So I thought I'd post up my "little" project that has just been completed. We had been living in small three bedroom property for many years that we had long outgrown, and so did a knock down rebuild, moving in to the new house near the end of 2013. I hadn't really budgeted in landscaping along with the project, and the immediate requirement was going to be to build two decks as there were a couple of sliding doors we couldn't use (one from dining and one from laundry) as they opened up over a metre above ground where the decks were intended to be. The only landscaping the builder had provided was the driveway.
The initial thought process was to do the decks first, and do the rest in bits and pieces as we could. We had previously had people offer to help us build the decks and once that came close to being a reality, they weren't really that interested in helping any more! We also had the concern of having to get the concrete apron around the perimeter done.
After umming and ahhing a while, I came to the realisation that doing it in bits and pieces was going to drag on forever and we really wanted the opportunity of enjoying the outside - so decided to bite the bullet and get everything done at once.
So the list of requirements were as follows:
- Two decks (one at side of house and one at rear)
- Concreting around perimeter, stepped along north and south sides
- Stairs down from the street to the entry as the driveway was steep and slippery when wet
- Side gates
- Front Fence with gate
- Earthworks
- Topsoil
- Garden beds
- Lawn
- Mulch
- Irrigation system
- Plants
- New letter box
Armed with a sketch of the basics of what I was after I set about trying to find a landscaper that would do all of the above:
http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s659/blue5uede/Landscaping/Before%20Photos/Landscaping%20Plan.png
I had no idea how hard that was actually going to prove! With a friend who is a presenter on a TV gardening show, we got some recommendations. None of them were interested in even quoting. We sought out recommendations from other people we knew and we ended getting a couple of people out - all gung ho about it when they were here, said the job wasn't too big for them, and then when I chased them up for the quote a week or so down the track they said it was too big for them, they couldn't schedule it, and sorry.
So we kept looking. We did finally end up getting some quotes and settled on some landscapers that had done a small job for one of our neighbours. Everything about them seemed right - they had great ideas and suggestions, knew what they were talking about, appeared professional, and were friendly and easy to get along with. Given some of our previous conversations with landscapers went along the lines of the following, we were set at ease:
"So this is roughly what we want to do - what do you think?"
*pause* "Ahhh... ayup"
"Do you think we should have a step down here?"
*pause* "Ahhh.. ayup, sure"
"Would a ground cover work here?"
*pause* "Ahhh.. ayup"
"Any suggestions?"
*pause* "Ahhh... nup"
Anyway, feeling comfortable with our choice, we engaged them. Given it was near the end of the year, they scheduled a start in February. I'd engaged a draftie and engineer for the decks previously, so needed to give them a rev up to get the documentation done so I could get a building permit organised. The decks required an engineering certificate due to the height from ground. It was a bit touch and go but with the fast turnaround from the building surveyors I engaged, it all timed perfectly.
Before and after photos next post...