Can you provide an example of an interesting design solution for an EYA community? When we worked with EYA on the Riggs Park Place community in Fort Totten, one of the safety requirements was to have alleys that were accessible to fire trucks. We asked ourselves, how can these alleys serve the community in a more meaningful way? That is how we ended up with the “woonerf” street design—a meandering alley paved with inviting textural brick detailing that can be enjoyed by pedestrians, as well as vehicles moving at low speed. And of course, by fire trucks in the event of an emergency.

It will help you designate specific areas for cooking, eating, entertaining, and so much more. I love prairie dropseed, which is native here and grows fine in hard clay soil. That makes it a great option for tough urban sites, like a right-of-way. You can transform your house into an oasis in the desert by opting for a drought-tolerant landscape. Creating a prairie-style landscape at home is a great way to celebrate the beauty and diversity of natural grasslands.

Reclaimed and recycled materials generally cost less than new, while ‘fluid’ materials, such as gravel, are cheaper than paving. In many gardens, it’s possible to cover or clad rather than remove – a sound concrete pad, for example, might be the ideal sub-base for attractive paving. Moving underground services, drainage works, demolition and site clearance work will also add to the cost, especially if access is tricky or there’s a need to work by hand. This includes garden rooms, orangeries, sheds and anything you’d like to incorporate into your outdoor space in general as it will contribute to the overall feel of the space. If you have a balcony or small courtyard garden you could consider an outdoor cinema setting, better garden storage and more to help enhance the space you do have. Spend time talking with family and friends about why you’re taking on this project, ahead of diving into and drawing up your specific garden design aims.

Q. What should I consider before hiring a landscape designer?

However, the size and location of a property can significantly influence the design and functionality of an outdoor living space. For instance, a property in a cold climate may not be suitable for an outdoor kitchen or a swimming pool, while one in a warm one may be perfect for such amenities. This is also the right time to establish your garden’s aspect.

For garden and yard design – find landscaping pros near you

Other factors to consider also are whether you are renting a house, or if this is your forever home. An attractive, professionally designed landscape can make a property more appealing to potential home buyers, which can result in increased value of the home. This is especially appealing if a homeowner is thinking about putting their home on the market, since the landscaping may encourage a potential buyer to make an offer. Even if they have no plans to move, coming home each day to a more aesthetically pleasing home can make a homeowner feel happier and proud of where they live. For more guidance on picking a landscape designer or other landscaping pro, check out NALP’s complete guide here. A landscape designer can turn your patch of land into an outdoor wonderland—but it’s all about picking the right one. Don’t schedule a meeting with the landscape designer if you know you will be rushed.

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For you, this should be the easiest phase of the entire process. You just sit back and trust your landscape contractor to implement the plan we’ve worked together to create. The more thorough you are in finding the right landscape designer for your project, the better the end result. Have a clear budget and specific time-frame to present to the landscape team. This way they will be able to tell you if what you want to achieve with your garden design is viable from their point of view. And while the design process for your project will become much clearer when you have engaged a landscape company, there are a few important steps to take before deciding on who to engage for the job. A property survey is a document often included in your closing documents upon the purchase of your home.

When homeowners are deciding which type of landscape design approach to move forward with, it is important for them to ask the right questions and to understand what they will pay for their specific project. Fees will depend on size and complexity of the landscaping, materials used, type of garden, and local considerations like soil conditions, among other factors. Knowing how much it will cost on average and whether the price is negotiable will reduce the risk of homeowners getting a surprise bill. For those just beginning to think about landscape design, the following are a few questions that may come up. Having all the information about the project up front will help homeowners avoid any miscommunication and misdirection once the design process begins. They can refer to the following sample questions when they speak with local landscape designers about residential landscape plans and the cost of their services.

By doing so, you’ll be sure to create a visually appealing design. No matter which method you use to calculate your fees, you need to make sure you can create designs that will wow and sell customers. Structure Studios’ VizTerra and Pool Studio software also allow you to type in a property address and calculate square footage, dimensions.

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The second step encourages the property owner to make a list of everything they need or would like to have in their yard. The amount of available outdoor space and the homeowner’s budget will determine whether everything on their list is possible, and what features or functions are most important. The extent to which the designer knows every inch of the site is crucial to creating a design that fulfills the homeowners’ needs, wants, and expectations. Here in this simple little corner of my garden, I want to recreate the 3 sisters guild (corn, beans and squash), but with some additional beautiful plants incorporated like sunflowers and cleome. An important aspect of landscape design includes understanding your area’s topography, climate, and planting zone. These factors influence everything that goes into your landscapes in a big way. I always start with the shape of the floor, or room, first.

Projects with patios, pergolas, swimming pools, and strategically selected plants requires time to meticulously plan. Without using a landscape designer that spends dozens of hours planning out the details, you could end up blowing your budget or ending up with a design that turns into an installation nightmare. Every type of garden requires different design methods and materials that can impact costs.

