Backyard Planning Guide Increasing the livability of your backyard will bring many happy memories for you and your family. There are many things to consider when you are taking on the exciting task of designing and landscaping your backyard. Whether you have decided to hire an architect and a landscaping contractor or plan to do it all yourself, planning a beautiful backyard landscape & garden is relatively easy. It involves simple steps that when carried out, gives rise to new interesting ideas that will shape your outdoor living space and will make the process run allot smoother.
1.) First walk through your backyard area and write down simple existing elements in your yard so that you can create your landscape plan around odd areas. Keep in mind that any major projects would need to abide by any local requirements, building codes, and restrictions. Also take into consideration and verify property lines, easements or right -of -ways. Be sure to know where your septic tank and sewer lines are, as well as the gas line, it helps your gas company if you are not sure. For example: ·A big tree in the center ·Sloping or flat land 2.) Write down what you would like to include in your landscape plan. These are the things that you would like to add to enhance your backyard. At this point it would be wise to think of how you will use your backyard area. ·Should the patio be expanded for those family gatherings? ·Will a deck at the living room level make the living room look larger? ·Do you need paved paths for the tricycle crowd and a play area for the children? ·Will the vegetable garden function better with a raised bed? ·Have you always wanted a koi pond or a waterfall? ·Do you plan to have a swimming pool or want to enhance the existing one? ·What about privacy?
3.) Next go into your house and visit rooms that have windows/doors looking towards the backyard. Note the areas that you can see from inside. These are the "focal points" of your yard for obvious reasons. We are going make use of them while executing the landscaping plan. 4.) After that, get back to the list of amenities you made in step 2. Now is the time to look into the cost of these items. For example if you have written down "Swimming Pool" in your backyard it is a good idea to actually look in the phone book or internet for a few swimming pool consultants and call them for a quotation & document. Do this with every requirement. Of course for some, you won't require consulting agencies. For example you can visit a local nursery and have a look at some good flowering shrubs, medium height plants, containers of various sizes, paving blocks etc and take notes on their costing. It won't take long to do this. 5.) Now you have the raw data ready with you. All you have to do is draw a sketch plan of your backyard on graph paper and start placing your requirements on it with locations. Don’t forget your "focal points" mentioned in step 3. A software program such as Smart Draw can help tremendously because you can experiment with various designs as much as you want with premade templates that you can customize to your taste and they also offer a free 7 day trial with no strings attached. Try being creative at the same time cost effective, of course without compromising your dreams, though. Create more that one alternative and show them to your family members, friends, their opinion counts as well. Just remember while placing every element think about the profitability also. What this means is if you plan a fountain in the deepest corner of your yard, just because it can be seen from your window, you will also require a lengthy plumbing line from your water supply till the fountain spot. Also include landscaping execution costs by making a contact with “landscaping contractors". ReliableRemodeler.com is a great place to start because they are a leading nationwide home improvement contractor matching service that brings together homeowners and local contractors. Reliable Remodeler offers a simple, quick, and free way to access local, qualified home improvement and remodeling contractors. You will also have access to Homeowner Central where you will be able to manage your project details and see details of contractors matched to your landscape project. It is important to get a ball park figure of where your budget is heading. If you think that a swimming pool is going to cost you an arm and a leg, you can easily delete it from your list at this stage. This will save your design time quite a bit. 6.) When you have finished sketching 5 to 6 plans calculate a rough costing of the project by making use of the raw data collected in step 4. 7.) Finalize the plan that is: · Cost effective · Easy to execute · Easy to maintain (very important) · The one that satisfies you..(Most important. This is why you are designing it in the first place, right?) 8.) Keep a copy and hand your overall plan to your "landscaping contractor" so that he or she can execute your plan. You can always do-it-yourself if you have the knowledge and experience. It will be a great experience and fun. You can even teach your kids a few things in the process.
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If you are searching for home design plans or backyard plans such as doghouses, play structures, gazebos or deck plans, Homeplans.com offers a wide array of planning ideas & services. The following page links will allow you to explore the plans of your dreams! Backyard project plans
Free Downloadable Project Plan
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