Terms & conditions.
Design and build, and build only, landscaping works for residential clients. These terms are provided with every Armstrong Gardens quotation and apply to every project we carry out.
VERSION 1.1 · OCTOBER 2026
These terms are between Armstrong Gardens & Landscapes Ltd trading as Armstrong Gardens, a company registered in Scotland (company number SC636576, VAT number 351720815) with its registered office at Unit 2, 23 Bankhead Terrace, Edinburgh EH11 4DY (“we”, “us”, “Armstrong Gardens”), and the client(s) named in the quotation (“you”).
Please read them before accepting your quotation. If anything is unclear, ask us before you go ahead.
The key points, in plain English
- Going ahead means you agree to these terms. Accepting your quotation in writing, paying the deposit, or asking us to start work means you accept these terms.
- Deposit secures your start date. We do not book your project into our programme or order materials until the deposit has cleared.
- Invoices are due within 5 days. We send you a payment schedule before work starts. Stage invoices are raised as the work progresses, in line with that schedule.
- Full payment is due at Practical Completion. If minor snags remain at handover, we list them, agree them with you and come back to complete them. Minor snags are not a reason to hold back payment (see clause 5).
- Our guarantee depends on payment on time. The Armstrong Gardens Guarantee in clause 11 applies only where every invoice has been paid in full by its due date. Your legal rights are not affected.
- Changes are agreed in writing first. Any change to the work is priced and agreed by email before we carry it out.
- You have 14 days to cancel. Schedule 2 explains your cancellation rights, including what happens if you ask us to start within that period.
- Photos and signs. We may photograph and film your project for our marketing, and display a sign at the property while we work. You can ask us not to (see clause 15).
Terms
- 01
How the Agreement Is Formed
1.1 The agreement between us (“the Agreement”) is made up of your quotation (including any design drawings it lists and any project specific inclusions and exclusions), these terms including the Schedules, and the payment schedule issued under clause 4.1.
1.2 The Agreement is formed, and you accept these terms, when you do any of the following, whichever happens first: (a) confirm in writing (including by email, text or online acceptance) that you wish to go ahead with the quotation; (b) pay the deposit invoice; or (c) ask us to start, or allow us to start, the Works.
1.3 When the Agreement is formed we will send you written confirmation, including a copy of these terms and your cancellation rights.
1.4 If the quotation and these terms conflict, the quotation takes priority, but only where it expressly changes a specific term. Otherwise these terms apply.
1.5 The Agreement replaces any earlier discussions, estimates or messages about the project. Anything not written into it does not form part of the contract. Your quotation is valid for 90 days from its date.
- 02
Scope of Works
2.1 We will carry out the works described in your quotation (“the Works”) with reasonable care and skill, using the materials specified or materials of equivalent quality and appearance.
2.2 The standard inclusions and exclusions in Schedule 1 apply unless your quotation says otherwise. If something is not listed in your quotation, it is not included.
2.3 Quantities in your quotation are measured from our site survey and drawings. Where an item is shown as a provisional sum or allowance, it will be adjusted to the actual cost on completion.
- 03
Deposit and Start Date
3.1 The deposit is 10% of the contract sum unless your quotation states otherwise. The deposit invoice is issued when you accept your quotation and is payable within 5 days. Your start date is only confirmed, and materials only ordered, once the deposit has cleared.
3.2 If the deposit is not received within 10 days of acceptance, we may release your programme slot and offer you the next available start date.
- 04
Payment
4.1 Before the Works start, we will send you a payment schedule setting out the stages at which you will be invoiced and the amount of each invoice. The schedule will follow this structure: the deposit under clause 3.1, stage payments as the Works progress, and the balance at Practical Completion under clause 5.4. The total will equal the contract sum in your quotation.
4.2 Every invoice, including the final invoice, is payable in full by bank transfer within 5 days of the date it is issued (“the due date”). Stage invoices are raised when the stage in the payment schedule is reached, or on the date shown in it, whichever applies. Approved variations are invoiced with the next stage invoice.
4.3 Payment details are shown on each invoice. If you receive a message saying our bank details have changed, call us on 0131 357 1987 to verify before making any payment.
4.4 You must not withhold or deduct any amount from an invoice except where clause 5.6 applies.
4.5 If an invoice is not paid by its due date, we may charge interest on the unpaid amount at 4% per year above the Bank of England base rate, calculated daily from the due date until payment is received.
4.6 If an invoice remains unpaid 3 days after its due date, we may suspend the Works by giving you written notice (email is sufficient). We will resume once payment has cleared. Any suspension may result in the loss of your place in our programme, and reasonable costs of leaving and returning to site will be charged as a variation.
4.7 We may recover reasonable costs of collecting overdue sums, including sheriff officer and court costs.
4.8 Ownership of materials delivered to site remains with us until they have been paid for in full, to the extent permitted by law.
- 05
Practical Completion and Snagging
5.1 Practical Completion means the Works are complete apart from minor items (“snags”) that do not stop you from using the garden for its intended purpose and do not present a safety risk.
5.2 Examples of snags include: pointing touch-ups, a replacement paver or slab awaiting delivery, minor adjustments to edging or fixings, final plants on back order, and cleaning of isolated marks.
