The way to find out where this falls in your market is to get some other quotes from other companies for the same materials and operations, see what those are.

Pick somebody in the middle range. If even that is too high for you then I guess you will have to decide on a cheaper project.

Definitely do not choose somebody who claims they can do exactly the same job for markedly less than multiple other contractors who come in at about the same as each other. There is a fair market value for every project and you find out what that is by getting at least 6 proposals. People at the high end may not really be interested, people at the low end may be making mistakes.

That paver price is dead on, the concrete may be a bit high- but not by much.

Both items look right on point to me. Realize that you are paying for labor as a major component of each line item (especially in the paver driveway) as well as the other base material necessary to complete the jobs as quoted. Considering that landscape labor - even rather unskilled landscape labor - gets tabbed out at a minimum of $15/hour per person (at least in my area) and often more, that adds up to a very healthy portion of the total. And that's not even taking into consideration materials required in addition to the pavers/concrete, operational costs and the contractor's cost of doing business - he IS entitled to make some sort of profit on his services.

Thank you for all the input guys! I was researching prices online and there was a huge discrepancy. Glad to know that the pricing is in line with what we're getting quoted.

Brandon, get most of those materials yourself. Put it on a cabelas credit card (cha Ching back) and flip the lid on that quote. Really, olive trees are NOT that expensive here. Wtheck? I am shocked at material costs. I am genuinely shocked unless you live in the back woods or Beverley Hills or Pebble Beach. Get your buddies truck and start loading up is my thought.

As a landscaper, I'll tell you that you can definitely save some $$$ buying the materials yourself. Have your contractor go to wherever it is they buy these materials and pay for them yourself. You'll save some money not paying the upcharge for materials and they'll be happy because they don't have to come out of pocket for them. Win/win for everyone!

http://www.hallslandscapers.com

Buying the materials might help you save some money, but ask your contractor before running out and buying anything. A lot of contractors won't install customer-supplied materials for a number of reasons.

The olive trees seem expensive but that seems to include crane charges and installation so possibly OK. The quote is just too generic to really say much. We do commercial concrete in busineses in large quantities for $4-8 per sq ft. Home type concrete in backyards can easily be $25 per sq ft. So the price can be fine but it depends on exactly what they are quoting. A lot of this depends on the specific area where they are working. Beverly Hills or Barstow? Different costs by the area.