The price from the gardener is justified - can something be omitted?

We had two offers here for exactly the same service, one landscaper wanted 6000 euros, the other 17800 euros, both excluding materials. 60 sqm of paving and 36 sqm of terrace (porcelain stoneware in drainage mortar) were done. I believe the price differences in this field are always very large, even with our garage foundation we had huge price differences.

Best regards
Sabine

The prices really seem to vary widely.
However, the companies probably have so much work that they can charge these prices.

I was wondering whether the existing 15 cm of lawn even needs to be removed and transported away.
Because of the construction work, there is hardly any proper lawn left anyway, maybe I could just dig up this part or distribute it over lower areas. Then a layer of topsoil will be added everywhere at the end. Then no soil would have to be transported away either.
That should actually be okay for turf, right?

As already mentioned, an assessment is actually only possible through comparison offers. Otherwise, it means accepting the price or removing services and doing them yourself. Whether it is expensive or not is hard to say, since the exact circumstances do have an influence.

The comparison of offers is only worthwhile if you can also compare the quality, and there are huge differences there. Look at sample works or visit a construction site of the provider. Only then will you see whether the offer is inexpensive or not. Comparing paper for services where proportions and aesthetics play a major role is nonsense.

what just came to my mind:

here in the area there are two "caretaker service providers" who also do landscaping. trained landscapers really cost money. but for paving, you don’t really need that, it’s enough if some unskilled person has done it for 1-2 years, then they pave almost as well as a landscaper, but they only get 9.50 an hour.

same with pouring concrete for any kind of foundations or building spike protection. Oleg does that for 9€ an hour just as well as the trained landscaper. take a look on eBay Classifieds to see what all-round craftsmen are available.

Oleg does that for 9€ an hour

9€ per hour is below minimum wage for good reason after three months - and paying that only for hard physical labor is shabby. "Oleg" earns more than that - especially since he apparently also delivers good performance. Those who cannot afford that either live beyond their means or build their luxury on the misery of others. Egoists, stingy people, and those who believe in the "right of the stronger" may be able to come to terms with that themselves.