FLATWORK:

CONCRETE PAVERS: $7 – $13/SF
PLAIN CONCRETE: $8/SF
COLORED CONCRETE: $10/SF
SLATE PAVERS: $15/SF
TRAVERTINE PAVERS: $18/SF
FLAGSTONE PAVING: $28/SF
BRICK PAVING: $22/SF
DECOMPOSED GRAVEL: $5/SF
GRAVEL: $3/SF
SANDSTONE PAVERS: $35/SF
NATURAL CUT STONE: $30/SF

HARDSCAPE:

WALLS: $35/LF + $10/FT TALL + FINISH & CAP
6′ WALL W/ STUCCO AND CONCRETE CAP: $130/LF (LINEAR FOOT)
5′ FENCE: $40/LF
5′ WROUGHT IRON FENCE: $60/LF
FIREPIT: $1,000 – $5,000
OUTDOOR FIREPLACE: $5,000 – $12,000
WATER FEATURES: $1,500 – $8,000
PILASTERS: $800 EACH
WROUGHT IRON GARDEN ARBOR: $1,000 – $3,000
WOOD PATIO COVER: $40/SF
SOLID PATIO COVER: $90/SF

OTHER ITEMS:

400SF SWIMMING POOL: $25,000 – $45,000
SPA: $8,000 – $15,000
DEMOLITION: $2.50/SF

UTILITIES:

DRAINAGE: $12/LF
IRRIGATION: $800/ZONE (A ZONE IS A VALVE FOR EACH ARE TO BE WATERED, SUCH AS THE TURF ON ONE ZONE AND THE SHRUBS ON ANOTHER)
LIGHTING: $85/UPLIGHT, $130/PATH LIGHT

PLANTING:

1 GALLON SHRUB: $12/EA.
5 GALLON SHRUB: $30/EA.
15 GALLON SHRUB: $120 EA.
24″ BOX TREE: $350 EA.
36″ BOX TREE: $700 EA.

This should help you all get started on preparing a landscape construction budget for your project. If there is anything I missed or additional pricing you would like please feel free to call, or just leave a comment here.

Image by: Landscape Architecture and Specifier News

In a recent issue of “Landscape Architecture and Specifier News” I came across an informative article on the economic status of the profession of Landscape Architecture as well as some interesting facts about sustainable design. I love random facts; I can’t get enough of them. If you look at my library, its either design books or fact books, which makes it fairly easy to shop for me at Christmas time.

A recent survey was taken of the general population and it found that about half of the individuals surved would consider themselves to be “somewhat knowledgeable”, 10% considered themselves “Very knowledgeable”, 35% were “Not very knowledgeable but interested” and the remaining group had no interest in sustainability. What’s interesting is that 97% of the population is interested in sustainable design yet rarely do I see clients willing to go the extra step and spend the extra dollar to implement design techniques and materials which have been around for years. To no surprise, it always comes down to money. It’s not that the client doesn’t have the desire to make the world a better place it’s just more expensive to do the right thing, until recently. Design firms across the nation were polled and asked the reasons their clients requested sustainable design techniques. Overwhelmingly, the responses mostly revolved around saving money or increasing property value though marketability. See Chart Below.

Image by: Landscape Architecture and Specifier News

So what does this tell us? It tells us that the driving force to a more sustainable culture largely hinges on the ability of sustainable design to reduce costs and increase value, rather than improving and sustaining the environment. Fortunately, costs have greatly decreased in the last couple of years and will continue to fall as the competition in products such as LED lighting, drip irrigation systems, permeable paving, and other environmentally conscious materials continues to increase.

We currently are working on a new web calculator to help clients clearly see the cost savings with sustainable design, check back shortly for an update. We hope this will help our future clients make the decision to push for sustainable design. Just doing our part!

Secondly, there is this notion out there that a home owner is going to find an incredible deal from a Landscape Contractor and save a fortune while at the same time getting the same quality project they would at the competitors pricing.  Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case 99% of the time.  Understanding how a Landscape Contractor bids a job and the pricing and expenses associated with the bid are important. Making sense of this will go a long way to knowing when a deal is “to good to be true”.

