We had our backyard cleared of brush, stumps, and rocks for some expansion work. During this process, our landscaper piled up the rocks and boulders, which we assumed were meant for a stone wall—like the one he built in our front yard last fall. However, he recently asked us to move our basketball hoop so he could use his dump truck to take those rocks to a different property where he's building another stone wall. While we understand they are just rocks, I feel annoyed since a lot of the work he did seemed to serve another client's project as well. Is it standard practice for a landscaper to do this without prior discussion?
2 Answers
Did you have a contract outlining what was included in the work? If not, then the landscaper might not owe you anything just based on your assumptions. It’d help to clarify this beforehand next time to avoid misunderstandings.
It sounds like there was a lack of communication between you and your landscaper. Typically, if you paid him to remove the rocks, he's right to pile them up for removal, and the truck needs a clear path to get them. If they were waste or unwanted, you might even have had to pay for disposal. It's understandable you're concerned, but he did have a job to do based on your request.
Exactly! If there was no prior discussion, then it’s hard to expect him to just build a wall for free. It's best to get all agreements down in writing.