Hedge trimming FAQs and calculator help
How to get a useful number out of the calculators, what each input is really asking, and the questions we field most often.
What people use this for
- Budgeting before you call anyone. Knowing the likely range before the first quote arrives is the difference between negotiating and guessing.
- Sanity-checking a quote you've been given. A number well outside the range isn't necessarily wrong, but it's always worth a question.
- Comparing DIY against hiring in. Once you can see the labour cost separately, the trade-off against buying a trimmer and spending your Saturday becomes obvious.
- Scoping a job before you commit. Trying different heights and frequencies shows you what actually drives your cost, and often changes the plan.
Getting the inputs right
Three inputs do most of the work, and two of them are commonly misjudged.
Time since the last cut is the one people underestimate, usually by a year. Be honest about it, because it is the single largest multiplier in the model and getting it wrong throws everything else off.
Height should be the working height, measured from wherever someone has to stand to cut it. A hedge on a bank or a wall is taller to work on than it looks.
Access means the whole route: where the van parks, what the tools have to travel through, and how the waste comes back out. A hedge fifty feet from the driveway behind a narrow gate is not easy access, however open the garden looks.
Nothing you type is sent anywhere
The calculators run entirely in your browser. There is no account, no email gate, and your measurements are never transmitted or stored. The only thing that changes is the web address, so you can bookmark or share a particular estimate if you want to.
Common questions
What do I enter for length if my hedge goes round a corner?
Add the runs together and enter the total. A hedge that turns a corner is measured as the sum of its faces, because that's how long the crew spends walking it. If you're only having part of it cut, enter only that part.
Do I measure the height from the ground or from the top of a wall?
From wherever the person cutting it has to stand. If your hedge sits on top of a two-foot retaining wall, the working height is the wall plus the hedge, because that's what determines whether they need steps.
My hedge has two sides. Does the calculator account for that?
Yes. The model assumes a normal hedge is cut on both faces and along the top, which is the standard job. If only one side is accessible, as with a boundary hedge where the neighbour handles their own side, you will be quoted a little under our range.
Why does my estimate say it's at the minimum charge?
Because the job priced below what contractors will turn out for. Travel, unloading and setting up cost the same whether the job takes twenty minutes or two hours, so nearly everyone has a floor. If you see that message, either bundle more work into the same visit or expect to pay the minimum regardless.
Should I do it myself or hire someone?
The honest dividing line is height and reach. If you can cut the whole hedge standing on the ground and you own a trimmer, DIY is straightforward and the only cost is your time. Once you need a ladder, the calculation changes: working at height with a powered blade causes serious injuries every year, and a day's tower hire often costs more than a crew would have charged for the entire job.
Which trimmer should I buy for DIY?
Match the tool to the hedge, not to the price. Manual shears are fine for a small formal hedge and cost almost nothing to run. Battery trimmers now handle most domestic hedges and are the sensible default. Corded electric is cheaper but tethers you to an outlet. Petrol is for large or remote hedges and brings real maintenance with it: fuel, oil, servicing, and roughly $50 to $90 a year to keep it running.
How often should a hedge be cut?
Two to three times a year for most formal hedges. Fast growers like leylandii may want three or more to stay in shape. Flowering shrubs are the exception and should be pruned right after they finish blooming, or you cut off next year's flowers.
Do you sell my details or pass them to contractors?
The calculators require nothing from you. There is no sign-up, no email gate and no tracking of what you type. The estimate is worked out in your own browser and never leaves it. If we later add a way to request quotes from local contractors, it will be something you explicitly opt into.
Your estimate doesn't match the quotes I'm getting. What now?
If your quotes are consistently higher, the usual culprits are access, height or waste volume being worse than the form captured, or a local market hotter than the band you picked. If they're consistently lower, check whether waste removal is actually included. Either way, tell us: quotes from real jobs are the most useful feedback we get, and they're how the model gets better.