Setting good foundations is one of the most important things you can do when preparing to install a new garden.  Making sure that the site is free from rubbish, builders’ materials, bits of concrete and rock etc means that your plants will have a better chance to thrive in their new home once planted.

While your landscape package comes with many inclusions, such as plants, soil, mulch and edging, it DOES NOT include site preparation – this is the responsibility of the homeowner.

At your on-site consultation, our consultants will explain that we need you to dig out 100mm (10cm) of soil from your entire front garden, including the narrow strip alongside your driveway.  This is so that when we build your new garden, we can replace that old soil (which is often full of rubbish and rocks) and replace it with good quality topsoil and mulch.  Digging out 100mm means that the finished surface will be level with the footpath, driveway and any existing paths and won’t leave you with lumps and bumps, or create tripping hazards from uneven surfaces.

Before your job is approved and booked in for install, we will check depths to make sure that you have removed enough of the existing material, and we will also check to see that weeds have been removed.  This is very important, because weeds will easily multiply if not removed, especially when fresh healthy soil is added for your new plants.

We understand that not everyone has the time or the right tools to undertake their own site preparation, and even if you can dig out the existing soil, where do you put it?  Hiring a skip bin can become costly and digging is hard work!

LD Total can provide you with a quote to undertake the excavation works.

The cost of the quote is determined by the size of your site, the amount of soil that needs to be taken away and also the type and amount of rubbish that needs to be removed.  If it is mostly clean soil, the disposal fees are lower, however if it is considered a ‘Mixed Load’ which means there is rubbish, weeds and rock/crushed rock mixed in, the excavation cost will be more expensive because of the cost of disposal.

If you would like an obligation free quote for your site preparation, please let our team know, either on the day of your onsite consultation with our designers, or by contacting the office.

The cost for LD Total to excavate your site varies between $600 and $1000 (or more in instances where an excessive amount of material need to be removed).

If you decide to do your own site preparation, please make sure that the following work is completed before advising that your site is ready for inspection:

• Remove all general rubbish, builders rubbish, large rocks and chunks of concrete and large amounts of crushed rock.
• Ensure that all weeds have been removed, including around taps and along the edges of the footpath, house etc
• Smooth out any large mounds of soil or lumps that are across the surface, especially in areas where turf is being laid. This will give you a nice flat lawn surface.
• Remove weeds and excess soil from around taps and gas meters
• DO NOT dig a trench along the footpath or boundaries. The surface should be levelled out, so if you have a bit of a slope on your block the best way is to follow the slope of your driveway surface.
• Don’t forget the narrow garden bed between your driveway and property boundary

These are some examples of well-prepared sites ready for install-