For many, Gainesville landscaping is seen as the icing on the cake of a building project, and therefore the landscape designer is called after a project has gotten underway or is nearly complete. In our experience, we have consulted with many clients who are experiencing trouble with their home sites which could have easily been avoided had a Gainesville landscape architect been contacted at the project’s inception. Whether you are considering buying a house or about to begin construction on a new home, we highly recommend that you contact a landscape architect to review your site to avoid trouble down the line. Just hiring a landscape architect for a consultation can go a long way. For those who are about to buy or build we can assist you in the following ways:
- Assess a site’s assets and liabilities in the context of your intentions for the site.
- Evaluate existing trees on site to determine their health, longevity, and feasibility of preservation during construction. We can also provide guidance in preserving existing trees and vegetation during construction.
- Evaluate existing topography of the site as to the feasibility of development of the site to meet your needs.
- Evaluate site’s context as far as views, adjacent building locations to determine the best location for your home.
- Placement of house on the site to work with existing grades and site features, sun angles, views.
- Evaluate existing homes and their sites to determine feasibility of meeting your short term and long term needs.
To illustrate some of the points above following are some examples of how getting a landscape architect involved sooner would have alleviated future difficulties.
First, one of the most common issues we get called in on drainage issues with recently constructed houses. In one case, a client had recently purchased a house that would flood during heavy rains because the house finish floor elevation was actually lower than the elevation at the curb. So, there was no place for the water to go but into the house. In this case a few inches would have made a world of difference in avoiding the cost of a subsurface drainage system.
Second, another client was about to start construction on a new residence, and they were really struggling with the potential site work in working in providing access to a garage for a multi-level house. The site naturally sloped laterally across the lot parallel with the street. The client’s site work problems were easily resolved by mirroring the house plan to place the garage entrance to the lower side of the lot.
Third, another issue we see deals with the preservation of existing trees. We highly recommend preserving as much existing vegetation and trees as possible. Preservation of existing trees is not only beneficial from an ecological and aesthetic standpoint, but it is also beneficial from a financial stand point as well. According to a recent study, houses with trees can be as much as 20 percent more salable than a house without trees. We also recommend that you be wise in your preservation efforts. We can help you evaluate existing vegetation to determine what vegetation would be worth preserving, and what measures should be taken to preserve the vegetation. We have seen too many projects where great measures are taken in the layout and planning of a project to preserve ancient trees only to have these measure made moot by disturbance of the root zone.
Landscape Architects can help you in many more ways than just a simple planting design. Our work encompasses a panorama of skills from civil engineering issues to artistry. We’d love to share our skills with you, and provide a service that can make lives a little easier. Give a call or drop us an e-mail and we’d be glad to discuss how we might be able help you make the best decisions possible regarding your real estate investments. We look forward to hearing from you.
Landscape Design Gainesville FL is the best insurance policy money can buy for your exterior of your home.