Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 29, 2015 1:14 pm What are peoples thoughts, we are wanting to maximise curb appeal... to achieve this is it worth getting a landscape architect/designer to create a plan? The actual implementation we will be getting our own trades to do. Advice needed Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 3Jun 30, 2015 9:54 pm I think a designer will always be able to come up with a concept more easily but there will be dollars involved. Or now with pinterest/houzz etc you can find things you love and stitch ideas together which is harder timewise and then either DIY or get someone to implement for you (ie advice on good plant choice etc). There is not a "right" answer. A "designed" plan may increase your houses value but you could also recoup this spending elsewhere. Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 4Jun 30, 2015 10:55 pm EmmaW84 What are peoples thoughts, we are wanting to maximise curb appeal... to achieve this is it worth getting a landscape architect/designer to create a plan? The actual implementation we will be getting our own trades to do. Advice needed 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 drew up a simple 2D plan on paper and then discussed this with my landscaper. He did the hard-yakka. 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. A stormwater easement at the back meant that I couldn't put trees in the ground. Hence i went for trees in pots. I found something I liked at my local wholesaler and then set about finding pots that would be suitable. The smaller plants for my rear garden were also selected on the spot at my local wholesaler. I picked up around 30 plants in 4 different varieties for about $300. Most were $6, some $10 and others a little more. Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: New home Landscaping - Landscape Designer or DIY 5Jul 01, 2015 7:56 am There are landscape designers out there who'll just do the design, and don't do the hard work part? If you've got the time to do the hard work yourself (maybe subbing in stuff which needs earth-moving machinery etc), you'd save a lot of money on that labour & yet still get an experienced eye putting the design together. 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 maximus 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. Assuming the structure of your cabinetry is good then I would DIY everything as follows: - replace your counter tops entirely, - replace all drawer runners with soft close… 1 4782 No access to subfloor unfortunatly. I drilled a small hole and missed a stump , I plan is to cut a man hole and do a proper inspection 2 2588 a building inspector should be able to tell you about any major problems but we need a floor plan with dimensions to clarify options for extra bedrooms ... sometime an… 1 8718 |