5.3 When we believe Practical Completion has been reached, we will invite you to a handover walk-round. We will record any snags on the Practical Completion and Handover Certificate (Schedule 3) and ask you to sign it. If you are not able to attend within 5 working days of our invitation, we may complete the walk-round and email you the certificate. You may add any further snags to it by email within 5 working days of receiving it. Practical Completion will be treated as reached on the date of the walk-round.
5.4 The final invoice for the balance of the contract sum (adjusted for variations and provisional sums) is issued at Practical Completion and is payable in full within 5 days. Outstanding snags do not delay or reduce this payment.
5.5 We will return to complete the listed snags as soon as reasonably practicable, taking into account the availability of any awaited materials.
5.6 This clause does not affect your statutory rights. If you reasonably believe there is a material defect (something that is not a snag under clause 5.1), you must tell us in writing, with details, before the invoice due date. You may then withhold only an amount that fairly reflects the cost of putting that specific item right, and must pay the rest of the invoice by its due date.
- 06
Variations
6.1 Any change to the Works requested by you, or required because of something outside our control, is a variation.
6.2 We will confirm the price and any time impact of a variation in writing before carrying it out. Your written approval (email is sufficient) is required before we proceed.
6.3 Where a variation cannot reasonably be priced in advance, it will be charged at £62.50 per person per hour plus materials, plant and waste at cost plus 20%.
6.4 Instructions given to our site team are not variations unless confirmed in writing by a director, our sales manager or our operations manager.
- 07
Programme, Weather and Delays
7.1 Start dates and durations are our best estimate and are not guaranteed.
7.2 We may stop work in weather that would affect quality or safety, for example heavy rain, frost (which prevents laying mortar and concrete) or high winds. The programme will be extended accordingly at no cost to either party.
7.3 Delays caused by you, including late decisions, restricted access, late payment or changes to the Works, may extend the programme and any reasonable additional costs will be charged as a variation.
7.4 We are not liable for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control, including supplier shortages and delivery failures.
- 08
Your Responsibilities
You agree to:
- provide safe access to the site, including for deliveries and plant, during normal working hours (Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5.00pm, and Saturdays by agreement);
- provide access to mains water and electricity at no charge;
- clear the working area of personal items, furniture and vehicles before we start;
- tell us about any known underground services, drains, septic tanks, soakaways or problem areas;
- confirm your boundaries, and obtain any permissions needed, including planning permission, building warrant, listed building or conservation area consent, factor approval, tree preservation order consent and neighbours’ agreement, unless your quotation states we will do this;
- keep children and pets away from the working area;
- make decisions on materials and design matters promptly when asked.
- 09
Site Conditions
9.1 Our price is based on the conditions we could reasonably see and assess at our site survey.
9.2 Where we encounter conditions that could not reasonably have been foreseen, such as buried rubble or foundations, rock, contaminated or unsuitable ground, waterlogging, asbestos, unrecorded services or tree roots, we will stop and tell you. Any additional work will be dealt with as a variation under clause 6.
9.3 We are not liable for damage to services that were not identified to us and could not reasonably have been located.
- 10
Materials
10.1 Natural stone, timber and other natural products vary in colour, texture, grain and markings, and will weather over time. Samples are representative only. This natural variation is not a defect.
10.2 Surplus materials remain our property unless they were ordered specifically for you and are listed in your quotation as yours to keep.
10.3 Where you supply materials yourself, we are not responsible for their quality, suitability or performance.
- 11
The Armstrong Gardens Guarantee
11.1 In addition to your statutory rights, we provide the following guarantee from the date of Practical Completion:
Element Guarantee period Notes Hard landscaping: driveways, walls, stonework, paving, steps, edging and artificial grass 3 years Covers defects caused by our workmanship Joinery and carpentry: decking, fencing and trellising, pergolas and gazebos, planters, bespoke seating and garden rooms 3 years Covers defects caused by our workmanship. Excludes natural movement, shrinkage, splitting and weathering of timber Manufactured products Manufacturer’s warranty Passed through to you in full Planting, turf and lawns Not covered See clause 11.4 11.2 Condition: payment on time. The Armstrong Gardens Guarantee applies only where every invoice under this Agreement has been paid in full by its due date. If any invoice is paid late, the guarantee does not apply unless we confirm in writing that it has been reinstated.
11.3 The guarantee does not cover: misuse or accidental damage; lack of maintenance or failure to follow aftercare guidance; work altered or repaired by others; movement or failure of existing structures, walls or ground that were not part of the Works; natural variation, weathering, efflorescence or moss and algae growth; or damage from pets, wildlife, drought, flooding or extreme weather.
11.4 Plants, turf and lawns are living things and their establishment depends on watering and care after handover, so they are not covered by the Armstrong Gardens Guarantee. Ongoing care is available through our sister business, Armstrong Garden Care.
11.5 To make a claim, contact us in writing with photographs. Where the claim is covered, we will carry out the repair or replacement at no charge.
11.6 Your statutory rights are not affected. Whether or not the Armstrong Gardens Guarantee applies, the law requires us to carry out the Works with reasonable care and skill, and to supply materials of satisfactory quality.
