Anyone Hire a Landscape Design/Contractor?

[Bonny]

What was your experience?

What did you have done?

$?

What did you learn?

What would you do differently?

[zibazinski]

Yes and although I'm sure I paid more, I love the way the yard looks. There's cohesion as opposed to hodge podge. She listened to that I want clean lines/look in front and a wilder look in back.

[The Captain]

Kinda.

At our old house we had a little over two acres.  I needed help and hired a service to do spring and fall clean-up, mulch, and weekly weeding/general cleanup.

It took me three years and 4+ vendors to find a service that would stick through the fall (the weekly service is not a lucrative as the spring cleanup/mulch is).  But once I found one, I stuck with him.  He now does the yard work for my two rentals as well.

Old house - about 28 yards of mulch (not a typo) spring cleanup, pruning etc about $6K.  Weekly weed maintenance = $150 a week.  Later in the year they wouldn't have to put in a full day but I still paid because I wanted the arrangement to work well for both of us. 

I did my due diligence on all of them, checked references, etc.  As with any service industry it's still a bit of a crapshoot.

Sadly, he's still doing the rentals but won't travel out to the new home (he did the yard cleanup/mulch when we first moved in because there was a lot of work and again, it was worth his time and effort).

The cleanup at the new house (ripping out all overgrown shrubs, trimming trees back from the roofline, general tree and shrub pruning as needed, weeding and putting mulch down) was about $7K.

I'm curious as to other's experiences as once we finish with the kitchen, bath, and basement I want to get more landscaping done, and *groan* DH and I are not getting any younger.

I'll probably be able to keep up with the maintenance at the new house, but may hire some area kids to help out (there are several listed in the association directory).

[thyme4change]

I hired a designer, but decided I didn't want her to manage the project, so I hired another guy to do the project, and he adjusted the design.  I don't think he liked her design much, but I do.  He was awesome.

My friend recently had her yard done with a designer, and it was a nightmare for her.  She said it was because her lady was tough.  She chose not to go with my guy because he wouldn't install a pool - so she would have had to have 2 contractors and that was just too much trouble for her.  

So, here is my advice after hiring someone, and after listening to her bitch and moan.

(1) Get referrals from people you know.  Not Yelp, not the names they provide you - actually people you trust.

(2)  Think through the whole project and do as much "up-front" leg work as possible.  

(3)  Ask as many questions as you can think of before they start work.  Ask what decisions will need to be made, and when and how they will be made.  We decided to go with our guy and do plants, and we had to pick the pavers, and we had to buy a grill, etc. etc.  My friend said she didn't want to mess around with any of those decisions, and then hated everything her designer picked.  Duh.

(4)  Make sure you understand what is in the quote and what isn't.  We had to pay extra for some stuff.  My friend thought every thing on the paper was in the price.  But, there were large pots around the yard.  They were not included in the price, and ended up costing her many thousands of dollars.  

(5)  Make sure you know the pro's and con's of your design choices.  I was surprised at how hot my pavers get.  My friend is surprised that her pavers got stained when the tree that was chosen dropped seeds or flowers or something.  So, think of all the things you want - non-slip, unlikely to crack, new or different types of materials, lots of color, or not, etc.  

(6)  Ask what the biggest risks are - surprise pipes?  Soil quality?  Permitting issues?

Above all - make sure you listen, listen, listen to the answers to your questions.  My friend heard what she wanted to hear.  She could have avoided a lot of trouble had she used better critical listening and thinking skills, instead of just being super excited and assuming that she is making her wishes perfectly clear.

And, totally off the subject, she is now planning a wedding and is having similar problems with her coordinator and her venue.  

Basically, use the same common sense as you would with any contractor (or tradesman.)  I think you are experienced enough at that to have a successful project.  


 

[Bonny]

Thanks thyme4change. That was a really good list.

We recently watched our neighbors get their front lawn converted into a xeriscape front yard. Design was great but boy oh boy was the implementation a mess. I kept volunteering to bring her cocktails because she was going through a severe melt-down.

[TheHaitian]

We did for our house when it was getting build... And we also hired him again when we wanted to add the patio/fire pit.

We have him saved when/if we decide to go forward with the other projects we talked about.

We have two things given me pause:
- over improving the house or
Landscape for the neighborhood.
- we may not stick around long enough to enjoy all the wonderful things he has suggested.

This year project is adding the irrigation system ($3,000).

So far we spent about 12-15k on just landscape... Kinda crazy when I think about it since it is all covered by snow at this moment.

[kittensaver]

Our experience was great, actually!  After a couple of years of conversation and remodeling/re-facing (including a new porch) of the house itself, we hired our next door neighbor who is a professional landscaper (and we're still talking to him!). Seriously, he's a great guy. He's worked on many yards in our neighborhood, and we like every one of them.

