Landscaping Estimating and Takeoff Services

We quantify landscape scope from your planting and irrigation drawings — plant material by specified ANSI Z60.1 size, soil and amendment volumes, irrigation by zone and head, and the establishment and warranty period as its own line — delivered as an editable Excel workbook with the marked-up plan set.

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What We Take Off

Counting plants off a schedule is the easy part of this trade and it is where most estimates stop. What actually decides the number is the specified size of each plant, how much soil has to be imported and amended before anything goes in the ground, how the irrigation is zoned rather than how many heads there are, and how long the contract holds you responsible for keeping it all alive. That last item is months or years of obligation that appears nowhere on a plant schedule.

Treescounted each by species and by the size actually specified, in caliper, height or box size to ANSI Z60.1, because a four-inch caliper tree is a multiple of a two-inch one in material, handling and equipment

Shrubs and perennialscounted by species and container size, with any specified spread or height requirement noted, since the same species at two container sizes is two different line items

Groundcover and ornamental grassesby count at the specified spacing or by area, with spacing driving the count rather than an assumed density

Turfsod, seed or hydroseed by area, kept as distinct line items because the installed cost, the establishment period and the failure risk are all different

Topsoilimport and placement volume by depth and area, distinguishing stripped and stockpiled material reused on site from imported material

Soil amendment and preparationtilling, amendment by volume, fertiliser, lime and any specified soil testing, quantified against the depth the specification requires rather than a nominal one

Mulch and bed preparationvolume by type and specified depth, with bed edging by linear foot and weed barrier by area

Planting pits and backfillexcavation and backfill volume where the specification calls for oversized pits or engineered planting soil, which is common on structural and urban sites

Tree support and protectionstaking and guying by count, root barriers by linear foot, tree grates and guards, and protection of existing trees to remain

Irrigation systemmainline and lateral piping by linear foot and size, heads by type and count, valves and zones, controller, backflow prevention, sleeving under paving, and point of connection

Drainagesubsurface drainage, drain lines, catch basins and subdrains in planting areas where the landscape package carries them

Hardscape within the landscape packagepavers, decorative concrete, steps, seat walls, boulders and site furnishings, where the drawings assign them here rather than to sitework

Retaining and landscape wallsby face area and type, where they fall inside this package rather than under structural or sitework scope

Erosion control and restorationtemporary and permanent measures, seeding of disturbed areas, and restoration of areas outside the formal landscape

Establishment and maintenance periodwatering, mowing, weeding, pruning, fertilising and replacement through the specified duration, quantified as its own line rather than assumed away

Plant warranty and replacementthe replacement obligation over the warranty term, stated explicitly with the assumed replacement rate

How Landscaping Quantities Are Measured

Every quantity below is reported in the unit the scope is actually bought and bid in — not converted into a single convenient unit that hides where the cost sits.

TreesEA by specified sizeBy caliper, height or box size to ANSI Z60.1. Size is the price, and a schedule that says 'Acer rubrum' without the caliper cannot be priced.

Shrubs and perennialsEA by container sizeCounted by species and container. The same plant in a one-gallon and a five-gallon container is two different line items.

GroundcoverEA at spacing, or SFSpacing decides the count. Twelve-inch and eighteen-inch on centre over the same bed are materially different quantities.

Sod and seedSF or acreKept separate from each other. Sod, seed and hydroseed differ in installed cost, establishment duration and failure risk.

TopsoilCYBy depth over area, with imported material distinguished from stripped material reused on site. Import volume is the line most often underestimated.

Soil amendmentCY or by area and depthAgainst the specified depth, not a nominal one. Amendment depth is written in the specification and frequently ignored in the estimate.

MulchCYBy type and specified depth. Two inches and four inches over the same bed area is double the volume.

Irrigation pipingLF by sizeMainline and lateral measured separately by diameter, with sleeving under paving called out as its own item.

Irrigation headsEA by typeBy type and arc. Head count alone does not price a system — zoning, valves and the controller do at least as much.

Irrigation zonesEAZones and valves counted directly. A system with the same head count split across twice the zones is a different system.

Bed edgingLF by typeBy material and profile. Steel, aluminium, plastic and concrete edging are not interchangeable in cost.

