Last year we celebrated our 15th year in business. Over that time we’ve grown to become the premier hardscape design/build firm in the region. Reflecting on our experience, we thought it might be helpful to share some industry secrets that, if implemented, can save you a lot of aggravation and money!
We hope you find value and useful wisdom in this top 10 list.
When building a new addition or house, backfill the foundation with clean stone, NOT dirt. It’s very inexpensive to do this, and is cheap insurance for avoiding problems down the road. Stone backfill eliminates any future settling or possible water issues. Plus, if you ever want to install any hardscape project up against the foundation, you won’t have to dig the dirt back out to stabilize it correctly. Too often we’ve seen water issues in basements because the dirt has settled up against the foundation and water pitches towards the house.
Don’t seal coat or pave your driveway before doing any hardscape or major construction on your property. Most clients don’t realize the amount of material that has to come on site.
Driveways are often the only means of access and can easily be damaged. Pave and seal coat at the very end of the project.
For you to thoroughly enjoy your outdoor living area in the summer, you should be contacting a reputable company in the fall or winter. Remember, the companies that are booked 2-4 months out are precisely the companies you want to work with. They are busy for a reason. If you want the project done right and you wait to the last minute to begin planning, you are not going to have your project completed when you want it.
Stay on top of annual pruning. Plant material is a living, growing thing. It isn’t meant to be a “plant it and forget it” thing. Doing routine annual pruning can make a huge difference in the look of your landscape long term. This can be as simple as 1-2 days, twice a year of pruning by one of our experienced crews. This will save you significant money. Otherwise, 10 years from now you will have landscape that has to be torn out and redone because it’s overgrown and to the point of no return.
People often ask us when we think the best time of the year is to install at swimming pool. They are often surprised by our answer: Summer through September. Why? When you install a pool then, the drier weather makes hardscape and landscape installation easier. (No freezing or weeks of rain.) Late summer and into the fall is a great time to plant and establish lawns before the cold weather hits. When spring comes in April, your plants are established and the pool is ready for use immediately.
Using good amended topsoil for plantings and future lawn installation is key for not struggling for years to come. To often we’ve experienced the site soil that is scraped off the top before building is simply not of good enough quality to create a good looking yard or landscaping. Make plans to bring in good topsoil. It’ll be well worth it in the end.
Good projects take time. They NEVER happen as fast as you would like. To alleviate stress, good communication is key. We pride ourselves on that here. There can be a lot of anxiety in the early stages of a project, especially with the mess we will make. Things can look pretty bad until the project is in its later stages. That is to be expected but we will be with you through every stage, letting you know what to expect. Don’t plan parties or events until the project is completed. We are in a weather related industry that can result in delays out of our control.
One thing we have seen a few times over the years is potential clients doing a design with us, then jumping to several other contractors to have designs done, getting frustrated, confused, and ultimately not doing their project. Here's our key piece of advice: Interview several Landscape/Hardscape companies. Pick one that you feel comfortable with, commit to them, and stay with them throughout the process.
Things to look for include:
When you’ve made a decision, stick with them through the process. Building an outdoor living environment is a complex process and it takes time. If you jump around to various contractors trying to “save money,” you will just get frustrated and it will probably end up costing you more. By committing to the process with one contractor, you will love the end results and they are going to love working with you.
There are a lot of things in life you can price shop and save some money. Hardscape and outdoor living projects are not one of them. Simply put, you truly do get what you pay for in the landscaping industry. We have a huge photo file in the office of cheaper, incompetent contractor’s projects that failed. We involve ourselves in very few of those “can you fix my project” jobs because we just don’t want to go there. If you are going to do it once, and only once, never let price be the deciding factor. Pick a landscaping contractor you are comfortable with (See point #3). You don’t want to end up in our “heartbreak” photo file!
And the #1 piece of landscape wisdom:
Develop a master plan on everything before starting any work. This includes building a house, pool, structures, patio work, outdoor kitchens, etc. Take time to really think through EVERYTHING YOU WANT ON YOUR PROPERTY and have a professional design it. You will be amazed at the amount of money this will save you! A few examples: You can pre-run utilities to different places, plan landscaping to fit future projects, and avoid having to dig up and move structures or patios. Take elevations, exact measurements, check township criteria before designing, and think of how you are not only going to use it now, but in the future.