5 Important Details to Note When Comparing Estimates
Not all estimates are the same. When collecting bids from multiple companies for artificial turf installation, it’s important to understand if you’re comparing apples to apples. There are five important details to note when comparing estimates from different companies. Each can affect your pricing, scope of work, and overall look to your project, so it’s important to fully understand the proposal you’re given.
1. What’s the Square Footage?
When comparing estimates, it’s important to note the square footage each company came up with for your project. Is one price quote way less because they got a smaller overall square footage for the job? Is one company cutting your project in half and doing a design with other landscaping in order to fit within your budget? Does one quote have an overall square footage that’s way off from the others? How detailed was the company when measuring? There are several different ways a company can come up with an overall square footage for a job, so how efficiently did they go about getting it?
2. What’s the Base Depth?
How much is the company excavating from the area and what’s the base depth in their scope of work? It’s important to understand how far down the company is going to dig, and how much base they’re going to install and compact for longevity reasons. Most companies only install 2’’ of base underneath their artificial turf installs. Here at ProLawn Turf, we install 4” of base to ensure the best outcome for years and years to come with the install. More excavating and more base means more money, so that may be why one estimate is less than another.
3. Where Is the Artificial Turf from?
Every company can claim they have “quality turf,” but the real question is where is the artificial turf from? Not just where was it made, but where is it from? A lot of companies will claim their artificial turf is “American made” because they put the artificial turf roll together in America, but the artificial turf materials themselves are imported still. A true American made product is completely manufactured in America. American made products are more expensive because they last longer and are federally regulated, which means they don’t contain lead. The quality of the product is just overall higher than an imported product.
A lot of imported products will turn blue and begin to fall apart. Imported products aren’t federally regulated, so you don’t know what you’re getting, and a lot of the products contain lead. In result, it’s important to ask the company if the artificial turf product is American made or imported. This could be the reason why that company has such a lower bid amount than another company. This could also save you time and money in the long run with not having to pay for it to be redone.
4. What’s the Layout?
When installing artificial turf, layout is a huge factor that can change the pricing per square foot. The less waste, the better. How many seams are you going to have? If you want less seams, you may have to purchase more artificial turf to do that because rolls typically come in 15 feet widths. If a company is “quilting” your lawn together with different sized pieces of artificial turf so that they can purchase less artificial turf for your job, then that will bring down your price per square foot. You may have a lot of seams that are going to be visible though. The less seams, the better. This means it’s important to ask the company how many seams they have in their layout of your turf because that could dramatically change the pricing and look of the job.
5. How Many Pounds per Square Foot of Infill Are They Installing?
The amount of infill a company puts over the artificial turf can determine how weighed down the artificial turf is and how resilient it is. The more infill that’s added, the longer and better the fibers will stay up. If there isn’t enough infill added to the turf, the fibers will begin to lay flat and matt down easily. Matted down artificial turf causes the lawn to look fake and bad. A lot of companies will save themselves and their customer’s money by not putting in enough infill. Most companies will install 2-6 pounds per square foot of infill depending on the weight of the products. It’s important to compare how many pounds per square foot of infill each company is quoting in their estimate. This changes the contract amount, and can also cost you a good-looking lawn if there’s not enough of it.
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A lot of factors can change the price per square foot when installing artificial turf. These five important details to note when comparing estimates are some of the crucial factors to consider when comparing prices. You may not be getting what you thought you were paying for if you don’t check these details, and you may not have been comparing apples to apples with companies during the bid process. Double check your proposal and ask questions! A good company should always love answering your questions! If you’d like to set up a free estimate with ProLawn Turf, please contact us at 877-405-5296!