[nate78]

I have trouble with the part of the contract where you write what you are going to do. I just don't know how to word it. Do you just write landscaping installation according to plans. I am just starting to do my own designs. Say I was going to mound the dirt up in the bed 5 in. Do you just label your design dirt mounded 5in here with an arrow. What about writing out details ex. Soil shall be amended with 2 cu.ft. compost. Fabric will be used under gravel but not mulch. I have given alot of detail in the past and I hate wording everything out. Can I just write landscaping according to drawing.

[Matt Kulp]

My best advice is to include very detailed descriptions of the work you are going to perform for the client. The customers perception of what is going to take place on there project may differ from you in the small details. It is always good to have your contract to fall back on if you are questioned whether the customer paid for a specific service or not. I know many companies just list generalities, but we make our proposal/contract very detailed. It is too easy for a customer to bend you over a barrel when you are general with your job specifications and take you for whatever they can get in extras.

I would also advise to list what your proposal does not include. We have a list of each on everyone of our proposals that go out to the customer. I hope that helps.

[Fine Edge]

Exactly Matt. I'm in the process right now of working on a very large property design estimate and it will be a full 3 pages just explaining to the client what they can expect to see on their design.
Since it's a new house under construction, I have to know items such as exterior outlet placement, proper drainage concerns, pool placement, sufficient utilities to pool house, PVC sleeve placement and timeline of concrete pour, etc.. I'm not even sure what the builder plans on doing yet.
A detailed proposal is well worth the extra time.
It may just be as simple as stating " raising of all proposed shrub beds / natural areas with 12 yards of new organic planting mix." It all depends on what size project it is that you're working on.
Small or large, however, we ALWAYS provide exact sizes, quantities, square footage, linear footage, model #'s, colors, styles, heights, widths, depths, etc.
All of our customers know exactly what they are & aren't getting.

Take the extra time, it's a good habit to get into and it really makes your company stand out from the ones that offer just a generic proposal.

[agla]

Remember to write the title, the date, and revision date when you reference a plan in your contract. That binds the plan as part of your contract. If you don't reference the dates, they can pull out any version of the plan prior to or after the plan that the contract really references instead of the right one.

[John Palasek]

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The more technical a document is, the more accurate it can be. The more accurate a document is, the less chance for ambiguity and the less chance for misunderstandings.

I have a general contract I use which includes all of the usual boilerplate and as far as the general legal and liability mumbo jumbo is concerned, it serves that purpose. But when it comes to job specs, what I do is write up an estimate detailing all of the work which will be done. This document is assigned a number and when the contract is written (actually it's just filled out like a form), I refer to this estimate by its number.

For example, the portion of the contract that includes this contains generic, standardized wording such as:

The Contractor shall furnish all of the materials and perform all of the work shown on the Drawings/Images and/or described in the specifications entitled________________________________or as annexed hereto as it pertains to work to be performed on property at:etc, etc ...

In the blank space, I write in "Job Estimate #06-033-07" (or whatever the actual number is) and I include it along with all of the other documents relevant to the job.

BTW, I make up that number based on month, estimate number and year. 06, is June, 033 is the 33rd estimate for that month and 07 is the year. I always make the middle number high even if I have had nowhere near that many estimates to write. That's because if someone figures out my shorthand, they'll think I'm busier than a one-armed paperhanger.
(perception is reality! )

In the estimate itself, I describe the work to be done in as much detail as I can so that the job can be envisioned even without benefit of a drawing. Here is a portion of an actual estimate / job description from a job we did a while back:

...Install an interlocking concrete paver patio and walkway, (“tumbled” pavers, specific style and color to be determined), in rear yard. Patio and walk shall be approx. 1,500 sq. ft. in total surface area and shall exist in the rear yard, adjacent to the residence extending outward from residence approx. 30-35 feet in a generally semi-circular fashion. Patio shall extend from approx. 8-feet beyond the Southeast corner of the residence and shall extend westward, adjacent to the residence following its contours approx. 40-feet to a point which intersects an oil tank enclosure. Patio shall continue Westward beyond and away from this enclosure and form a 4-foot wide curving walkway which will then continue westward and then turn northward to access a future asphalt drive approx. 35-feet away...


Now this may seem to some as overkill, but it's accurate, it decribes all the relevant procedures, distances, materials and the overall scope of the work.

This way, if in the future any issues arise concerning what was or wasn't promised, I can refer to this document and point out what was written and how it applies to the actual job.

