First: Understand the Game

Most landscape projects today cost tens of thousands of dollars. With the addition of elements like outdoor kitchens, outdoor rooms, outdoor fireplaces, fire-pits, and patio-covers, the complexity of the landscape design is greater than ever. If there is a swimming pool involved the expense and complexity go up considerably. This increases the need to find the most qualified person to guide you through the process and become your advocate. If you understand in advance the best way to get to the finished landscape, you’ll avoid a lot of frustration and expense that comes with the common mistakes. Below are some answers to the most common questions I hear when asked about starting a landscape project. These will help you get started on the right foot.

Landscape Designer, Landscape Architect, Contractor; Where Do I Start?

Landscape Architects have the deepest level of landscape design training, which translates into the best understanding of how to marry your preferences, site, architecture, budget, and landscape design elements. This is the only group licensed in California for their understanding of all landscape design elements, and are allowed to legally sell landscape designs with complete specifications and details.

Landscape Designer does not have a standard attached to the title. Anyone can use this title. There are some good landscape designers, but I have found that they usually don’t provide complete drawings. Legally they can’t, which isn’t good for you the client. What they are required to leave off, irrigation, drainage, details & specifications, exposes you to add-ons and too many unknowns that are left to the contractor. This can cost you a fortune. This also puts the contractor in a bad position because they can’t give you a complete bid due to unknowns not specified. You aren’t able to get apples to apples bids or hold the contractor accountable to any standards. There is a general lack of recognized standards in the residential market so it is important for your designer to set them for your project. Your financial exposure alone easily covers the difference in landscape design fees with Landscape Architects. Most of us have heard about jobs running way over the initial quote. This is how that happens.

Design/Build companies provide the design and the construction. In residential landscaping these are very common. Design/Build make their real money contracting and they offer free or cheap designs with the hope of getting the construction project. There are three big problems with this approach.

The same issues that exist with landscape plans drawn by a Landscape Designer apply, only now there is a contractor in the equation trying to sell you the stuff. Incomplete information leaves you exposed. If the design is free or cheap, how much thought is being given to how to spend your money and what quality of designer would do their work so inexpensively? Conflict of interest; Do they make good margins on the solution or is it the best solution for you. How do you know? If you accept the design, you accept the price of the contracting and have no way of knowing if it’s a fair price. Prices go up with no competition. You probably just over-paid.

Landscape Contractors are builders, much like a mechanic they understand how to put things together and make them work. Their role is not to create but to execute. The best contractors I know don’t attempt to do the creative work. They would much rather execute a great idea. The best relationship is when the contractor collaborates with the designer on the most affective way to build the designers ideas.

Swimming Pool Companies are essentially Design/Build companies specializing in swimming pools. They create the most expensive and permanent form of mistake we encounter in our remodel projects. Because of the size of a pool, placing it in the wrong area in the yard can ruin the potential for every other use if done incorrectly. Pools are commonly filled in now because they are in the wrong place or cost so much to remodel that people are choosing to remove them so they can use the space in a way that meets more of their needs. Since most pool designers with swimming pool companies have little or no design training they are usually focused on the pool design and not the spaces in the entire yard. This is what leads to bad placement and compromising the potential for the entire design. The best solution is to have the placement, shape, and overall look designed by a Landscape Architect who is focused on the complete picture.