
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 6Jul 03, 2015 6:43 pm Our designer made a plan and we had the option of installing it ourselves or them doing it. We opted for them to do it and we've achieved something we never would have been able to do just us. Just make sure your designer is ethical and qualified. Mine was a difficult site with limestone and coastal conditions and our designer, being a horticulturalist, was able to rule out a lot of plants that I would have planted not knowing they wouldn't like the conditions. I think it's a great investment as we spend so much money on the insides of our homes, and a beautiful outdoor area can really add a wow factor. Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 7Jul 04, 2015 11:05 am Thanks guys for your responses... any pics of your front landscapes? I think that if I want the display home look then I will probably need a professional eye... we have been quoted between $1750-2000 for a design so far Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 8Jul 04, 2015 1:41 pm ![]() Do what I did. Get inspiration from magazines and various websites (e.g. pinterest.com, houzz, etc ). Also drive your local street. Formulate some ideas about what you like and don't like. Then come up with a concept yourself. ... I think with inspiration (suggestions above) you can come up with a good design yourself. In terms of plants/trees I spent months doing research on what would suit my block. ^ Great advice. I've been stalking a lot of the established 'new' developments for inspiration and taken lots of photos of features and plant groupings that hit my buttons. Use your computer to help you visualise, coz you can doodle all over your site plan, eg. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Or do it the old fashioned way with pencils and paper. Now that's too much fun to give someone else the pleasure of doing, not to mention the dollars. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 10Jul 04, 2015 3:31 pm I spoke with several designers, who were also available to project manage the whole job. Problem is, they wanted $1500-$3500 just for the design, and many would charge more if you wanted to vary it after they'd designed it. But, what if I don't like what they came up with? Too bad. Two different designers even asked for a $100-$200 fee just to look at the site. That's crazy. Thankfully, we found a young up-and-coming landscaper looking to make a break into bigger jobs (ours is going to run close to 100K I think). So, he'll actually work harder and put in more effort than someone established - even if the job takes a little more work from us (in terms of guiding the design). And honestly, the designers I spoke with sounded like used-car salesman - and not enthusiastic about the job at all. I want someone who's excited and wants to do the the best with our guidelines and our budget. Thanks for the insight. Pretty surprised that anyone would do this to a regular customer. They are probably in a comfort zone with you for too long. Good of you always… 15 27940 In regards watering I assume you intend for your front and back yards to be fully reticulated? Check with your provider to see if they have an allowance for new gardens -… 1 23109 ![]() Please see attached. Price is excluding GST, excluding engineering. This is the first quote I have received, so not sure how standard it is. Is there anything obvious… 0 11643 |