design drawings - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

onhitch · 03-26-2008, 07:18 PM

for those of you who provide drawings of your proposed landsape installations for customers, and i mean profesional quality drawings. do you outsource this job to a designer or hire on a designer? either way what rates are they typically paid in either situation? i am looking to provide this type of service for customers in relation to my field, and i am looking for some input on this subject so i can establish a starting point. Thanks-

Will Johnson · 03-28-2008, 02:38 AM

I ALWAYS ask to pick up a copy of their plans when a client asks for "for an estimate". "Oh, you don't have a design?" "We can take care of that for you" "Of course, there is a small fee for that, but the final plan is yours to keep, and your budget will ALWAYS go further if YOU have a plan. Also, you can hold your contractor's feet to the fire"... or something like that.

Over the past 4 years, about 1/3 of my jobs required a scaled drawing on 24x36, which I prepare on my drafting table. Some of the rest were others' designs, many more were on-site paint-can designs (for simple projects).

I guestimate how much time it will take to complete the design (including the 2nd visit to show-n-review) - most are 6-10, some up to 15 hours. If it's too complicated for me to do, I refer them to an Architect.

I ask for a check for half the fee up front, half on delivery of the design. I charge $50/hour. I always end up putting a few more hours into it than I bill for. I usually do a free revision or few, but always collect the balance of the design fee at the follow-up meting. If I'm doing revisions... I'm installing the project.

They get a 1/4 or 1/8 scale plan view, detailing most elements/materials, rarely they get a planting plan on initial plan. Usually reserve that part of the budget & sometimes sub out the planting plan to one of my more-gifted horticulturalitst buddies (if it's not a planting design I'm comfortable with).

Charge for the design work, if the job/profit warrants it, give a small percentage off (one third / one half) deducted from the final payment.
If you end up not doing the installation, then getting paid for the design cuts the sting a bit.

**genecarp** · 03-28-2008, 06:56 AM

yes i have a landscape architect that works for me, i would say an average is about $500 per plan, full size plan view, colored, inc plant list

onhitch · 03-28-2008, 06:33 PM

Ok now we are getting somewhere, thank you. Where would you folks suggest I find a landscape designer? Troll the local Ag collage? I have been in the deck business for a long time and I am adding patios to my list of services and I feel these types of jobs warrant a scaled, colored, artistic plan. Decks designs are easy for me but drawing professional quality patio layouts with landscaping eludes me.

**genecarp** · 03-28-2008, 07:32 PM

high end nursery, usually has contacts

Will Johnson · 03-29-2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onhitch

Ok now we are getting somewhere, thank you. Where would you folks suggest I find a landscape designer?

Where are you located? If I google +"landscape designer" +"San Diego" , I get 19,100 results. Let us know what you get.

dirtyengineer · 05-07-2008, 09:38 PM

Our LA charges at $90/hr in Northern VA.

landscapeplus · 07-30-2008, 02:55 PM

high end nursery, usually has contacts

MindfulDesign · 10-13-2008, 04:13 PM

Hey, I can do it for a competitive price! Depending on a size of a job. Of course this was posted in 2005! But if someone is looking, email me at: mindfuldesign@yahoo.com
Katia

Cheesy3 · 01-10-2009, 03:08 AM

I hope you guys can post pics of your landscape project.

Karrie Nelsen · 05-21-2009, 10:10 PM

I'm a Landscape Designer in Orange County, CA is anyone needs one. I use Pro Landscape which provides CAD drawing and nice picture elevations.

thenelsens@cox.net

DanTheMan9727 · 06-02-2009, 01:28 AM

Can anyone tell me... What are the best landscape architect qualifications and training to get ahead?. thanks

BobsLandscaping · 06-02-2009, 02:00 AM

Get Landscape Pro software. Best grand you'll ever spend. Really easy to use. If you need CAD drawings save them to a CD and have Office Depot print them.

LauneLandscapes · 11-25-2009, 04:17 PM

I do my own landscape drawings and should my clients go ahead with the job, I deduct my fee for the drawing from the final contract price.