As far as things like describing how a paver patio will be installed, you can write up something like this:

...Install a tumbled concrete paver patio and walk as per design submitted. Patio shall consist of Unilock Brussels Block, (color to be determined), set in a random pattern with a soldier course. Patio to be constructed in accordance with ICPI guidelines, i.e.: ground shall be excavated to stable soil, that soil shall be mechanically compacted and a geotextile fabric laid over it onto which a 4” to 5” base of graded aggregate shall be applied and mechanically compacted. A bedding layer of washed sand shall be applied over the graded aggregate and the pavers shall be applied to the bedding layer. A plastic edge restraint shall be used on all perimeters and the entire surface of the patio and walk shall be mechanically compacted to permanently set the pavers into the bedding sand.

Again, this is basically boilerplate and it applies to any paver patio installation. This can be changed to suit any particular situation wherein something has to be installed differently or to reflect specific materials and dimensions. As for what "ICPI" standards are, most manufacturer's brochures have a section which details a typical installation as per such standards and that can be incuded with the contract as well.

Naturally, you'd have to tailor things to suit your particular company, but I think this gives you an idea of how to go about such things.

Just remember to print up basic specs for common construction procedures and have your contract include basic legal wording. Then, any specific things can be written for that job and simply included as an annex to the basic contract. This eliminates having to write everything up from scratch every time you submit a bid or draw up a contract.


Hope this helps!


-JP

[nate78]

yes thanks, It I love having a contract to go by when I am working. I can't remember what I said, when I first talked to the customer sometimes and neither can they. People don't necessarly expect it with some (most) of the small jobs I do, but I think they appreciate the time I spent to make sure they get what they are paying for. On one of my first jobs, I was very vague on the contract specs. I also didn't get paid until I had done alot of work that I wasn't expecting to do.

[Daniel Hanson]

No Way... JP IS alive.... I thought you dropped off of the face of the planet dude!

[kinnanscaping]

I concur that the more detailed a contract, the better. With each contract I wrote, I got longer and longer last year, as much for myself as for the client. Then I am not leaving out anything along the way, and the client cannot accuse me of such. My contract really came in handy on one of the last jobs that I did because it became much more involved. I was then able to point to the contract when I wanted/needed more money.

Here is an example of my wording:

Backyard—Landscaping
- Define and create flower bed along north side of house @ approx. 30 ft. x 4 ft., plant flowers, mulch
Backyard—Retaining wall
- Excavate, backfill and build retaining walls along NW and NE corners of the home @ approx . 15 ft. long x 2 ft. high (average h)
Front yard--landscaping
- Build up dirt around south and southeast corner of the house for raised flower bed, plant flowers, mulch.
- Define and create bed around utility boxes at southeast of property, plant tree, ornamental grasses and flowers.
Materials
- Mulch @ approx. X cu. yd.
- Edging @ approx. X ln. ft.
- Wall Stone @ approx. X tons
- Backfill aggregate @ approx. X tons
- Drain tile @ approx. X ln. ft.
- Vibratory plate compactor rental
- Plants—Backyard: Purple hydrangea @ approx. X; Stormy Seas coral bells @ approx. X; Fragrant hosta @ approx. X
- Plants—Front yard: Violet Crape Myrtles @ approx. X; Crème Brule coreopsis @ approx. X; Shenendoah Switchgrass @ approx. X; Eastern Redbud cercis tree @ X


I really like JP's advice about making estimate numbers arbitrarily high!

[nate78]

Thanks I wasn't aware that you could leave yourself leeway, by just writing out your estimated material "amount" and "cost". That is better than saying aahh I figured wrong on this and that. Now if you go over on your contract price you are covered right. I am using the contract terms provided by Stonehenge. Of course it is better not to than have to disappoint your customer.

[Terre]

I have to join on the side of the more detailed, the better. I had a client this fall, with whom I contracted for work up to a certain amount, and she stated she'd want ongoing work/maintenance of about $300 monthly. As I began the demolition phase, I suggested certain things that would be good for some of the future work. She liked my ideas, and added to them. But what she didn't hear me say, was that these suggestions were for additional work. When she asked when I would start staining the concrete and expand the flagstone area, I told her I still had to work up a bid for that, and she freaked.

My version: She requested additional work and changes, for which I submitted a bid.

Her version: She actually stated that she thought all her changes were "substitutions as a result of ongoing discussions and open dialog".

Had I not been very specific in the original contract as to what she had the right to expect, her "open dialog" would have cost me several thousand dollars.