Cowboys or meisters? Gareth Wilson says the clue is in the rulebook in his latest advice feature about a landscaper’s race to the bottom.
On my expert witness travels, of which there are many, I can safely say that the standards are poor, which is nothing new to me or the people who follow me. In many instances, I am witnessing the aftermath of the 2021 Covid-19 landscapers’ brigade, and the trail of destruction they left behind or the projects they are still working on.
Of course, this isn’t just about Covid-19 landscapers; the problem I see is the race to the bottom, where landscapers underprice projects, cut corners, and fail to install projects to standards, essentially just for a quick buck.
It’s even reached the stage where some influencers are creating gardens for free to generate content, which is always going to receive negative feedback.
It’s obvious to say this, but the industry needs regulation. Although I don’t feel that it will solve every problem, it’s going to be a huge step. The problem is that landscaping wears a lot of hats, such as paving, decking, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, brickwork, groundwork, drainage, turfing – the list is long and not like any other trade.
I am always mindful of my first meeting with David Burton, who is, by far, the wisest man in the paving game and the owner of Steintec. He told me that it takes three years to train to become a paver in Germany and up to five years to become a Meister, or master paver. Imagine if that were the case over here; it would certainly set the cat among the pigeons and sort the men from the boys.
On another note, I’d be interested in knowing how many people have downloaded and paid for BS 7533:102. I’m guessing 5% or less. The APL has given its members access to a document, which is a great approach, as they will be up to speed.
In my opinion, professional pavers and landscapers should all have a copy; there should be no excuses. You can’t call yourself professional if you’re not making an effort to meet standards.
Now, back to the original point: how exactly are the race-to-the-bottom landscapers spoiling the industry? In my view, they are undercutting true professionals in the average and above-average scale, which includes contractors who do standard, satisfactory work or good work, this accounts for approximately 35%.
Above these categories are your excellent and then elite contractors, which I would say account for around 15%. You don’t have to be a mathematician to see where I rate the bottom 50%.
The good guys in the middle struggle to compete, as clients often opt for the cheapest options, resulting in the good guys competing in a very competitive arena and, in many instances, being short of work or unable to charge a fair rate.
So, imagine if we didn’t have the landscaping chancers or the race-to-the-bottom brigade, 50% of which I mentioned above, because there’s regulation? I will leave it up to you to consider that, or I may follow up on it next month.
I want to finish on a positive note and say that the level of skilled paving projects Alan Sargent and I have seen enter the Paving Site Awards is sky high. The judges Jason Clarke, Matthew Brockhurst, Mark Gregory, Phil Tremayne and Paul Hervey Brookes are certainly going to have their work cut out.
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