Please pay deposit in advance for any services provided by Landscape TakeOff Service.
Landscape Design Fees
Landscape TakeOff design process begins with a client interview, a site evaluation, and a soil sample. Based on information gathered at this initial visit, one or more preliminary plans are eventually produced and presented to the client for review and analysis. The preliminary plan, sometimes sufficient, typically leads to a final plan which is presented to the client along with a complete, itemized proposal to perform the work laid out in the design. Landscape TakeOff also provides its clients with a comprehensive plant list, a full-color portfolio of plant photos to accompany the plant list, and a detailed summary of work to be performed (in a suggested order). At times, the design process can be more or less involved than this depending upon the situation, circumstances, and desires of the client. Consultation and design fees, considered separate, are outlined below.
Landscape TakeOff charges a flat fee for all of its consultation and design services. Initial consultation fees are $150 for an initial 2-hour site consultation. Shorter consultations, please note, are charged the same $150 flat fee. Consultations lasting over 2 hours will be assessed an additional $25/hour rate fee per quarter hour spent on site. The total consultation fee is due at the end of the initial site consultation and is payable to “Landscape TakeOff” by cash or check. Drive time to and from the site is not calculated in the hourly fee, however a mileage fee of $2.00/mile is applied to all consultation sites beyond 30 miles of round-trip travel from our design offices. Please note that once a design or installation contract is signed, subsequent site consultations are waived, i.e. the initial site fee is a one-time fee.
Design fees (the hours required to complete a usable set of plans, including future site visits for measurements and photos, tree surveys, base sketches, etc.) are determined from information gathered at the initial site consultation and are billed at a $100/hour rate. Total design fees are difficult to estimate and vary greatly from project to project due to many factors: the size and scope of the project (complete design, front yard only, lot size, etc.), the distance from our offices, and the client’s landscape budget and goals. With that said, most complete designs fall into the 8-15 hour range. Partial plans, which we do all the time, are typically 6-8 hours. In some cases, we are happy to complete rough site sketches for clients during our initial site consultation and skip the design process entirely. This is rare, as most proposals require accurate site measurements, but can be done in some cases where the work is straightforward and can be measured during the initial site visit.
Landscape TakeOff has a minimum $400 design fee (4 hours) for all of its landscape design contracts. Within a few days of the initial design consultation, clients will receive an e-mail with a PDF of the design contract for the total number of hours required to complete a scaled set of landscape drawings, renderings, or other visual aids needed for the project. Clients simply sign the contract and either email or send the contract back to us by mail. In addition to design hours, we also add a 10% fee for all blueprint, photocopying, and digital transfer costs (an 8-hour design, for example, would have an $80 blueprint fee). A 50% retainer is collected at the time of contract and the remainder is due upon completion of the design. Upon design completion, clients receive both digital PDF and hard copies of the design, typically 11″ x 17″ in size. We use a variety of architectural and engineering scales depending on the size of the lot, but clients can request a specific scale if they desire. All original sketches, drawings, and photographs are the sole property of Landscape TakeOff and may be used at the discretion of Landscape TakeOff for advertising or marketing purposes. Cancellations and full design refunds are granted as long as we have not already begun work on the design. Please note: initial site consultations are non-refundable. If design work has already begun, we reserve the right to retain a portion of the project retainer equal to the work completed, plus any blueprint fees, as of the cancellation notice date.
Depending on the time of year and backlog of previously contracted design work (we complete designs on a first-come, first-serve basis), it can take anywhere from two to four weeks to receive your finished design. In some extreme cases, like spring (our busiest time), it is possible to expect a wait of anywhere from six weeks to several months for completed design work. In general, we are fast and efficient; however, we do not rush the design process as we believe that careful time and attention to detail is paramount. If you are hoping to execute a new or updated landscape installation in spring, we suggest you contact us early, preferably in late fall or early winter, when we are slower. Please note that landscape installation schedule is also subject to a wait period due to prior scheduled work and the timely ordering of plants and materials needed to begin your project. For clients living in or near Wildomar, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, California, we currently have design/build windows available. Our design offices are based in Wildomar, CA. Please contact us for more information on how our Drought Smart design program works.
Landscape TakeOff is proud to continue offering its clients a full landscape design rebate if clients enter into a landscape installation contract with Drought-Smart's installation department. Clients are eligible to receive up to 100% of their paid landscape design fee ( Initial consultation fees, blueprinting, photocopying, and digital transfer costs are not included) at a rate of 3% of the total landscape design installation amount before tax. However, rebates shall never be more than the original billed design fees and any work that is not completed or is subcontracted (irrigation systems, custom steelwork, specialty woodwork, etc.) is not eligible for the landscape design rebate. All rebates are credited to the final project invoice after all contracted landscape installation work has been completed.
Free Quotes Email your plans as a PDF file and we will send you a NTE (not to exceed) Quote! The quote will contain our fee, the number of hours to complete the takeoff or estimate, and the completion date. Or if you prefer, we can charge by the hour on a time and material basis.
Payment Terms For new clients, we require 50% of the total fee quoted prior to working on your takeoff. The balance is due upon completion. We will provide you with a screen shot of the takeoff, but will not email it to you until we receive the final installment. Payment Methods We only accept the following methods of payment:
Pay Pal (Credit Cards accepted through PayPal)
Google Checkout
Business Checks
Cash
Completion Times Most takeoffs are completed within a few business days from the time we receive the plans. We also offer next day service depending on the size of the project and our work load. If you have a bid that is due tomorrow, depending on the size of the building project, we can get you a takeoff today!