Cost Home Book is written and edited by the Cost Home Book editorial team. The team builds the site's cost models from publicly available US wage statistics, supplier price lists and permit data, and updates each guide as those sources change. It has no affiliation with any contractor, manufacturer or lead-generation service. Figures on this site are estimates for reading a quote, not quotes.
How the figures are built
Every cost band starts as a national figure with a date on it. Where a guide is priced from published data, the labor leg follows the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the trade that does the work, and the materials leg follows a Producer Price Index series for what it is made of. Once a guide's sources section is published, both are named and linked at its foot, with the release they were read from.
The one number no dataset supplies is how much of a job is labor and how much is materials. That split is a judgement, it is stated on the page, and it is the difference between a roof price that moves with roofers' wages and one that moves with asphalt. How we calculate costs sets out the arithmetic, and the editorial policy is explicit about which figures are derived and which are estimates.
Independence
We have no affiliation with any contractor, manufacturer, marketplace or lead-generation service. The site is funded by display advertising and nothing else — no referral fees, no commissions, no paid placements. No advertiser sees a figure before a reader does. How the site is funded.
Corrections and contact
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Guides by the Cost Home Book editorial team
240 in total, page 3 of 24.
Paver walkway cost$15 to $35per sq ftA paver walkway costs $15 to $35 per square foot installed, typically $24, or $45 to $140 per linear foot for a 3 to 4 ft path. It costs more than a patio because a path is nearly all cuts and edges.
Landscape lighting cost$80 to $300eachLandscape lighting costs $80 to $300 per fixture installed, typically $180, so a 12-fixture front yard is $2,000 to $4,000. Fixture count sets the budget; brass fixtures outlast kits by a decade.
Fence line landscaping cost$15 to $60per linear ftPlanting along a fence costs $15 to $60 a linear foot, typically $30. A privacy screen is bought by plant height; keep plants off the boards and leave room to maintain the fence.
Mulch delivery cost$30 to $55per cubic yardBulk mulch costs $30 to $55 a cubic yard delivered and $60 to $130 spread. One yard covers about 110 sq ft at 3 inches, and bags only beat bulk under about 2 yards.
Garden bed cost$10 to $30per sq ftA new planting bed costs $10 to $30 a square foot installed, typically $18. Plant size and soil preparation set the price, and soil preparation decides whether the bed survives.
Landscape design cost$500 to $3,000per projectA landscape designer charges $500 to $3,000 for a plan, a licensed landscape architect $2,000 to $10,000. The deliverable, not the title, sets the price, and a design-build firm's free design rarely is.
Yard grading cost$0.30 to $1.50per sq ftYard grading costs $0.30 to $1.50 a sq ft, typically $0.80, so a 5,000 sq ft lawn is $1,500 to $7,500. Reshaping existing soil is cheap; bringing in fill and topsoil is what adds up.
Land clearing cost$1,500 to $6,000per acreClearing land costs $1,500 to $6,000 an acre, typically $3,500, from light brush to mature woods. Forestry mulching is cheapest; stump grubbing and debris disposal drive the final bill.
Hedge trimming cost$50 to $100per hourHedge trimming costs $50 to $100 per crew-hour, typically $70, so a 50 ft hedge is about $150 to $300 a visit. Height, access to both sides and clearing up decide the hours.
Stump grinding cost$100 to $400eachStump grinding costs $100 to $400 per stump, typically $200, or $3 to $8 per inch. Access and buried hazards decide the price, and extra stumps on the same visit are much cheaper.