When I got around to removing the masses of ground covers and trailing plants at the front of Ferny Hill Retreat (aka my new home) I was shocked to discover that all the retaining walls were rotting and falling apart. Eek! This wasn’t good news but, hey, stuff happens.
I immediately called a landscaper to quote on replacing the retaining walls. The figure he gave me almost made me faint. I knew it would be an expense, but I’d not expected an amount anywhere close to his estimate! A few days later a tradesperson working at my property mentioned that his dad (who happens to live 2 doors down from me) built retaining walls for a living. I waited a while to ask him to quote because I was still reeling from the first cost estimate.
The message behind this little tale is ‘buyer beware’ because the second quote was less than a quarter of the first! Not believing my luck, I probed the second guy for details only to find that the materials as well as the building process he’d use was identical to the first landscaper.
Needless to say I accepted the second offer and yesterday the work began. When complete: all the front retaining walls will be brand new, we’ll have extra garden beds to plant out, and a level space will be in place for a lawn and Ferny Hill Retreat’s guest parking. YIPPEE!
