5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Landscaping Company
The right questions separate contractors who do good work from those who don't. Ask these before you sign anything.
Choosing a landscaping contractor is a significant decision — these are people who will work on your property, sometimes for days or weeks, and whose work will be visible every day. The questions that matter most aren’t about price. They’re about reliability, expertise, and what happens when something goes wrong.
1. Are You Licensed and Insured?
This is the first question, not because it’s the most revealing, but because contractors who can’t answer it confidently shouldn’t be on your property. Ask specifically for a certificate of liability insurance naming you as additional insured, and verify that it covers the scope of the work.
In Connecticut, there’s no state landscaping license requirement, but BBB accreditation, contractor registration with your municipality (required for some permits), and current insurance are the baseline requirements for professional operation.
2. Can I See Photos of Completed Projects Similar to Mine?
Generic portfolio photos of attractive gardens don’t tell you much. Photos of completed projects similar in scope to yours — same material, same type of work, same approximate scale — tell you a great deal.
Better still: can you speak with a previous client? A contractor who does good work and has satisfied clients will almost always be able to provide a reference. One who deflects the question or can’t produce references is worth being cautious about.
3. What’s Your Warranty on This Work?
For hardscaping especially, ask specifically: what happens if something settles, shifts, or fails in the first year? The contractor who stands behind their work will tell you clearly. The standard industry expectation for hardscaping installation is a one-year warranty on craftsmanship.
Be suspicious of very long warranties from contractors who aren’t established — a five-year warranty means nothing if the company isn’t operating in year two.
4. Walk Me Through What the Base Preparation Looks Like
For any paving project, this question separates contractors who do it right from those who take shortcuts. The correct answer includes: excavation depth, crushed stone base depth and type, plate compaction, geotextile fabric, bedding sand specification, and joint sand type.
A contractor who can answer this question fluently is one who understands the work. One who responds vaguely or seems annoyed by the question is telling you something important about how they build.
5. What’s Your Timeline and How Do You Handle Unexpected Issues?
Landscaping projects encounter unexpected conditions: buried ledge, soil that’s different than expected, drainage issues discovered during excavation. How a contractor communicates and handles these situations is as important as the plan itself.
Ask specifically: How do you communicate schedule changes? What happens if you discover a condition during work that changes the scope? How are change orders documented and priced?
The answers reveal whether you’re dealing with a professional operation or one that makes it up as they go.
At MRO Landscaping, we’re licensed and insured in Connecticut, BBB accredited, have 15+ years of documented project work in Fairfield County, and will answer all of these questions directly. Contact us for a straightforward estimate and honest assessment of your project.