Landscaping in Bucks County, PA: erosion plans, soil tests and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Bucks County homeowners know before hiring a landscaper?
Most Bucks County homes come with a yard to look after. The Census Bureau counts 257,260 housing units in the county, and 79.5 percent of them are single-family houses, detached or attached, against 75.4 percent statewide. Owner occupancy is high as well, at 77.8 percent of occupied homes, so most of these yards are the owner's own responsibility. Three local resources matter when that work goes beyond mowing: the county conservation district, the Penn State Extension office in Newtown and the county's consumer protection office.
When does a Bucks County project need an erosion plan?
Sooner than many people expect, once a project starts moving soil. State law requires every earth disturbance to use erosion and sediment controls, and a written plan once the disturbance reaches 5,000 square feet. The Bucks County Conservation District explains what that means for projects under one acre. Between 5,000 square feet and an acre, the plan must be prepared and kept on site, and Chapter 102 itself does not require the district to review it.
Local ordinances often do. The district says various Bucks County municipalities require a conservation district review and approval, and it advises consulting your municipality about grading or building permits before any project that disturbs earth. For homeowners it publishes Low Hazard Plan Instructions and a simple plan sheet for small projects. It takes submissions on paper, one hard copy for projects under an acre, and does not accept electronic plans or credit cards. Its number is 215-345-7577.
A regrade of a large lot, a new driveway with a patio, or a drainage project across a backyard can reach 5,000 square feet faster than it sounds: that is a strip 50 feet by 100. Ask any landscaper proposing such work who will prepare the plan and whether your township wants it reviewed.
Where do you get a soil test in Bucks County?
At the Penn State Extension office in Newtown, 576 Penns Park Road. The Bucks County Master Gardeners say soil test kits cost $10.00 there, and ask you to call ahead at 267-483-2020. Outside office hours, sample bags and forms are left in a self-serve box outside the office, and the sample is mailed to Penn State's laboratory. Penn State says a soil test is the only way to know how much fertilizer and lime a new lawn needs, so a landscaper proposing a lawn renovation should be working from one.
Does a Levittown slab house change anything?
It can, for grading. The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia says slightly more than 17,300 houses of six models were built in Levittown between 1952 and 1958, across Bristol, Falls and Middletown Townships and Tullytown Borough, and that the houses stood on concrete slabs. Penn State Extension's guidance on lawn establishment says the finished grade should carry surface water away from a building, ideally falling 1 to 4 feet for every 100 feet from the foundation. If you own one of these slab houses, ask any landscaper who regrades the yard or builds raised beds against the walls how the finished grade will carry water away from the house, and get the answer in the proposal.
Most Bucks housing is from those postwar decades or later. The Census Bureau estimates that only 9.9 percent of the county's homes were first built in 1939 or earlier, against 25.0 percent statewide.
How do you check a contractor in Bucks County?
For patios, walls, walkways and drainage, the Attorney General says landscapers must register as home improvement contractors. The state's contractor search can be filtered to Bucks County. Remember that the registration rule applies to the work: a company that only mows may not be covered, but the same company building you a wall is.
Bucks County also has its own office for disputes. Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures says it mediates consumer complaints against businesses, whether the business is in the county or not, and the problems it lists include incomplete or unsatisfactory home repairs and false statements that services are needed. With a county median home value of $445,700 for owner-occupied homes, a large hardscape project here is a serious sum, and a written contract matters.
For what the state requires of each kind of landscaping work, see what Pennsylvania requires. Businesses serving the county are on the Bucks County landscapers page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Projects Under One Acre, Bucks County Conservation District
- 25 Pa. Code § 102.4. Erosion and sediment control requirements., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Soil Testing Information (Bucks County Master Gardeners), Penn State Extension
- Soil and Water Testing Information (Philadelphia County Master Gardeners), Penn State Extension
- Levittowns (Pennsylvania and New Jersey), Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
- Lawn Establishment, Penn State Extension
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General