Property Builds & Renovations – When to Start the Garden Design Process?
The quick answer to this question is ‘as soon as possible’. The landscaping element is a key part of any property renovation or new build. The outside space will likely be the largest area within the property boundaries. It is therefore important that the landscape design and landscaping plans are arranged and organised as soon as possible.
Different Roles within Garden Designing
Having the conceptual plan and mood boards in place means the main building landscaping contractor and architect have an understanding of the project scope and the planning of schedules can be set out accordingly. It is also important for any planning permissions that will be required. Please don’t leave the landscape design to the architect, in the same way a landscape designer wouldn’t design the house itself. Each profession comes with its skill set and should work together to blend the two elements together at the start of the process. Often the landscape plans are an afterthought which creates problems down the line in terms of budget and bringing the two designs together.
Starting early in the garden design process also means that the more complex details of the landscape design plans are completed whilst the house renovations are under way giving landscape contractors plenty of time to produce a cost for the works and book space in the calendar to undertake the work.
When to start the Garden Landscaping Process
You don’t want too many contractors on site at any one time due to logistics and space. Therefore, the landscaping team are best placed to start when the internal works are underway leaving space for skips, deliveries, plant machinery for example.
It may be that after the house build you want a little time before launching on to a landscaping implementation, or you want to phase the landscape build to manage budgets. Both are of course fine. The key though is to get the garden and landscape design phase completed and a landscaper booked in. The design phase will have given the building contractors insight into your future needs including garden design services whether electric or water for example and provided you with the future landscape project costs so you can set aside a budget for this element. Bringing the landscape design phase in at the start means you will have a house that is complemented by the surrounding landscape so that you seamlessly move from one to the other as you would room to room. Getting the landscape design stage completed first will lead to a smoother, stress-free process. We can also manage communication with the landscape contractor to remove more of the hassle for you – if you have just had a large build or renovation on your home, you may want some space before another set of tradesmen begin.
We work independently with a number of excellent local landscape contractors so that when it comes to the tendering stage of the process, we can look at a variety of options to present to our clients. This ensures that the client receives the best quote possible, something an ‘all in one proposal’ won’t achieve. Firstly, most landscape contractors won’t be professionally qualified to design, secondly, the client will receive only one quote for the build. We will ensure that the contractors invited to tender have understood the project scope through detailed plans and specifications, thorough communication and pre-quote site visits. We will check the tenders over and present options. Decisions can then be made on costs, availability and best fit to ensure that the ideal contractor for the specific job is selected.
We are then able to manage the contract with the landscapers on behalf of our clients to ensure a stress-free process. This can include checking invoices, checking and signing off work completed, answering any questions throughout the build and managing the final ‘snagging’ inspections with the landscaper.
Garden Designer Experts at DP Garden Design
If you are looking at or have already undertaken a new build or house renovation and want to blend the garden and landscaping together, please contact us to start planning your garden design and landscape project at info@dpgardendesign.co.uk. By working independently but closely with some excellent landscape contractors our clients will enjoy their beautiful gardens for years to come!
To find out more about how we can assist you with designing your dream garden or for the best garden design ideas, whether you’re in Alresford, Winchester, the counties of Hampshire (Winchester), Surrey, Berkshire or Sussex, then please explore our garden design services. We are located in Alresford near Winchester and extend our professional garden design services throughout Hampshire and surrounding counties.
