[secondnature]

hi i am a designer in oregon. being semi-new to working with installers, i have just a few questions.

I have noticed thus far that there are alot of details that can go by the wayside when passing the baton to an installer. i can see that definately communication is key!

once i am complete with a design, if needed i can refer an installer or two for the client to hire to install my design. It is thus far my experience experience that it is very important to be involved as much as possible in the install, as it is easy for things to change, paths to not be where they are supposed to, plants to be substituted, planting beds to be made, etc. Sometimes it is the idea of the installer or sometimes it is the idea of the homeowner.

What is a successful protocol for most designers in the process of getting their design to be installed the way it is intended?

Do most designers give detailed written instruction that the client can pass along to the installer before they bid the job?? Do you meet with the potential installer BEFORE they give the bid and go over the plan in detail, so they understand fully what the end rersult should be? Do you prefer to be on the jobsite at regular intervals to supervise the layout, or do you do the layout yourself?? IF so, who pays for that?

Someone suggested that I have the installer add cost to the bid they give the client so as to be able to have me be on the site helping lay out pathways, beds and placing plants when the time comes. Some say to have the client pay the designer directly by the hour to oversee and layout and place.

What works for you?? I have recently been frustrated with the outcome of a job where the installer changed edging material, the client moved fences(making surrounding beds larger and smaller than in my design,), positioning gates in the fences in a different location (messing up pathways), and relocating raised vegi garden beds to a completely different spot!!! Along with creating a nightmare when I went to order plant material (egads), the rersulting plan is different enough that I feel that I cannot use it in my portfolio.

I am not intending to whine, but I do want to come up with a good solution to my dillema.

Thanks guys and gals,

Karla

[Stonehenge]

I have to ask, because I'm picking up a vibe on this -

Are your customers generally happy with the finished product? I'm getting the sense that you're not liking the changes because they deviate from your plan, but not necessarily because the deviations make your customers less happy. Happy, paying customers and perfect execution of your vision may not be mutually inclusive things, and ultimately, it's the happy, paying customers that will make your business.

If this is bothering you this much, why not act as a general contractor? Get bids on the work as you spec'd it, and add 10% (or whatever), then oversee the project through completion yourself.

[agla]

Unfortunately, there is no typical. Some designers draw plans with specification sheets that go along with them. Some are very detailed and leave very little wiggle room and some you can drive a truck through. Some designers draw a plan with only plant names and surface materials with no construction details.

This sometimes has nothing to do with the designer's ability, but can be a result of the market that they are working in or the scope of the project.

Some designers sell design work and work as a project manager for a fee or % of the price of the entire job. That can be tough to sell to some people.

Depending on your market, you can price yourself out of business if you insist on drawing lots of details and writing up specifications. Residential clients often do not like paying for a design in the first place and are often reluctant to pay for the extra effort it takes to do that.

One problem is any extra expense paid to the designer is in addition to the cost of the entire job. So, the client has to decide whether the contractor can handle it without the extra expense and whether he feels that it has to be exactly as designed or not.

Another problem is that few contractors want to be managed by someone else. They do not want you or me around unless it is to take responsibility for something. We can't blame them because we will slow them down and affect their scheduling and keep them from being "efficient" (which means doing things that might be more convenient than we would like).

When the designer is not there, the contractor has the ear of the homeowner. He sometimes would rather do something different, for whatever reason, and can convince the homeowner to agree. Sometimes the homeowner will cut corners to save money or because they don't understand something as well.

The obstacle is whether or not you can convince the homeowner to pay the extra to have you manage the project.

Another useful thing you can do is to help with the bidding process. Even if you volunteer, it has lots of benefits to you. You could make the initial contact with each of the prospective bidders. This is good because the contractor sees you as the work source (and source of more work).

You could have a pre-bid walk through with all of them at the same time with or without the homeowner present. You can explain the expectations of results in each area so they know it and can bid accordingly. This lets them know that there really are other bidders and it makes it hard for them to say they did not understand something later.

Then you should open the bids with he client. This way he knows you did not tip someone off to get them the bid. It also gives you a chance to keep current with pricing so that you can do more accurate estimates.

Even if you are discarded after the bid is accepted you have empowered yourself at several levels and increased the liklihood that your plan will be followed.

Being seen as a resource for new work is very empowering. Being seen as someone who wants to interfere with the contractor is not. If you are a potential work source for more jobs, they'll put up with the interference and pretend they like it.

[mdvaden]

Beaverton eh.....

That's where we moved from in 2005.

And that is almost where we are headed back - our home is for sale.

Seeing the date of the post, you may be advanced into your goal by now.

I design and install - either or both.

One excellent key, is the information on the plan. As much detail as possible without making the installer's life miserable. But plenty. That way, the homeowner can have on the contract "install according to plan specifications".

And that means, the key, to that key, is being licensed as a landscape contractor, or a landscape architect, because in Oregon, a designer without those licenses can't put construction details on a plan.

(I just finished a second term on the landscape board - if you need any tips, let me know).

Here in Medford, I was hired as a Consulting Arborist to evaluate a landscape installation newly put in.

The designer's detail really helped out the homeowner.

The designer listed some basic minimums for irrigation and drip system, like "no less than 3 emitters" of "such and such" GPH per tree over - say - 8' high.

The installer put in less than what was good or ideal. And I noticed that right away without seeing the plan.

Then I looked at the plan and said "you and your contractor signed on the line, to install according to the landscape plan specs which shows the number of emitters".

That streamlined the homeowner being able to get the work corrected.

Anyway, that's just one example. There can be too much detail to where it scares installers away - but generally, its good to add enough notes so that the designer does not have to be hired as a consultant.

That may be the key...

If a designer is needing to be hired as a job consultant a lot, it can be a sign that their plan details are lacking, and the cost and time loss to make up for it, is being dropped on the homeowner and the contractor.

Good luck with your transition.

[jwholden]

If a designer is needing to be hired as a job consultant a lot, it can be a sign that their plan details are lacking, and the cost and time loss to make up for it, is being dropped on the homeowner and the contractor.

People hire a designer or architect to oversee projects so they don't need to be bothered with these details. People with the money to hire (properly licensed) designers or architects for project supervision have better things to do than manage their landscape installation.

Do homeowners with no experience in landscape contracting really know what a properly planted tree looks like, even if there are details in a plan? Does our dream client driving their BMW or Mercedes SUV living life in the fast lane really want to be counting drip emitters around their trees?