Book excerpt: Specifically written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Small Landscaping Work, Gardening and External Works contains accurate information on thousands of rates, each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit. This is the first book to focus on garden maintenance work on blocks of flats and individual houses, schools and sports fields, garden makeovers, laying patios and paths, small land drainage schemes on farmland, and small-scale local authority maintenance work.