How much does landscaping cost?
How long is a piece of string?
A beautiful landscape costs money and takes time, it's only on television that it happens over a weekend for a little bit of money! Start with your wishlist and work back from there. If you include everything upfront, a designer can include all of these things in your plan and then break the construction down into manageable stages. But be realistic, the more construction required, the more expensive the project will be. Items like swimming pools, retaining walls, dry stone walls cannot be achieved within a $10,000 budget and if a landscaper suggests they can do it for this - be sceptical, you do get what you pay for!
What does a Landscape Designer do?
What Does a Landscape Designer Do?
A Landscape Designer is like a creative interpreter of your needs and your site's abilities. The designer works with you to transform your ideas into reality.
The design process usually includes the following steps:
- Site Analysis - taking levels and measurements of the site, soil analysis and noting existing vegetation.
- Preparing a concept plan - in essence a scaled layout of the new garden based on the brief and expanded with the designer's ideas.
- Preparation of the master landscape plan - includes levels, measurements, materials to be used, specifications, plantings. This is the working drawing that can be used by clients for obtaining quotes to install the works by a landscape builder or gardener.
How much does it cost?
Designers’ fees can vary, with some charging an hourly rate, whilst others simply charge a lump sum for plans. The cost is dictated by how grand your plans are, how much information needs to be factored into the working drawings and how complicated.
Ask the designer for a fee schedule up front so you know what you are buying!
Know what you are buying?
Anyone can present themselves as a Landscape Designer so look for these four things:
- do they have qualifications in horticulture, landscape design or architecture?
- do they have Professional Indemnity Insurance?
- are they a member of Landscaping Victoria?
- what is their fee schedule?
What is a Registered Building Practitioner?
In Victoria, building practitioners must be registered with the VBA to perform certain kinds of work. You’ll need to use a registered builder for domestic building work worth more than $10,000.
Landscape building works include decks, pergolas, retaining walls, pools and property boundary fences.
To ensure your project is completed by someone with the necessary qualifications and experience, make sure you always use a registered building practitioner. If you engage a company to do your project, make sure the company is registered as a building practitioner.
All registered building practitioners (except companies) are issued with a Photo ID card that lists the category of registration for the work they are eligible to complete.
What does a Landscape Gardener do?
A Landscape Gardener, or Horticulturalist, is a service provider who offers non-structural services such as soft landscaping, garden beds and edging, some paving work, and garden maintenance. A Gardener or Horticulturalist carries out work landscaping work that does not require building permits or for the member to hold Registered Builder Practitioner status.
A Landscape Gardener will generally have a relevant qualification in horticulture.
What is Domestic Building Insurance?
By law, builders or tradespeople must take out domestic building insurance for their clients when the cost of the works exceeds $16,000.
This insurance only gives you limited cover.
Domestic building insurance, previously known as ‘builders warranty insurance’, protects consumers in the event their builder or tradesperson cannot finish the building project or fix defects because they have:
- died
- become insolvent, or
- disappeared.
Your builder or tradesperson must provide you with a copy of the policy and a certificate of insurance covering your property before you pay a deposit or any other money.
Domestic building insurance covers costs up to $300,000 to fix structural defects for six years, and non-structural defects for two years. Claims on the policy for work that was not completed may be limited to only 20 per cent of the contract price.
Where can I find a landscaping professional?
Right here!