Why Should You Hire A Landscape Design Build Company For Your Project?

A landscape design-build business may make the process easier for homeowners who want to start a landscaping project. Depending on the scope of work and project objectives, using a design-build service may have benefits and drawbacks. Landscape contractors — some with a landscape architect on staff — that bundle a design service with installation are known as design-build firms.

What is landscape design-build, and how does it work? Instead of having the landscape design and installation services provided by distinct organizations, design-build is a procedure in which one company handles both. A design build contractor or design-builder is a company that offers design-build services.

Here's everything you need to know about how the process works and the benefits and drawbacks of selecting a design-build company instead of a separate designer and landscaping contractor.

You only work for one firm

The customer works with one business for all stages and parts of the landscape project, which is an evident benefit of the design-build process. This implies that your project may progress faster from idea to installation than if you engaged a separate design and installation firm; there is some efficiency in working with just one firm that can handle the whole process.

Cons: The project is overseen by a single business with a single point of view. Before you choose that business to execute the task, be sure your vision and objectives are in sync with theirs.

The design process has been streamlined

Pro: A design-build company includes the cost of design and installation in the total project cost. In a line-item estimate for the job, the design cost is normally given as a flat payment.

Con: A design-build company may produce a design plan that isn't well-detailed. If you want various contractors to give you a pricing quote on a design plan from a design-build business, this is an issue. When you purchase a design plan, you get ownership of the drawings that will be used to construct the project. Keep an eye out for firms who charge you for a design but don't give you ownership of the drawings, or for design drawings that aren't thorough enough.

A well comprehensive landscape design plan is scaled and includes measurements and materials. A list of particular plant species, numbers, spacing specifications, and container sizes is also included. This means that you may present the same plan to a different contractor for an estimate or bid and compare the same scope of work.

Design-build organizations are well-versed in building techniques

Pro: Landscape design-build companies are usually run by professional landscape contractors with years of expertise constructing landscapes. They are well-versed in efficient construction techniques as well as the workflow for project staging. They also have a plethora of expertise regarding the most effective building procedures for the job.

Con: It's uncommon for design-build firms to have excellent designers. It's simply not the primary emphasis of their job, since the installation procedure is where they make the most money. Contractors are not professional landscape architects, even if their organization employs a registered landscape architect.

Local wholesale nurseries and suppliers are well-connected to design-build businesses

Landscape contractors that undertake design-build orders construction materials and plants on a regular basis. As a consequence, they are constantly aware of plant availability at wholesale nurseries, which might fluctuate. Do you need your job completed as soon as possible? A design-build company will know which plants and materials are now accessible in significant quantities for your project.

Con: They may find the simplest — and sometimes cheapest — supplies for your project since they know precisely which items are easier to get. The design-build approach may not be the ideal option for your project if you want something unique or have more time to work with a phased planting.

The price is reduced

Pro: Because the design is incorporated into the total project cost, using a design-build method lowers the design cost for the project. Furthermore, as part of the design phase, the design-build approach guarantees that the whole project cost is predicted early on.

Con: You get what you pay for, as the phrase goes. A design-build business can undoubtedly provide a well-built project, and some of the best organizations also have excellent designers on board. If the charge is given as a single amount, you may not know how much time or effort the designer puts into your project. In the design-build process, you also don't know what's really driving the design choices. Design-build firms are likely to prioritize ease of construction and material availability over a native plant palette, sustainable stormwater methods, or achieving a specific garden experience, which is different from how a landscape architect might prioritize a native plant palette, sustainable stormwater methods, or achieving a specific garden experience.