Our front yard was nothing more than dying grass that sloped down to the street, with a few pitiful plants hugging the house. I wanted to do something to "level" the yard so I could grow plants and some food. Because it was not a simple job, the landscaper brought in a designer who was a friend. That was a pretty incredible experience! We took some measurements, and then I sat down with him and starting telling him what I wanted. At the end of two hours (and only $500 later ) I had a completely finished, to-scale, hand drawing of what the yard would look like, including a detailed plant list. It was amazing to watch an artist at work! And he REALLY listened to me.

We ended up "leveling" the yard by building a gently curving retaining wall about 6 feet back from the sidewalk. It is made with Urbanite (aka, recycled concrete ). It looks like expensive, artsy stone but at almost no cost - because the landscaper had another job at the same time where they were tearing out their driveway. We only had to pay to load up and transport the big broken pieces, and then they were cut down and fitted on site with us as a part of the construction. That alone saved us several thousand dollars.

The "upper" part of the yard now has my favorite plants (roses, lavender, day lilies, hydrangea, agapanthus, iris) plus an apple, pomegranate, Meyer lemon, blood orange, Mission fig and two fruiting olive trees . The "lower" part has rosemary (that has grown up to trail over the wall ), trailing California lilac, trailing (miniature) morning glory and Peter Pan (miniature) agapanthus. We reduced the lawn by about 60% and got a whole new watering system.

The total bill was only 12k, thanks to the urbanite and the fact that we were willing to buy very young/small plants and trees and allow they to grow up over time. I learned that remodeling doesn't HAVE to be torture. I don't think I would change anything.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My sister did, her yard looked awesome.

However, they chose some trees that wound up costing them a lot of money and in the long run they wound up having to cut down 10 years after they were planted to protect from damage.  I think that the landscape designer went more for aesthetics rather than looking at what future problems could occur.

I believe that the company came up with the design and took control of the bigger things, my sister did the detail part herself.  I know that the landscape design itself was a couple thousand $$, and want to say that the work that the company did was about $12K (including the plants/labor/grass).  My sister did the smaller plants/bushes around the house and she looked more at what the long term impact would be.

Their yard was rather difficult, as it is on a steep hill and has a walk out basement.

[tskeeter]

Feb 18, 2015 11:41:18 GMT -5 Bonny said:

What was your experience?

What did you have done?

$?

What did you learn?

What would you do differently?

We've done this several times.  All of our experiences were good and met our expectations.

First home was pretty basic.  Some shrubs, trres, and shrubbery beds. $4K in 1991.

Second home was pretty similar to first.  Shrubs and some flowers across the front of the house.  $2,500 in 1996.

Third home was remove a number of existing plantings and replant with other materials, irrigation, fountain.  $20K in 2003.

Fourth home was full boat on the back yard over a couple of years by four different contractors.  Paver patio, paver utility pad and sidewalk, patio cover, sod, concrete curbs, hardscape, irrigation, trees, shrubs, flowering plants, mulch (crushed rock), etc.  Total about $40K including the garden shed and fountain that we built.   I estimate that the area would total about 9,000 square feet.  The pavers total about 1,000 square feet and the patio cover is about 800 square feet.  About 2,500 square feet of sod.  And about 5,000 square feet of shrubbery beds and plantings.

You can tell that we invested in good, professional landscaping for the fourth house.  Cost a lot more than a DIY job, but it looks a lot better, too.  The last landscaping contractor, who did the last bit of sod, the plantings, and the irrigation requried for the plantings is the one who made it look like a million bucks.  Selected flowering plants that have something in bloom all summer with a nice variety of colors.  Shrubs and trees also provide a variety of colors and textures, including shrubs with season color.  The combination of plants also provides a variety of interesting shapes and colors during the winter.

Why did we use so many contractors?  First, we were doing the job in phases.  So we ended up using contractors who kind of speciatized in the phase of the project that we were working on at that point in time.  The guy who did the pavers and the first piece of sod has a reputation for doing great paver jobs.  Rather than just installing the standard color/size mixes provided by the manufacturers, he might use more of a particular size or color.  Or even mix manufacturers to obtain different textures.  A company that does only patio covers did the patio cover for us, etc.  We probably could have done a one stop shop with a single landscaping contractor.  But the way we did it, we were able to hire the best contractor in the area for each of the things we were doing. 

As we have worked with the various landscaping contractors, the hardest thing to get them to understand is my definition of low maintenance.  Other than moving the lawn, I'd like to spend about two days a year weeding, pruning, and cleaning up the dead growth from the last season.  I've found that to most landscape contractors, low maintenance means not more than two weekends a month, 12 months of the year.

The other tendancy that seems to be common among landscape contractors is to over plant.  Rather than wait a couple of years for plants to settle in and begin to grow and fill in, most landscapers will put in about twice as many plants as are really required.  This means that the job looks more finished the day it is done.  But two years down the road, you end up with a crowded jungle of plants that you have to be constantly pruning to keep them from looking over crowded.  Or, you need to take out about half of the plants that you paid to have installed.  Settle for something that looks a little sparse when you start, and a few years later you have a lush landscape without overcrowding.

