What to Ask a Landscape Contractor Before You Sign in San Diego
Ask for a current CSLB license number before the walkthrough, not after the bid. Confirm the contractor is bonded and insured, ask who actually shows up to run the job, and ask what hardware goes in the ground near salt air. A licensed C-27 contractor covers planting, irrigation, and most residential hardscape.
Last updated: September 2026
Most of the bad hires we've heard about from new customers share one thing. Nobody checked the license number before money moved.
We're Ecosystem Landscaping & Design, based in Coronado. Samuel Fortes runs every job site himself, from Point Loma slopes to the bayfront beds on Ocean Blvd. We hold CSLB License #1152146, bonded and insured.
Do they hold a current CSLB license?
A C-27 landscaping license covers planting, irrigation, and most residential hardscape work. Search the license number on the CSLB site and confirm it's active, bonded, and insured before a deposit changes hands.
Once a retaining wall passes roughly four feet of retained height, or a footing needs engineering, that's a different scope. Say so before you pay for a design that can't be built as drawn.
How do you check a San Diego landscape contractor's license?
Search the contractor's name or license number directly on the CSLB website. Confirm the license status shows active, and that bond and insurance coverage are current, not lapsed.
Ask before the walkthrough. A contractor who hesitates to give you the number before pricing anything is telling you something.
Who is actually going to be on your property?
Some companies sell the job with a designer and hand the build to a sub who never saw the rendering. We don't work that way. Sam draws the plan, plants it, and comes back to prune it, on every property we take on from Coronado to Mission Hills.
That matters most on older lots. A tight side yard off B Ave or C Ave with mature trees and a hedge-height rule from the HOA needs someone who measured the space, not someone bidding off a photo.
| Licensed, Owner-Run Contractor | Unlicensed or Sub-Heavy Crew |
|---|---|
| Verifiable CSLB number, checked before you pay | No license number offered, or one that doesn't match the business name |
| Same person draws the plan and runs the crew | Design handed off, build subcontracted to whoever is available |
| Salt-rated brass and stainless irrigation hardware near the coast | Plated fixtures that pit out within a season near salt air |
| Engineering flagged before a wall past four feet gets built | Retaining walls built past code height without a permit conversation |
Why local experience changes the bid in Coronado and Point Loma
Salt air off the bay corrodes plated valves and risers fast. We set brass and stainless heads on pressure-rated PVC as the baseline, not an upcharge, because trenching a finished patio to fix a corroded valve is the redo nobody budgets for.
Point Loma is a different problem. Lots below Sunset Cliffs run downhill, and water moves before any plant goes in the ground. Drain lines and retaining walls get planned first out there, not after a bed washes out in a February storm.
And Coronado's design review boards check plant palette and hedge height, often near 42 inches on street-facing hedges, before a plan ever gets approved. A contractor who hasn't worked with a local board before can cost you a redo on the most expensive part of the job.
What a contractor should tell you before you sign
A straight answer on scope. If a wall needs engineering, that should come up in the walkthrough, not after the concrete is poured.
A phased plan on bigger builds. Full front-and-back design and build work on an island lot usually runs several weeks from first sketch to first plant, and street-facing beds should go in first.
And a real answer on what's going in the ground. Ask what irrigation hardware they use this close to the water. It's a fair question, and a contractor who's worked the coast should have a fast answer.
Read more on the difference between a landscape architect and a landscape designer, or see finished work on our Coronado and Point Loma portfolio.