I wouldn't tip at all. First, it is not common in the industry and so not expected. And second, landscape labor costs are high anyway. No doubt they are being paid adequately for their efforts.

To provide some background, I have been in this industry for almost 30 years and have never encountered tipping. My contractor charges $50 an hour for labor per worker and pays his crew in the range of $25-35/hr, depending on skill set. I can't even afford to hire them!! (we do barter instead :-)) Yes, he is on the higher end of the scale but he does excellent work and has the client base to show for it.

Providing cold drinks and a treat like homemade cookies is a nice thing to do but you do not need to take it any further than that.

Thanks, guys. I assumed that tipping was a common practice. The owner of the firm normally does very large, high-end projects for landscape architects and designers. But will do smaller side projects like ours on occasion (I booked and gave a deposit last October).

For us, this is the largest and costliest home improvement project to date. And we haven't even started a layout or design of plant material.

My husband is a landscaper and some people do tip some not all. It is always appreciated when people give snacks and drinks. He had a job one time it was 118 degrees here and the guys ran out of water so my husband asked the homeowner instead of taking time to go buy more, the homeowner came out handed them each one bottle and told the guys that my husband should provide them with water. My husband still had to go buy a case because 1 bottle Isn’t going far when you are working and that kind of temperature. They are always grateful for anything they receive if the owner isn’t out there doing the physical labor I feel a good review is enough for him.

It is unimaginable to me that a homeowner would not even offer cold drinks. I understand they may be at work while the job is being completed at the residence, but a cooler set out each morning is not difficult.

I always tell my clients there is no standard for tipping as there is no expectation of a tip, but that the guys will appreciate anything they're considering. Some folks do nothing, some folks feed them occasionally (we did a 5 week long project and the client, who loves to bbq, catered a huge lunch for them), and I've had customers tip them anything from a couple bucks apiece to a couple hundred apiece. Really it all comes down to what you feel is appropriate.

And I love the fact that you're talking about something for the owner, because I can count on zero fingers the number of tips I've gotten as an owner!

What you do is more than enough and they appreciate that more then the tip. I'm sure you paying a good penny for the project, and they all get paid, and if you have a crew of 4-5 guys $10-20 for each is not gonna go far... it will cover a 6 pack or lunch. They will appreciate more a cold drink on the hot day or a nice lunch for everyone.

So don't lose sleep over it, in a construction industry tipping is not expected... In some cases if you have a guy send a worker and he does a nice job and works in your house for a day or two some people will tip, but rarely, like I said before some will make coffee or offer water, or offer lunch and that goes a long way.

Good luck.

Aurora, what you are already providing or planning to do is totally sufficient, that along with plenty of heart-felt thanks. The offer of references and use of pictures is also generous and will be appreciated by the owner.

Tipping provides a huge lever for employees with employers, believe me. Nothing is better than telling your boss his customer handed you a $50.00 bill, especially when he and you both know this doesn't happen to any of the other guys. Help them out, please; it's worth much more than the money.

I have worked with many landscape laborers. They really love to be respected. Drinks and snacks are nice. Letting them us a nice bathroom when needed would be a good gesture.

On the first day one of the guys asked to use the bathroom and I told him no problem. Five minutes later a large truck with a porta pottie showed up. I was shocked and not entirely happy. I don't think my neighbor is pleased either.

In my experience, it is almost unheard of to rely on bathrooms being provided by the customers (for multiple reasons: customers are often not home while the work is being done, workers tend to get incredibly dirty doing the work and do not want to bring any of that inside a customer's house, etc.) And trips off the property for bathroom breaks can be disruptive and ultimately costly for the company doing the work.

"ive minutes later a large truck with a porta pottie showed up"

If this is a permited construction site he may required by law to provide the porta-a-potty.

What's the issue with a portajohn? Even if there's a Sheetz 5 minutes away, that's going to become a 20-30 minute bathroom break when all is said and done. I'm not a fan of using a customer's bathroom (liability, it's one more thing I have to pay to clean at the end of the job, and I had someone get bitten by a client's dog while using her bathroom), and I'm really not a fan of them finding a secluded corner of the yard and hoping for the best. A portajohn is honestly a good option for everyone's interests.

On a small jobs involving a few subcontractor using the Porta-John, the Porta-John is cleaner than some of the 5-min away "Sheetz".

That said most homeowners don't mind a bathroom being used while the job in progress and as a respect to the homeowner I tell every subcontractor on the job to tell their guys to keep it clean as it was theirs house and we never had an issue in regard to that. I mean you don't have 20 guys on the job on daily bases using the bathroom.

Most of the time you have 1 subcontractor at the time doing the work and they will have 1-2 guys there so the use of the bathroom is minimal in comparison when you have 10-20 guys everyday on the job-site.

Some homeowners will ask to order a Porta-john after all they paying for it so it makes no difference.

Revolutionary, your points are well taken. I guess I was just surprised and I just wish we could have been more discreet about its location. The scope of the whole project has overwhelmed me and to be honest I feel kind of exposed. I can't really describe the feeling but I am not very comfortable with all the attention the project is getting. The snarky comments from neighbors began ("must be nice", "what the hell are you doing back there?"). My personal favorite was "what are you building a fortress?" This is our most expensive home improvement project to date and I am grappling with a little guilt (sometimes more than a little).

As a side note, the owner underestimated the amount of boulders, sand and top soil he needed by even more than he had originally thought. He said he would cover it as it was his mistake. We can't live with that. I offered what I considered a fair amount to cover the material costs and he agreed to cover the extra labor costs. The patio is beautiful and we want to sit outside knowing we did the fair and right thing for everyone involved. Can't enjoy something if I think I took advantage of someone for their mistake. I am sure there are people who are going to say I am a fool for not letting the guy just eat the entire difference.

This week it will be done and I will start another thread begging and pleading for some plant material help!

Don't listen to your neighbors, concentrate on your project. You work hard for your money and home you living in is biggest investment and a place that you enjoy most with your family and friends.

Don't feel guilty, not your fault that you have a "Joe Schmoe" next door who haven't done nothing to his house since the day he got it, now he can't stand it that he has to watch you enjoying your home and landscaping.

Sometimes I hear the same things, I would be building a nice home next to something about to collapse and the guy next door would say the same thing "must be nice to be a builder and be making all that money" so when hear something like this I tell them " why don't you build one and let me know how nice it is"

You do the same when they say "must be nice" you say "it sure is, I can't wait for it to be finished so I could enjoy" and you will see how fast they will shut up.

Good luck!