Establishment periodduration and visitsPriced by the specified duration and the visit frequency it implies. This is a recurring labor obligation, not a one-time item.

Who This Is For

General contractors carrying this trade directly, or checking a subcontractor's number before it goes into the bid.

Subcontractors pricing their own scope in this division.

Developers and owners validating a number they've already been given.

Material suppliers and distributors verifying a customer's order.

What You Receive

An itemized Excel takeoff, organized by division
A marked-up plan set — every quantity traces back to a location on the drawings
Labor, material and equipment split out separately
Waste and overage factors shown as visible line items
An assumptions and exclusions schedule

Marked-up landscaping plan crop

What Moves the Number on Landscaping

Specified plant size. Plant cost does not rise linearly with size. A large-caliper tree costs a multiple of a small one, needs equipment to place rather than hands, may need a crane on a constrained site, and carries a higher failure risk through establishment. A schedule read for species and count while ignoring specified size will produce a number that has very little to do with the job.

The establishment and maintenance period. Specifications routinely require the contractor to maintain the landscape for a defined period after installation — watering, mowing, weeding, pruning, fertilising and replacing failures. That period is frequently months and sometimes a full year. It is a recurring labor and travel cost that appears nowhere on a plant schedule and is the single most commonly omitted item in this trade.

Plant warranty and replacement risk. A warranty term on plant material is an assumed replacement rate on stock that is alive, seasonal and exposed. The exposure is real and it varies with plant size, species, installation season and how much control the contractor has over watering. We state the replacement assumption rather than pricing a zero failure rate.

Soil volume and quality. Imported topsoil, amendment and engineered planting soil are volume items measured in cubic yards, and they are decided by the specified depth over the planting area rather than by the plants themselves. On a site with poor or compacted existing soil, soil work can exceed the cost of everything planted in it.

Irrigation zoning, not head count. Heads are the visible part and the cheap part. Valves, zone count, mainline routing and sizing, controller capacity, backflow prevention assembly and the point of connection decide the system cost. Two designs with identical head counts and different zoning are not the same price.

Season of installation. Planting outside the appropriate season means higher failure rates, additional watering obligation and sometimes a requirement to hold or re-order stock. Where the schedule puts planting in a difficult season we say so in the assumptions, because the cost lands in warranty replacement rather than in the installation line.

Access and site conditions. Whether equipment can reach the planting areas changes the labor fundamentally. Material hand-carried through a finished building, planted over a structural deck, or placed by crane on a constrained urban site is a different operation from a machine working an open site, and plant size interacts with access directly.

What We Need From You

A complete set is ideal, but rarely what exists. Send what you have — we will tell you at quote stage what can be quantified firm and what has to be an allowance.

Landscape and planting plans with the plant schedule, including specified sizes
Irrigation plans showing zoning, head layout, mainline routing and the point of connection
Landscape specification sections, particularly the establishment period duration and the plant warranty term
Soil specification — topsoil depth, amendment requirements and any testing obligations
Grading and drainage plans, for soil volumes and subsurface drainage in planting areas
Site plan showing access, existing trees to remain and protection requirements
Details for planting pits, staking, edging, tree grates and any landscape structures
Where planting is over structure: the structural and waterproofing details governing soil depth and drainage

How It Works

1 Send your plans — PDF, DWG, DOC, images or ZIP, up to 100MB per file.
2 Get your quote — a flat price for the scope with a delivery date, confirmed in writing.
3 Approve — nothing starts until you confirm.
4 We take it off — quantities from the drawings and schedules.
5 Delivery — workbook, marked-up set, assumptions schedule.

How Pricing and Turnaround Work

Every project is priced individually from your drawings. Send the plan set and you get a flat quote for the scope before any work starts — no hourly billing, no open-ended engagement.

Turnaround depends on the size of the package and how many trades are in scope — which is why you get a firm delivery date with your quote rather than a generic promise.

Tools and Standards

Takeoffs are produced in Bluebeam, PlanSwift, Trimble, STACK, organized against CSI MasterFormat divisions — this scope is specified under Division 32 — Exterior Improvements (32 90 00 Planting, with irrigation at 32 80 00).