- 12
Subcontractors
12.1 We may use specialist subcontractors for parts of the Works. We remain responsible to you for all work carried out under this Agreement.
- 13
Liability and Insurance
13.1 We hold public liability insurance of £5 million and employer’s liability insurance. Certificates are available on request.
13.2 We are not liable for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when this Agreement was made, or for business losses.
13.3 Nothing in this Agreement limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything that cannot be limited by law.
- 14
Cancellation
14.1 You have the right to cancel this Agreement within 14 days of the date the Agreement is formed under clause 1.2, without giving a reason. Schedule 2 explains how.
14.2 If you ask us in writing to start work within the 14 day period and then cancel, you must pay an amount in proportion to the work carried out up to the time you tell us you are cancelling, together with the cost of any materials made or cut to your specification that we have ordered at your request.
14.3 If you cancel after the 14 day period, you must pay for work carried out to date, materials ordered that cannot be returned or used elsewhere, any supplier restocking charges, and our reasonable losses resulting from the cancellation. We will provide a breakdown and refund any balance of the deposit.
14.4 We may end this Agreement by written notice if any invoice remains unpaid 14 days after its due date. Clause 14.3 then applies as if you had cancelled.
- 15
Photography and Signage
15.1 We may photograph and film the Works during and after the project and use the images for marketing. If you would prefer we did not photograph your project, tell us in writing at any time and we will not.
15.2 All rights in the photographs and video we take belong to us. We may use them, without payment to you, on our website, social media, printed materials, award entries and other marketing. We will not publish your name or full address without your permission.
15.3 We may display an Armstrong Gardens sign at the front of the property, or on site fencing, from the start of the Works until Practical Completion. We will remove it, and make good any fixings, when we leave site. If you would prefer we did not display a sign, tell us in writing and we will not.
- 16
Data Protection
16.1 We use your personal details only to deliver this Agreement, manage your account and, where you agree, keep in touch about related services. Our privacy notice is available at www.armstronggardens.co.uk.
- 17
Complaints and Disputes
17.1 If you are unhappy with any part of the Works, please contact our operations manager in writing first, at info@armstronggardens.co.uk.
17.2 If we cannot resolve your complaint, the next step is for both of us to consider referring it to an independent alternative dispute resolution service.
17.3 This Agreement is governed by the law of Scotland and the Scottish courts have jurisdiction.
- 18
General
18.1 Notices may be given by email to the email addresses we hold for each other.
18.2 If any term is found to be unenforceable, the remaining terms continue to apply.
18.3 We may update these terms for future quotations. The version provided with your quotation is the one that applies to your project.
Schedule 1 · Standard Inclusions and Exclusions
Included as standard
- Labour, plant, tools and materials as described in your quotation
- Removal from site of waste arising from the Works
Excluded unless stated in your quotation
- Planning permission, building warrant, structural engineer or other professional fees
- Unforeseen ground conditions (see clause 9)
- Diversion, repair or protection of utilities and drainage not identified to us
- Tree surgery, stump grinding or work to trees not listed in your quotation
- Removal of household waste, garden furniture or items not arising from the Works
- Electrical work to the house, new external circuits or sockets (lighting is by a qualified electrician and priced separately)
- Making good to areas outside the working area, including lawns used for access
- Watering and maintenance after Practical Completion
- Parking permits and suspensions, which will be recharged at cost
- Party wall, neighbour or factor negotiations
Any project specific inclusions or exclusions are listed in your quotation.
Schedule 2 · Your Right to Cancel
You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day the contract is entered into.
To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us (Armstrong Gardens & Landscapes Ltd trading as Armstrong Gardens, Unit 2, 23 Bankhead Terrace, Edinburgh EH11 4DY, 0131 357 1987, info@armstronggardens.co.uk) of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (for example, a letter sent by post or email). You may use the model cancellation form below, but it is not obligatory.
To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
Effects of cancellation
If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract. We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
If you requested us to begin the performance of services during the cancellation period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated to us your cancellation from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.
Model cancellation form
Only complete and return this form if you wish to cancel. You do not need to sign or return it otherwise.
To: Armstrong Gardens & Landscapes Ltd trading as Armstrong Gardens, Unit 2, 23 Bankhead Terrace, Edinburgh EH11 4DY, info@armstronggardens.co.uk
I/We hereby give notice that I/We cancel my/our contract for the supply of the following service:
Ordered on: Name of consumer(s):
Address of consumer(s):
Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):
Date:
Schedule 3 · Practical Completion and Handover Certificate
SAMPLE ONLY
Sample only. Please do not sign or return this page. We will complete and sign the certificate with you at the handover walk-round.
| Project number and client | |
| Site address | |
| Date of handover walk-round | |
| Attended by |
We confirm that the Works have reached Practical Completion as defined in clause 5.1 of our Terms and Conditions. The snags listed below are agreed and will be completed in line with clause 5.5. The final invoice is issued today and is payable in full within 5 days.
| No. | Snag description | Reason outstanding | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 8 |
Client signature:
Armstrong Gardens signature:
Date: