Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Aug 01, 2023 4:52 pm Hi, I am currently in the very early stages of building a knock down rebuild and was hoping to get an idea of the process of landscaping. I was planning to have the landscaper organised once the house is built. I was hoping to have a modern garden with a zen garden that's easy to maintain - built in a narrow area (approx 1.5m wide) that have 3m walls on both sides (10m on one side and 7m on the other) which you will see once you walk into the house. I was wondering if there was anything I needed to be mindful of e.g. what plants would be appropriate for the 'zen' garden/whether it's too dark of an area to have a zen garden at all. Also, in terms of electricals, do I need to organise where outdoor lights etc. will be for the builder to incorporate during the house or can this be built after when liaising with the landscaper? I am also building an outdoor living area which will be covered - any recommendations on what materials on flooring would be helpful; I like the wooden deck look but am mindful that it can be harder to care for than tiles. Any other tips for an outdoor area would be appreciated! Any other tips would be helpful (e.g. considerations to think about when landscaping, who you would recommend in Melbourne). Cheers! Re: Pre-build landscaping considerations 2Aug 02, 2023 12:02 pm Ideally you would engage a landscaper to give you some insight what they may need in the space to make your vision come to life so the builder can put the provisions in. You can do it later, but theres usually a premium on that and in some cases you may need to make compromises as to the location of some of the provisions. As to Zen garden, you could do no plants if its of concern, but it sounds like it will be limited light or even shade. Depending on temperature, ferns could do well. Go to a nursery and look in their covered sections. Flooring materials, consider composite wood. Its got its own pros/cons, but some of it looks amazing these days and the maintenance aspect is one of its biggest pros. On landscapers, consider that any design you have done up may cost you separately from the work. You need to be sure at the time you engage someone you understand the ownership of that design. Some landscapers will design on the basis that you will be using them and will charge a cheaper fee, but if they learn youre taking their design but not using them, you may end up in some trouble. I suggest actually getting and paying for a design you agree to keep the rights to whether you use the same landscaper or not. Just make the communications clear around this part. I ended up going with 'Andrew Belic Construction Co.' https://www.instagram.com/andrewbelicconstruction/ 2 60074 We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 14035 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 9048 |