How do you quote softscape vs hardscape in a commercial landscape tender?

What are softscape and hardscape?

Softscape is the living and soil-based part of a landscape: trees, shrubs, groundcovers, turf, topsoil and planting mixes, mulch, and the establishment work that keeps them alive after planting. Hardscape is the built part: paving, concrete, edging, retaining walls, steps, kerbs and structures such as screens or seating.

Most commercial landscape packages contain both, and some items sit on the boundary. Irrigation, subsoil drainage and tree pits with structural soil cells are examples. Decide where those items belong at the start, and keep them in the same place every time, so your rates and records stay comparable from job to job.

Why should softscape and hardscape be quoted separately?

Softscape and hardscape should be quoted separately because they are different kinds of work with different cost drivers, programmes and risks. A single lump sum hides which part of your price is high or low, both from the head contractor and from you.

Separate trade sections help in four practical ways:

1. Comparison. Head contractors level bids trade by trade. A clear split makes your price easy to compare and harder to misread.
2. Checking. You can test each section against your own records for similar jobs before you submit.
3. Variations. When the scope changes, separate rates give an agreed basis for pricing the change.
4. Progress claims. Hardscape and softscape are usually built at different stages, so separate sections make claims easier to prepare and assess.

The wider pricing process is covered in our guide to how to price a commercial landscape tender.

How are softscape and hardscape measured differently?

Softscape is measured mostly by count and volume, while hardscape is measured mostly by area and length. Plants are counted by species and pot size, soils and mulch are measured in cubic metres, and turf is measured in square metres.

Hardscape is typically measured in square metres for paving and slabs, lineal metres for edging, kerbs and walls, and cubic metres for bulk concrete, bases and excavation. Retaining walls are often measured by face area or by length at a stated height, so check what the bill of quantities asks for.

Hardscape also needs the layers beneath the finished surface measured as separate items: excavation, subgrade preparation, base course, bedding and any reinforcement. These are easy to miss because the plan only shows the top surface. Our guides on measuring paving, edging and retaining walls and taking off a plant schedule cover each side in detail.

What drives the cost of softscape?

The cost of softscape is driven by plant supply, soil and mulch volumes, the labour to prepare and plant, and the establishment period that follows. The labour is spread across many small, repetitive tasks that add up quickly.

• Plant supply. Price from current nursery quotes for the species and pot sizes on the plant schedule, not last year's price list.
• Soils and mulch. Price from supplier quotes for the named products, delivered to site.
• Labour. Bed preparation, planting by pot size, staking and tying, turf laying and watering in. Take outputs from your own records.
• Irrigation. Often its own section or a separate subcontract; confirm whether it is in your scope.
• Establishment or maintenance period. Watering, weeding, replacements and site visits for the period the contract states.

The establishment period is often underpriced because it happens after practical completion, when the crew has moved on. See our guide to pricing landscape maintenance and establishment.

What drives the cost of hardscape?

The cost of hardscape is driven by materials, base preparation, plant and equipment, set-out, cutting and any trades you subcontract. Labour is concentrated in fewer, heavier tasks, and productivity depends heavily on access and the complexity of the layout.

• Materials. Pavers, stone, concrete, edging, wall blocks and base materials, priced from current supplier quotes.
• Base and subgrade. Excavation, disposal, compaction, base course and bedding, each measured and priced separately.
• Plant hire. Excavators, compactors, saws and lifting equipment, priced for the duration the programme needs.
• Set-out and cutting. Curves, falls, patterns and junctions slow production and increase cuts.
• Subcontracted trades. Concreting, stonework, steel fabrication or specialist walls, priced from written subcontractor quotes.

Where you subcontract a hardscape trade, check that the subcontractor's quote covers the same scope, specification and exclusions as yours. Any gap between their quote and your scope becomes your cost. Shared costs such as site establishment and supervision belong in preliminaries rather than buried in either trade.

What risks are specific to softscape and hardscape?

Softscape risk is mostly about supply and survival, while hardscape risk is mostly about levels, ground conditions and interfaces with other trades. Price and clarify each set of risks in its own section.

Softscape risks include specified plants being unavailable at the size or quantity needed, substitutions needing approval, stock price changes between tender and order, planting windows affected by season and programme delays, losses during establishment, and water availability on site. Check availability with nurseries before you submit, and check the contract for how substitutions must be approved.

Hardscape risks include set-out and levels that do not match the drawings, subgrade that is unsuitable or handed over at the wrong level, unexpected rock or services, falls and drainage that do not work as drawn, and damage from following trades. Who carries subgrade risk depends on the scope and contract, so read it and get advice where it is unclear.

Record the assumptions you have made about each risk in your tender clarifications. Our guide on writing tender clarifications and exclusions shows how to word them.

How do you present softscape and hardscape in the BOQ?

Present softscape and hardscape as separate trade sections in the bill of quantities, each with its own line items, units, quantities, rates and subtotal. If the head contractor supplies a pricing schedule, follow its structure exactly and map your items to it.

Within each section, break items down by product, size and depth. A bed of one planting mix at two depths is two lines. Two paver types, or the same paver on two different bases, are separate lines. This keeps every rate checkable and gives a clear basis for valuing variations later.

Show PC items and provisional sums on their own lines with the allowance stated, so they are not mistaken for priced work. Keep preliminaries, overhead and margin visible as separate items rather than spread unevenly across the trades. Our guide to what a bill of quantities is explains the wider structure.

Summary table

The table below compares how softscape and hardscape are quoted in a commercial landscape tender.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between softscape and hardscape?

Softscape is the living and soil-based part of a landscape: planting, turf, soils, mulch and the establishment that follows. Hardscape is the built part: paving, concrete, edging, walls, steps and structures. They are measured, priced and risked differently, so quote them separately.

Should softscape and hardscape be priced as separate trades?

Yes. Separate trade sections let the head contractor compare your price with other bids, value variations and track progress claims. They also let you see where your cost sits, so you can check each rate against your own records before you submit.

What drives the cost of softscape in a tender?

Softscape cost is driven by plant supply and availability, pot sizes, soil and mulch volumes, the labour to prepare beds and plant, irrigation and the establishment or maintenance period. Take each figure from nursery quotes, supplier pricing and your own job records.

What drives the cost of hardscape in a tender?

Hardscape cost is driven by materials, subgrade and base preparation, plant hire, set-out and levels, cutting, and any trades you subcontract, such as concreting or stonework. Get written quotes from suppliers and subcontractors rather than relying on old rates.

How do you handle plant substitutions in a softscape quote?

Check availability with nurseries before you submit, and state in your clarifications that substitutions of equal size and quality will be offered for approval if specified stock is unavailable. Check the contract for how substitutions must be requested and approved.

Who carries subgrade risk under hardscape?

It depends on the scope and contract. Often the subgrade is handed over by another trade at a nominated level, but not always. Read the scope, state what you have assumed in your clarifications, and get advice if the contract is unclear.

Key takeaways

• Softscape is planting, turf, soils, mulch and establishment; hardscape is paving, concrete, edging, walls and structures.
• Quote them as separate trade sections so the price is easy to compare, check and vary.
• Softscape is measured mostly by count and volume; hardscape by area and length, plus the layers beneath.
• Take every rate from current nursery, supplier and subcontractor quotes and your own records.
• Softscape risk is supply and survival; hardscape risk is levels, subgrade and interfaces.
• State your assumptions for each in the clarifications, and check the contract where risk allocation matters.