It is important to keep in mind that not all Landscape Contractors are unethical, but a home owner must keep their eyes open.  My goal for this weeks blog is to help home owners have a better understanding of the costs associated with construction and the games some unethical Landscape Contractors play.

PRICING:

Over the past year or so I’ve been hearing about some deals Landscape Contractors have been offering that made my jaw drop.  When I hear about these deals I immediately think to myself, “something is wrong here, how can a Contractor be offering a price thats 1/3rd of where it should be, when the materials alone will cost that much”. This is very much a different reaction than the home owners are having.  Most home owners, unknowing of the tricks Landscape Contractors can play, think they are getting an incredible deal and want to jump right on it and sign a contract.  This can turn out to be an expensive lesson to learn.  Below I will explain the different costs associated with a construction project and how these deals just aren’t realistic. The numbers I use are based on many years experience in the Landscape Construction industry as a licensed Landscape Contractor, years of data collected by building numerous projects, and information from other local Landscape Contractors in the Orange County area.  I am basing the numbers on an average landscape with a $100,000 budget without a pool.

MATERIALS COSTS (35% of BUDGET): Max. contracted price savings of 1.75%

Materials costs will vary for each project depending on the complexity, site elements, details, lot size and other factors, but, generally speaking the material cost will fall between 30% – 40% of the total price.  Some items, such as trees, may see the material costs closer to 50% while other items such as labor intensive flagstone paving will be closer to 30%.  Contractors buy their materials mostly from the same three or four local vendors, all at about the same price.  Companies like Thompson Building Materials offer the same pricing for all of the Contractors while others might offer a slightly better deal for contractors requesting more material.  This isn’t a large difference, we are probably only talking about a 5% price reduction at best when compared to other contractors.  This calculates to about a 1.75% potential price variation when looking at the total construction costs between contractors at best.  When asked to validate how they are offering such a low bid I’ve heard Contractors say, “well I have a good relationship with materials yard and nurseries and get much better pricing than anyone else”.  Perhaps its possible, but personally I am yet to see these deals they speak of and why would a vendor sell their product at more than a 5% discount over other Contractors when their profit margins are almost non-existent these days.

LABOR COSTS (35% of BUDGET): Max. contracted price savings of 7%

Labor cost is generally within the same range as the materials costs being 30% – 40% of the overall contracted price.  Labor cost can be anywhere from $8/hr – $25/hr for some of the most experienced masons. The majority of the labor are workers priced in the $8/hr – $14/hr range with one or two experienced workers managing the job making more.  When bidding a job the costs are based on unit pricing, rather than hours, with the exception being custom items.  I have heard Contractors say that they will build much of the work themselves and therefore will keep the costs lower and this is how they are able to offer such an attractive price.  Logic would say that having the owner/contractor build the project will actually increase the price as I’m sure the owner/contractor wishes to make more than $8/hr – $14/hr.  In my experience, I have seen some variation in production of workers but with that comes the risk of lower quality.  For arguments sake, lets say that a Landscape Contractor that employees the most productive, skilled and least expensive workers can save 20% on his/her costs.  This works out to be a potential saves of up to 7% for the entire project.

INSURANCE AND BONDING EXPENSES (5% of BUDGET): Max. contracted price savings of 1%

Licensed Contractors are required by state law in California to carry Workers Compensation, General Liability Insurance, and a $12,500 Bond.  Rates for Workers Compensation are set by the state and vary depending on the type of work being performed.  The last time I checked a business owner had to pay about 12% of each dollar spent on salary for field workers.  These rates may have changed in recent years but I can’t imagine too significantly.  The rates can increase with filed claims. There are only two ways for a Contractor to save money here, 1. don’t carry any policies, or 2. the owner of the company is also the builder as owners can be exempt from paying into Workers Compensation.  However, General Liability and a Bond are still required.

