Which Wheelbarrow & Landscape supplier

[aussieorchid]

We are about to get ready to landscape the yard which includes 3 gardenbeds made up of almost 200 gardenwall link blocks, 2-3 cubic metres of soil and 2-3 cubic metres of pebbles. Just wanted to know what sort of wheelbarrows people recommend for this kind of work. If we buy the slightly cheaper gardener type wheel barrow will we regret that we did not spend a little extra and get a trademans barrow in the long run. Also what brands are good again is it worth saving a few bucks and getting the cheaper ones around or are the big brand ones better.

Also can anyone recommed a good landscape supplier with reasonable prices in Brisbane as we are looking at needing to spend somewhere near the $1000 mark for all the stuff to landscape excluding plants they will have to come a little later when the budget allow for that. From the few we looked at the prices can vary a lot especially for the link blocks and even 10 or 20 cents difference can be $40-$50 saving which could mean a few plants for the garden beds.

[Planned LScape]

Having using barrows every day money is well worth it if doing considerable work. Cheap barrows when you load them up are not only harder to push, the handles bend and are basically crap. A lighter wheelbarrow with less dirt is harder to control than a heavier barrow with more soil, they are more balanced.

Try either the steel or plastic tub Kelso's....I have 2 of each. Plastic ones for shifting pavers and things than can scratch, steel tubbed one for the rest. They now have plastic rims which arent as the older steel ones, but still last a fair while. A good one will be the probably $200 and higher depending on where you get it from

[Barry Hicks]

G'day Aussieorchid,
From my experience as a back-yarder, buy a good quality barrow such as a Kelso brand. It will last for many years.

Do not buy a barrow with a metal tray as the galv. soon wears with use and it will rust away. Some barrows have a pneumatic tyre with a flat tread profile which is fine unless you are a concreter (they are hard to manoeuvre with a heavy load).

If you are building a link wall of any size, it will gobble up your budget real quick. I paid $4.15 per block 4-5 years back and my wall was 100 blocks long and six blocks high! Besser, in their brochure, recommend either concrete and road base to build your wall on. My local supplier suggested crusher dust which I used and there has been no visible movement to date.

As far as suppliers go, I would suggest you "let your fingers do the walking" and phone around. Unless you plan to do your own carting, transport can be a factor and distance could cost #'s.

Sometimes, suppliers have 'specials' on certain items. For instance, I built 50+ metre dividing fences on both sides and saved a considerable sum by buying the components from different suppliers and doing my own carting in my old ute.

[aussieorchid]

Thanks for all the advise and yes Barry we have discovered cartage is a real cost to consider as we are getting probably a full truck load with blocks and soil/pebbles we have found closer is not always cheaper as places a little further out are more willing to travel and seem to have better prices than the shops closer. We will be letting our fingers do the walking but it is always good to hear from people who have used places before as to their opinions and quality of products etc.

[Terrian]

I have had a Sherlock builders barrow for the better part of 15 years, plastic tub, timber frame, standard pump up wheel) it has seen everything from pavers & wall blocks, to soil & concrete. Kelso or Sherlock, expect to pay around the $200 - $250 mark, but it will save your back in the long run, the cheaper barrows are harder to control and less stable to use.