What would I do differently?  Use a really good, experienced landscape designer and contractor.  It's expensive, but I think that a great landscaping job can add tens of thousands of dollars to the value of a home.    
       

[thyme4change]

Feb 18, 2015 12:52:36 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Thanks thyme4change. That was a really good list.

We recently watched our neighbors get their front lawn converted into a xeriscape front yard. Design was great but boy oh boy was the implementation a mess. I kept volunteering to bring her cocktails because she was going through a severe melt-down.

Maybe don't use her guy.

[tskeeter]

Feb 18, 2015 12:52:36 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Thanks thyme4change. That was a really good list.

We recently watched our neighbors get their front lawn converted into a xeriscape front yard. Design was great but boy oh boy was the implementation a mess. I kept volunteering to bring her cocktails because she was going through a severe melt-down.

Well, like most construction, the process isn't pretty, but the outcome can be.

I think that there are a lot of people who just shouldn't see the mechanics of a construction project.  The mid project mess just upsets them too much.  Guess that's why my SIL decided to go shopping while my DB and I removed a wall of their house to reframe to replace the windows.  It was bad enough for her that we had a 16 foot hole in the side of the house, but the fact that we were using the jack from the car to hold up the roof was simply too much for her (you find funny things, like unsupported headers, when you open up walls).  Fortunately, by the time my SIL got back from her shopping excursion we had the wall reframed, the sheathing on, the housewrap installed, the windows installed, and the jack back in the car.

[wyouser]

Landscaping? In February? In Wyoming? You had better like it white. You had better like it "moving". It will carry the logo: Designed By Mother Nature

[Bonny]

Feb 19, 2015 13:00:51 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Feb 18, 2015 12:52:36 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Thanks thyme4change. That was a really good list.

We recently watched our neighbors get their front lawn converted into a xeriscape front yard. Design was great but boy oh boy was the implementation a mess. I kept volunteering to bring her cocktails because she was going through a severe melt-down.

Well, like most construction, the process isn't pretty, but the outcome can be.

I think that there are a lot of people who just shouldn't see the mechanics of a construction project.  The mid project mess just upsets them too much.  Guess that's why my SIL decided to go shopping while my DB and I removed a wall of their house to reframe to replace the windows.  It was bad enough for her that we had a 16 foot hole in the side of the house, but the fact that we were using the jack from the car to hold up the roof was simply too much for her (you find funny things, like unsupported headers, when you open up walls).  Fortunately, by the time my SIL got back from her shopping excursion we had the wall reframed, the sheathing on, the housewrap installed, the windows installed, and the jack back in the car.

LOL, I would love to see pix of that!

No my neighbor's project would have sent me off the deep end. They never knew when the guy was going to show up and it took about 2.5 months and was supposed to be done in 3 weeks (and should have been too). For about 2-3 weeks when they would show up it was around 5pm (in December) and they would work until 8 or 9pm. Then of course he kept asking for money, long before he had reached a progress point.

Of course within 2 or three days of completion we had those heavy rains and 20% of the gorilla hair mulch and several plants washed down the hill.  I haven't talked to her about how they handled that!

[tskeeter]

Feb 19, 2015 17:31:13 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Feb 19, 2015 13:00:51 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Well, like most construction, the process isn't pretty, but the outcome can be.

I think that there are a lot of people who just shouldn't see the mechanics of a construction project.  The mid project mess just upsets them too much.  Guess that's why my SIL decided to go shopping while my DB and I removed a wall of their house to reframe to replace the windows.  It was bad enough for her that we had a 16 foot hole in the side of the house, but the fact that we were using the jack from the car to hold up the roof was simply too much for her (you find funny things, like unsupported headers, when you open up walls).  Fortunately, by the time my SIL got back from her shopping excursion we had the wall reframed, the sheathing on, the housewrap installed, the windows installed, and the jack back in the car.

LOL, I would love to see pix of that!

No my neighbor's project would have sent me off the deep end. They never knew when the guy was going to show up and it took about 2.5 months and was supposed to be done in 3 weeks (and should have been too). For about 2-3 weeks when they would show up it was around 5pm (in December) and they would work until 8 or 9pm. Then of course he kept asking for money, long before he had reached a progress point.

Of course within 2 or three days of completion we had those heavy rains and 20% of the gorilla hair mulch and several plants washed down the hill.  I haven't talked to her about how they handled that!

Similar thing happened to us.  Hired a contractor to do some work.  Within a few days, one of our neighbors, who had used the contractor before, wanted the contractor to do a much bigger job for them.  So, our job took second priority.  The crew would start down the street in the morning and spend a couple of hours at the end of the day working on our job.  So a job that should have taken about a week ended up taking about a month and a half.

It worked out, though.  While the crew was working down the street, I'd use their jackhammer to work on my own projects.  Made DW happy because I didn't run out and buy a jackhammer of my own.