OVERHEAD EXPENSES (15% of BUDGET): Max. contracted price savings of 10%

Overhead includes items such as rent, non-billable office staff, CPA’s, lawyers, loan payments for trucks and equipment, storage, gas, utilities and so on.  Generally speaking, the higher the overhead the more likely they are a professional organized company that can meet your needs.  It can also mean that the company just grew too quick and are now stuck with more overhead than is needed.  Some smaller companies can offer savings in this area but at the same time it is more difficult to deliver the same high level of customer service as a well structured company with office staff and equipment readily available. With lower overhead comes the need to rent equipment, and an increase cost associated with that as well.

PROFIT MARGIN (10% of BUDGET): Max. contracted price savings of 10%

Profit these days is just about gone.  Most Contractors I know are working off very little or no profit margin to stay competitive.  Generally it seems most Contractors are just happy to pay the bills for now and live to fight another day.  So, even though this could be considered an area of savings its unlikely as most Contractors are not even calculating this into their bids.

RESULTS:

As you can see, the maximum range a bid should vary between Landscape Contractors is around 30%, anything more than that and its just not logical.  The only way to reduce the bid more than this is to cut corners and use some Contractor trickery.  See below for more information on that.  It is always a good idea to get three competitive bids from qualified licensed Contractors.  If you bid the job and see bid A. at $100,000, bid B. at $92,000 and bid C. at $55,000 this should be a big red flag.  Contractor “C” is not offering a great deal, almost certainly there will be some unethical business practices involved.

TRICKS:

There are a lot of angles a Landscape Contractor will play when trying to close a project.  For an unethical Contractor, their goal is to submit a bid with a price that is so enticing the home owner just can’t turn it down.  Then, once the project is contracted, the games start and the Contractor finds a way to get as much as the more realistic bids and then some.  Here are a few of the more common techniques used by unethical Contractors

THE LOW PRICE HIGH CHANGE ORDER:

This trick is to offer a bid significantly lower than the competition and offer “logical” explanations to the home owner to how they are able to achieve this great price.  Possible explanations might include; “I get a great deal on materials”, “I do the work myself”, “I don’t charge a huge profit like everyone else”, “I don’t have any overhead”, “my guys are just quicker”. None of these reasons make that much of a difference as noted above and are often just not true.

INCOMPLETE CONTRACTS:  YOU DIDN’T SAY YOU WANT PAINT ON THE WALL TOO!

The contract is possibly the most important step to ensuring a smooth project while protecting yourself from unethical business practices.  It is not uncommon for Contractors to hand over a one page contract for your signature.  The contract might be broken into a few subcategories such as, “Planting”, “Flatwork”, “Lighting”, and so on.  Then, knowing that the quantities and unit pricing are not specified the Contractor will come back during construction and ask for more money with excuses such as, “I didn’t know you wanted a cap on the wall, well thats extra”, or “the fireplace doesn’t include the log set, thats extra”.  Then, the Contractor will greatly markup these change orders knowing you aren’t likely to fire him and hire a new Contractor.  The best way to protect yourself here is to have a professional Landscape Architecture firm, such as Studio H, prepare a complete set of Construction Documents which can be used as your legal document, in a sense, to ensure the Contractor is obligated to build the project as specified and can not come back with expensive change orders.

CUTTING CORNERS:

There are hundreds of different ways a Landscape Contractor can cut corners to save on costs and make more profit, most of which the average home owner would never know about.  I have seen first hand some of the shortcuts Contractors have taken, such as; increasing the spacing of rebar in concrete, pouring a lower strength (PSI) concrete, not pouring block retaining walls solid, not waterproofing retaining walls, reducing the size of plant material, finding the least expensive materials available, daisy-chaining low-voltage lighting, not properly compacting the base for paving, and the list goes on and on.  These can be some of the tricks an unethical Landscape Contractor will use to offer up a low bid and still turn a profit, at the home owners expense.  The best way to protect against this is again to have a Landscape Architect prepare a complete set of Construction Documents.  The CD’s, as we call them, will specify construction details which clearly indicate to the Contractor an installation method which meets or exceeds industry standards.  Then, hire your Landscape Architect to perform Construction Administration services during the installation to oversee the project to ensure it is being built to the specifications on the plans.  If it is not being built correctly, you now have a set of plans which can be used, along with your contract, for legal support if needed.

