HAPPINESS - IS - IN - THE - DETAILS

How do you get to the details, you ask?  Simple, one step at a time!!!  No matter whether you want to build a patio, a pool, a pool house or even the Taj Mahal, you always start in the same place.  That place is a “DESIGN”!   You have to admit, that you don’t see too many houses being built without a design to refer to.   This is the same information that a contractor should share with a client when that same person questions the value of a design even though that he/she knows is completed by an educated and knowledgeable professional.

Through the internet, and other sources of knowledge, the typical homeowner knows that to gain “value” in the end product of his/her project, he needs to first start with a design.  He knows that it is worth the small investment to pay a landscape architect/designer to create a piece of art on paper that will eventually be a work of art that he lives and plays in on a regular basis.  The design helps to prevent communication errors, allows for planning or phasing and is a fantastic communication tool!  Again, how many houses do you know that were built without a design/plan?  Zero!!  The carpenters did not show up one day and start nailing 2” x 4” wood studs together!  They had a plan!!  This way, the builder and each sub-contractor knew what he was supposed to do, what materials to order and what to allow for when the “next guy” came along.

So, how do we do this so-called “design” any way?  Let me tell you, it is a lot easier than you think.  The main thing to remember is what makes a professional different than “Harry Homeowner”?  The answer is K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E.  A design/plan is the professional’s tool to express or communicate his knowledge, creativity and what he suggests about the task at hand.  Let’s look at the design process to see how a design consultant can help a contractor take his project to fruition.

STEP 1
Base Plan – A base plan must be created as the first step.  Usually, the owner can give you a copy of their plot/plat plan.  This shows the aerial view of the property and locates important items such as, property lines, structures, easements and existing entities.  Design consultants work all around the country and may never leave their office by using this little piece of paper.  (Especially these days with the internet and other technology) The plot/plat plan, along with detailed site photos and a thorough understanding of the grading and elevation changes on a property are all you need to get the ball rolling.  All this information is compiled on a single piece of paper, via computer or by hand, and acts as a “bird’s-eye view” summary for the designer and tells him what he has to work with, or without.

STEP 2
Bubble Diagram – Once the designer knows what he has to work with and has talked to the contractor/owner about the design criteria they would like to include, he/she is ready to start brainstorming and conceptualize the projects’ details.  I like to start sketching ideas while the client is in front of me so we are designing together.  By drawing “bubbles” to indicate scopes of work, helps me to start laying out areas on the plan to fit together in the space I have to work with.  This is the time to be messy with your pencil and to have fun.  Remember, the time for the intricate detail work is later in the process!

STEP 3
Design Sketch - This is the time that details have to start to be worked out on the plan.  For example, ask yourself, is that 10’-0” long outdoor kitchen going to allow that 40’-0” long swimming pool to fit in the same back yard??  The designer must wear a variety of different “hats” in this phase of the design process and must juggle FUNCTION (ex., owner needs to get from the driveway to the back door?), AESTHESTICS (ex., owner needs to get to the back door and look good!), SAFETY (ex., owner does not want to trip down the steps on the way to the back door!) and HAPPINESS (The owner must love walking on that brand new walkway to get to his back door and then to brag to all his friends about how he got there and how good it looks!!!!) 

This is a great time to double check the local building codes to confirm that your design will meet the applicable code and can be realistically built.   There is no sense in locating a retaining wall 5’-0” from the property line if the local building code requires a 15’-0” setback from that same property line.  There is nothing worse than promising an owner that you will do a task for them, only to find out that the local building code will not allow you to complete that task, as promised.  This is what they call having “egg on your face” and no one likes, egg on their face!

STEP 4
Design Drafting – Time to put all of your great ideas into the computer.   I know some of us are “old school” and prefer to draw by hand.  Believe me; I used to be one of you.  It may seem like a tedious and expensive task to have to enter all the data, but when it comes to design revisions and takeoffs (which do happen!); it will save an extreme amount of time for you.  Remember, turn around time is critical!  As they say, “you want to strike while the iron is hot!”

STEP 5
Plan Rendering – Now is when we make the plan pretty!  This is the most crucial step in helping the client visualize what you’re suggesting to them.  This visualization technique is what will sell the client on your idea.  A lot of people do not have the capacity to visualize in their minds what you’re trying to propose to them.  So many companies pride themselves on their “napkin’ sketches!  One might think that he is ahead of the game by this coffee table approach, but speaking from experience, it will save countless hours of “in the field management”.  The crew(s) will be more productive and efficient if they have a plan to go by, rather than relying on you to “remember” everything that you promised to the client.  This is the ticket to the next level that so many smaller companies are looking for!  As a landscape architect myself, it is not the complex and technical scopes of work that are the hardest for me, it is making “Mrs. Jones” visualize that there is going to be a 40’ x 20’ swimming pool in her backyard and there is not going to be any room for her 30’ long Winnebago to park there anymore.  These days, computer graphics can rival hand rendering techniques.  I never thought this day would come, but there are some computer graphics that look really good and require a second look to confirm that the plan was not hand rendered.  So, we should take advantage of this fact.  Remember, the goal in this step is to make that plan “POP”!  The plan colors should be vibrant and exciting to draw the client in and make them excited too.  If need be, because we completed this design on a computer, revisions will be a snap!

STEP 6
Design Presentation - Here is the day of reckoning!  Excitement is contagious and the client will be more open to approving the job if he is as excited about the work as you are.  I have always believed that a good design sells itself!  All you have to do is be excited about your work, be honest and everything else naturally falls into place.

A good designer is a good listener.  If a contractor does not have the patience to sit and just ‘listen” to the client, I suggest that he gets involved with a good landscape architect/designer who can.  That designer knows how to really listen to the client, take good notes and produce a design/plan that, as a minimum, reinforces what the client has said that they want to include in their scope of work.   To this day, I am still amazed by how much work I have sold simply due to that fact that I am a good listener.  Here is a helpful hint, if the client does not like pink azaleas, do not include (1) pink azalea in the entire project.  If you can prove to the client that you listened to them by not including those “azaleas”, you will have created a relationship for life.

If your company is ready to take itself to the next level, the first step is to hire an excellent “in-house” designer to compliment your staff.  If your company cannot or does not want to invest in the overhead that a good designer position requires, then creating a relationship with a really good independent landscape design consultant will help bring your company to the next level with less of an investment.

Good luck and good designing to everyone!!