can garden clearance include?

Garden clearance means clearing the garden and literally, that can mean of anything – this includes:

• standard garden refuse like leaves, shrubs, twigs and branches
• unwanted or contaminated soil
• actual plants and lawn clippings, trees
• old sculptures and flower pots
• unwanted garden furniture
• fencing and decking
• dismantled sheds and greenhouses

What are the standard jobs undertaken by most garden clearance companies?

Garden clearance will generally include tasks like leaf blowing and leaf clearance - accumulating leaves into piles and removing them from the garden – gutter cleaning and flushing, rubbish removal and waste clearance so weeds, clippings, grass and unwanted soil.

What can garden clearance companies not remove?

• Paint or paint cans including timber treatments
• Asbestos
• Mattresses
• White goods
• Tyres
• Car batteries
• Oil, petrol or diesel for garden machinery items
• Pressurised bottles
• Any raw foodstuffs

How can you find a reputable garden clearance contractor who offers good value for money?

Finding someone to clear a garden is rather like sourcing any other form of tradesmen so all the usual routes apply.

• Ask a friend, family member or work colleague for a recommendation
• Use a local community group on social media and see whose name keeps reoccurring
• Try one of the many online platforms such as gardeningcosts.co.uk to feed in your details and instantly receive quotes from local companies and sole traders

What questions should you ask a contractor before you go ahead and book them to clear your garden?

Here are some useful questions to help you find the right contractor or clearance company to transform your garden:-

• How many years have they been trading?
• Do they have any specialisms?
• What sort of clearance services do they offer?
• Will they provide all the bagging materials for loose debris and also power tools for the heavier work?
• Will they leave the site clean and tidy after they have finished?
• How do they calculate their rates/ It is by the hour, the load or by the weight?
• Are there any hidden costs?
• Do they have the appropriate licences if required?
• Are they insured?
• Is there anything that they can’t remove?
• What happens to the rubbish? Is it recycled or does it go to landfill? Is anything sold?
• If they can sell anything from the job will they be prepared to offer you a discount on the price?

Always obtain two or three quotations to compare before you make a final decision and check out their reviews on authentic sites and social media to make sure there are no negative reports or complaints.

Is there anything you should do before the contractors arrive?

Make sure you have removed anything that you want to keep from the garden – have a good look around as if the garden is very overgrown then some items may not be immediately apparent. Keep an eye on the works as they progress as it might surprise you as to what is uncovered.

Ascertain in advance the number and size of vehicles which will be used and make sure there is good parking
and access to the garden on the day.

How can you save on garden clearance costs?

Take a step back and a long hard look at the job, would it be cheaper if you handled some elements of it yourself? There may be certain things that you can do for just the cost of your time which could save you pounds on the overall bill.

You might find that the clearance has to take place in stages and may involve different companies or specialists, for example:-

• You clear a neglected garden on a new property yourself gathering and bagging up the waste and taking it to the local recycling centre which is free of charge or you could ask a gardening company to do a preliminary clearance for you. This is not usually very expensive as it doesn’t constitute real gardening and design. If you do the work yourself then apart from your time, it is free of charge and it will also allow you to work through the garden and salvage any plants that you might like to keep
• This initial clearance allows you to start a fresh garden makeover and you might decide you would like to remove some of the trees (subject to planning permission) – this is a specialist job which not all garden clearance companies can handle
• Once the trees are removed or pollarded then it is time to remove a couple of old greenhouses which have been uncovered hidden up under piles of debris and ivy, you ask a general house and garden clearance company to do this
• Next, you decide to lose the lawn as this doesn’t form part of your grand plan

Garden clearance can be scorched earth or it can be done in stages using different contractors and specialists as required. You can either pay an hourly or a daily rate for the labour but expect any waste disposal costs to be added to these charges.

Recycling opportunities

One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure so, providing you can do this safely and securely, it can be an option to allow people to help themselves to anything in the garden before it is professionally cleared – you will be amazed at what people will take. There could be plants which you can’t identify but which can be uprooted and taken to a new home. Old but serviceable sheds and greenhouses can prove very popular particularly if you are giving them away and the interested party will dismantle and collect – this can save you a fortune.