[quote=CA renter]Not sure how much a landscape contractor charges, but what about DIY? For concrete, just hire a concrete contractor (I have a great one if you want his name) and have him pour the slabs and walkways, then you can outline flower beds, etc. and either lay sod or use seed for any grass you might want to plant.
I’ve heard of people paying crazy amounts to landscape designers/architects when they could do it themselves for a tiny fraction of the cost.
Just something to consider…[/quote]
Nothing wrong with doing it that way. Concrete after all, is the biggest issue.
I would not try to save money on the architect. Being able to get fresh and usable ideas is extremely important. I think we paid $2000 for the architect. Certainly there are cheaper ones out there, some contactors even do it for free. But this is the most important part of the game, don’t give in on temptation to save in this area.
Make sure you visit the concrete guy’s prior work, especially a few years old to make sure there’s not large amount of cracks. Most concrete guys should be able to do irrigation/drainage. If they can’t, hire someone to do it first, then get the concrete guy in.
Buy a bunch of PVC pipes to bury under various parts of concrete. This way you will always have flexibility with wiring and lighting and fountains.
Hire someone else for the softscape. Make sure they dig deep and add gypsum underneath all of the plants.
Seriously think about using artificial grass, price now down to less than $7/sqft for good quality stuff. As long as you use out of SD folks. All SD based artificial grass people are still charging $10/sqft plus last time I checked. Check out Hunny Do Grass based out of Hisperia. (if you are working with an architect, you can work with him to minimize unnecessary grass as well.)
We had a 13000 sqft project, the highest price quote was $120k, we got it done for half that. Because of drip irrigation and artificial grass, our water bill is around $120/month when others around us can get to $200-300/month.