Quantities and assemblies are read against the published standards that govern this trade, because the standard is what decides whether two apparently identical items are actually the same line item:

ANSI Z60.1 — American Standard for Nursery Stock, which defines what a specified caliper, height or container size actually means
ANSI A300 — Tree Care Operations standards, for pruning and protection requirements
ASTM D5268 — standard specification for topsoil used for landscaping purposes
Irrigation Association standards for system design, auditing and scheduling
Local backflow prevention and cross-connection control requirements, which vary by jurisdiction
Applicable stormwater and erosion control requirements for disturbed areas

Pricing is built on RSMeans cost data localized to your project's market, then reconciled against current supplier quotes and our own completed project costs. Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced.

Why Landscaping Is Estimated Wrong

The maintenance and establishment period priced at zero. The most common and most expensive omission in this trade. A twelve-month establishment obligation is a year of scheduled visits — watering, mowing, weeding, pruning and replacement — carried by the contractor after the installation is finished and frequently after retention is released. It is written in the specification and it appears nowhere on the plant schedule, so an estimator working from the drawings alone will miss it entirely.

Plants counted without their specified size. Reading a schedule for species and quantity while ignoring caliper, height or container size produces a plausible-looking count attached to the wrong price. Size drives the material cost, the equipment needed to place it and the failure risk through establishment, and on a specimen tree the difference between two sizes can be an order of magnitude.

Imported soil volume underestimated. Topsoil and amendment are cubic yard quantities set by the specified depth across the planting area. Assuming existing soil is reusable, or carrying a nominal depth where the specification calls for more, understates a large volume item. On a site with compacted or contaminated soil it can be the biggest line in the package.

Irrigation priced by head count. Counting heads and applying a rate ignores zoning, valve count, mainline sizing and routing, controller capacity, backflow prevention and the point of connection — which together carry most of the system cost. Sleeving under paving is a further item that must be coordinated with the paving schedule or it becomes demolition later.

Plant warranty replacement carried at nothing. A warranty term on living material is an assumed failure rate, and assuming zero is not conservatism, it is an omission. The rate varies with size, species, season and watering control, and the honest approach is to state the assumption rather than leave it out and hope.

Access ignored on constrained and over-structure sites. Planting over a podium deck, inside a courtyard with no equipment access, or on a tight urban site is a different operation from open-site work. Material may be hand-carried or craned, soil depth is limited by structure and waterproofing, and drainage becomes an engineered assembly rather than a subgrade condition.

Related Estimating Services

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you quantify landscaping from a planting plan?

Plants are counted by species and by the size the schedule actually specifies — caliper, height or container to ANSI Z60.1 — because size is the price. Groundcover is counted at the specified spacing rather than an assumed density, soil and mulch are volume quantities from the specified depth, and irrigation is quantified by zone, valve and piping run rather than by head count alone.

Do you include the maintenance and establishment period?

Yes, as its own line with the duration stated. It is the most commonly omitted item in landscape estimating — a specified establishment period can run months or a full year of watering, mowing, weeding, pruning and replacement, and it appears nowhere on the plant schedule. If the specification sets a period, you will see what it costs.

How do you handle the plant warranty?

We carry the replacement obligation over the warranty term with the assumed replacement rate stated in the estimate. Living material has a real failure rate that varies with plant size, species, installation season and watering control, and pricing it at zero is an omission rather than a saving.

Do you estimate irrigation systems?

Yes. Mainline and lateral piping by size and length, heads by type, valves and zone count, controller, backflow prevention assembly, sleeving under paving and the point of connection are all quantified. Zoning and valving carry more of the cost than head count does, which is why a head-count rate is not how we price it.

Do you account for soil import and amendment?

Yes, as cubic yard quantities against the specified depth over the planting area, with imported material distinguished from stripped material reused on site. Where the geotechnical or soil information suggests existing soil is not reusable, the import assumption is stated explicitly.

Can you estimate planting over structure?

Yes, and it is priced as its own condition. Soil depth is limited by the structure and the waterproofing assembly, drainage becomes an engineered layer rather than a subgrade condition, material access is frequently by crane or by hand, and weight limits constrain what can be specified. None of that prices like at-grade planting.

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