Listing Prep Yard Guide for Realtors

Fresh mulch, with the math done

Beds are the first thing a buyer sees in a photo, and tired beds make a whole home look tired. Bark mulch at about three inches deep is the standard we suggest: it protects roots, holds soil through the rain, and reads clean and dark in pictures. The math is simple. Measure the bed in feet, multiply length by width, then multiply by the depth in feet. A bed 10 feet by 20 feet at three inches deep is 200 square feet times a quarter of a foot, which is 50 cubic feet, or about 2 yards. The calculator on our site does the same math for any bed you measure, at www.thomastruckingrichmond.com/#calculator

Topsoil for low spots

Dips in a lawn, sunken corners beside a walkway, and the hollow where a tree came out all pool water and read as neglect. Rake the spot open, spread topsoil a little proud of the surrounding lawn because it settles, level it, and seed while the soil is still warm. Most low spots take half a yard to a yard of topsoil, and one visit settles them before listing day instead of after the first open house.

Gravel driveway and parking pad refresh

Weeds through the gravel and ruts at the gate undo an otherwise tidy listing. Pull or cut the weeds first, then spread road base gravel over the worn areas, rake it level, and pack it down. A typical single driveway refresh takes 1 to 2 yards. Tidy edges matter as much as the surface: gravel that stays inside its border makes the whole front of the home look kept.

Drainage puddles that never dry

A puddle that is still standing two days after rain is telling you where the grade is wrong. The common fixes are a shallow swale to move the water, a small gravel filled trench where the water collects, or topsoil to lift the low area so it drains on its own. Jeff or Bob will say plainly which one a property needs once they see photos of it, and that advice costs nothing whether the work comes to us or not.

Bobcat cleanup for the corners nobody photographs well

Side yards with old material piles, broken concrete, leftover soil from a past project, and the strip behind the garage all show up in listing photos eventually. A Bobcat with an operator clears, levels and loads out in a few hours, and our trucks haul the spoil away on the same visit. It is the fastest single change most tired yards can get before photos.

Prices, in the open

Prices per yard: double screened topsoil 50 dollars, garden mix 50 to 60 dollars, top dressing mix 50 dollars, bark mulch 55 dollars, mushroom manure 50 to 55 dollars, road base gravel 50 to 55 dollars. Delivery in Richmond starts at 75 dollars, split loads are available when a job needs two materials on one truck, and estimates are always free. Bob or Jeff confirm the final quote and the delivery day. The full material list is at www.thomastruckingrichmond.com/#materials

A few order notes for listing week

• Book material and machine work a few days before the photo shoot so the yard can settle
• Water the lawn the evening before photos if the weather has been dry
• Send us a property address and photos and we will price most cleanup work without a site visit
• One truck can bring two materials on a split load, which suits most listing prep jobs