INCOMPLETE AND PROFIT ORIENTED DESIGN:

By hiring a Landscape Contractor to design a residence a home owner is giving them the power to design to their strengths and profitability.  For example, a Contractor is not going to design a project with pavers with a $3/sf profit margin when they can design the project using colored concrete with a $5/sf profit margin.  While these numbers may vary this is just one possible example of “Profit Oriented Design”.  Secondly, a Landscape Contractor may also deliberately leave out certain details on the plan knowing that without the specifications the Contractor will have the ability to request change orders, often at twice the price, once the contract has been signed and the construction has begun.  Its a nasty trick, but one that is often used.  Finally, a Landscape Contractor likely will not design unique site elements or complex details knowing such elements can be a greater risk for turning a profit.  Solution: Unless the company is a larger and more reputable company, ideally with Landscape Architects, it would be a good idea to hire a separate designer to assist with the project from concept to completion.

THE DESIGN IS FREE, WE HAVE IN-HOUSE DESIGN STAFF

There are some great Design/Build Landscape Contractors out there.  Some larger companies hire in-house Landscape Architects as well as staff a large construction crew.  A Design/Build firm can create some of the best projects out there, but, when the wrong company is selected it can be a recipe for disaster as well.  The majority of Landscape Construction companies out there call themselves, “Landscape Designers” as well.  A Landscape Designer needs no formal education or training and anyone can title themselves as a Landscape Designer.  A Construction company will convince the home owner to use their in-house design staff.  They will often offer these services for free, usually with the stipulation that you do not get to keep the plan unless you sign a construction contract, which does not allow for multiple bids.  The Contractor will either pay an in-house designer for his/her time, or will have a salesman design the project and pay a commission.  The Contractor will then hide the cost of those fees into the construction contract, making the home owner pay for the design in the end.

SURE, I CAN HAVE IT DONE BY THEN:

Contractors love to say they can have it done it two weeks when they know it will take four.  They will tell you whatever you want to hear to close the job.  Estimating the length of a project can be very challenging for a Contractor due to the dozens of different factors involved such as; material delivery dates, availability of materials, Client delays with necessary decisions, weather, City inspections and more.  Solution:  Ask the Contractor to include a time schedule along with a completion date on the contract.  It may be a good idea to include a daily penalty fee if the project continues beyond the completion date.  The Contractor will most certainly have to create change orders of time for any delays to protect him/herself.  As a rule of thumb, for a typical Orange County single family home you might expect 1 week of labor for each $10,000 in contracted price, unless there is a pool, then add an extra month.

I HAVE A FRIEND, I’LL GET YOU A GREAT PRICE:

Its just not true, as mentioned above, vendors aren’t about to cut their pricing more than a few percentage points because “they are friends”.

I’LL GIVE YOU A GREAT DEAL IF YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBOR SIGN AT THE SAME TIME:

There really isn’t much savings in a Landscape Contractor building two jobs right next to each other at the same time.  The reality is that the materials will often need to be delivered at different times and two delivery charges will still be required, and transportation will be the same as an additional crew will have to come out for the second job.  The benefit is that the construction manager will be on-site more frequently and they can’t exactly walk out on one job if there is another one right next door.

THE RUNNER:

Beware of this one.  Many Contractors are living on the edge of bankruptcy these days, only just surviving for the next job.  If you get a “great deal” on price, there is a reason for that.  This most likely means the Contractor desperately needs work or they are going under and will take anything they can.  This is a big red flag.  If its a small company with a very low price this could lend to a situation where the Contractor could walk out on the job when he/she can’t afford to complete it.  Very few Contractors these days have cash reserves and if they under bid your job and need to pull money out of their pockets to complete it, they may decide they would rather walk away and file bankruptcy if the home owner goes after them.  Its scary but its a reality these days.  Your only defense is that the Landscape Contractor should have a $12,500 bond in order to be licensed.  This bond allows the home owner to recover losses up to this amount, unless there are other jobs the Contractor has walked out on that are also making a claim.  Solution:  Select your Landscape Contractor wisely, make sure they have a bond, check to see how things are coming along with their other projects, ask detailed questions on how they can afford to offer such a low price and hire a professional designer, such as a Landscape Architect, to manage your project.