Be ready for the estimate.

Your property brief

• Write one sentence describing the result you want.
• List the property areas to include and anything to leave alone.
• Record your location so the provider can confirm coverage.
• Note gates, steps, slopes and other access constraints.
• Describe wet areas, damaged turf or other existing problems.
• Decide whether the request is one-time or recurring.
• Gather current photos to share directly if the provider requests them.
• Write down preferred timing and any flexibility.
• Ask for preparation, materials, cleanup and disposal to be itemized.
• Confirm who handles watering, maintenance and follow-up.
• Ask how extra work and schedule changes will be approved.
• Keep the written scope and contact details with the estimate.

0 of 12 items checked. Selections stay in this tab only.

Turn a yard walk into useful notes.

Print this worksheet and complete one copy for each area you want help with. Record what you can see; leave the cause and suitable treatment as questions.

1. Area and goal: Which part of the yard? What should be different afterward?

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2. Existing conditions: Note sun or shade, slopes, wet spots and worn or bare ground. Include when you noticed them.

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3. Keep and protect: Identify plants, paths or other features that should remain untouched.

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4. Access: Note gates, steps and the route to the work area.

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5. Ask at the estimate: What needs assessment before work or materials are chosen?

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Illustrative example, not a completed job: “Back lawn beside the gate: thin grass, afternoon shade, and a wet patch noticed the morning after rain. Keep the nearby planting bed. Please assess the cause before recommending seeding.”

For thin or bare grass, add the lawn-repair details to bring to an estimate, including previous treatments and the watering you can manage.

These notes prepare a conversation; they are not a diagnosis, site survey or digging plan. Use the existing estimate request form when you are ready to ask for help.

Will the project involve digging?

Planting, a new path or drainage work can involve more below the surface than the sketch shows. Before agreeing a start date, discuss the proposed work area and underground services with the business doing the work.

• The contractor’s locate request: Miss Utility explains that a hired contractor needs a ticket in its own company name and cannot work under a homeowner’s ticket. Ask who will arrange the request and check the responses before work begins.
• Private lines: utility-owner markings do not cover privately owned facilities such as an invisible pet fence or sprinkler system. Share known private services and any existing plans, and agree how any needed private locating will be arranged and paid for.
• Changes to the plan: ask what happens to timing, layout and cost if a conflict is found. Keep those decisions with the written scope.

Read Miss Utility’s homeowner guidance for the current process. Prepare a sketch from above ground; you do not need to dig, probe or drive stakes into the ground to request an estimate.

Preparing a fall cleanup request?

Record the lawn and paths to clear, beds where leaves should remain, and whether you want hauling or bagged leaves left for collection. Use the Baltimore County collection and cleanup guide to choose the disposal arrangement before comparing estimates.

Have written estimates to compare?

Use the one-page estimate comparison worksheet (PDF) to put two proposals side by side. Record the work area, preparation, materials, exclusions and aftercare before comparing totals. Print another copy for additional estimates.

Prefer reading online? The estimate comparison guide explains the same questions. The worksheet is yours to keep; downloading it does not send a request.

A short request you can adapt

Use your own details when contacting the provider. Avoid including information unrelated to the job.