Learn more about our estimating service for Contractors and Subcontractors. Working with a contractor on your project can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it is important to understand the legal aspects of this arrangement.

As we mentioned earlier, construction takeoffs can be done manually or digitally. The former involves examining physical documents and conducting material counts and measurements by hand. The latter can streamline takeoffs through automation and more user-friendly features. On the other hand, many digital takeoff tools automate the counting process, so all you have to do is review and modify the counts when needed.

With prefabrication and modular construction, contractors make building materials off-site and then assemble everything on-site. Some companies assemble bathroom or kitchen modules they transport straight to the building site. This trend helps the material measurements be exact, which saves on waste and labor. Ultimately, your profit margins hinge on the complexity of your project as well your ability to stay on time and within budget. Here are some revenue streams that’ll increase your profitability as a general contractor.

Everyone in the construction industry knows that it takes time and money to get a construction project off the ground, and the concept isn’t hard to explain to project owners who might not be familiar. Further, obtaining construction payments is currently a slow process fraught with danger and the potential for further delays.

DIY garden projects galore

When conducting a site visit, you’ll want to take measurements, inspect the topography, and take some soil bore samples if that hasn’t already been done. The first thing to do is gather all the project documents, plans, and specifications and familiarize yourself with them. You want to make money, so crunch some quick numbers to determine whether you can make a reasonable profit on the project. In this scenario you have a better bid-hit ratio on the private office projects, so you should focus more effort on those opportunities and less time bidding on school projects. Once you start crunching the numbers you might discover that your company won’t make a reasonable profit if you were to win the contract. Check out part-three of this blog series, where we dive into hiring construction workers during a labor shortage.

Though trade stacking does not cause all these issues, it can increase the likelihood of poor workmanship on a project. To find more bid opportunities, you can look for RFPs on bidding websites or promote your contracting business on platforms like Yelp. To expand your online presence even further, consider these contractor advertising ideas to grow your digital presence. The Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) designation is for established general contractors who have several years of project oversight experience. To qualify for the CAC exam, applicants must have graduated from or are scheduled to graduate from an accredited four-year construction management program. They must also have four years of qualifying experience or education, or a combination of the two.

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Ultimately, their focus is to accurately quantify the materials and calculate the costs to ensure that they have both a winning and profitable bid. A construction takeoff is a process of listing and measuring the materials required for the project to calculate the cost to complete it. The construction takeoff is the first step in the estimation process and involves quantifying the materials necessary to start and execute the job.

Library resources

After completing the form you may attach it to an email and send it to the appropriate SWIFT office. Use the email links below and select the appropriate SWIFT office based on the county where the alleged unlicensed activity is taking place. As you can see, restricted or limited site access is one of the leading causes of delay claims. Disruption claims are a basis by which subcontractors can file a claim in relation to any work that was completed in a less efficient manner than the contractor was otherwise capable. This type of disruption presents itself in the form of additional costs from labor, equipment, or delays that are outside of the subcontractor’s control. During your discussion, make sure you’re on the same page about the project scope, timeline, budget, and priorities.

In case you are opting for a new construction project — explore the sites with new houses, have a good look around, and talk to the owners. This list will provide a standard you can bring to all the contractors to keep everyone on the same page, and so you can efficiently compare bids.

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When a contractor wins a bid for a large construction project, some of the money immediately goes to fund the start of the project. A construction retention payment (also called retainage) is the amount of money held back until the project is complete. Construction company owners must be mindful of customer service, quality, costs and many more factors to find success and attract loyal customers. We’ll explore seven tips for building a successful construction business and highlight essential tools for everyday operations. Finally, submit your bid to the potential client, either directly or through the bidding site (the RFP will describe the delivery method). A construction bid is more detailed than a quote or estimate, so it could be several pages long—it should include a detailed breakdown of all of the costs, not just a total price.

Follow these steps to create an achievable construction schedule and finish your project within a realistic deadline. You’ve learned how a CRM can streamline your construction business and sales process.

It is possible that two different tasks must be executed simultaneously. Moreover, consider any prerequisites or risks that may impact the sequence of a construction schedule. When measuring the schedule duration, calculate holidays, vacations, and sick leaves for employees. There may arise issues with resource availability, for example, your team urgently needs a crane to lift heavy loads, but another team has already booked it for the same period. It’s easy for your desk and workspace to get overrun with physical paperwork. Moving any and all files to your CRM (and other digital tools) will keep your office streamlined.

You’ll be able to access information much more easily, while maintaining accuracy and saving time. Along with making recommendations based on your unique requirements, they can also help you set up and implement the CRM you pick. Analysis works best if you combine activity and results metrics to discover how each step in your general or specific sales process is performing. The goal is to have a step-by-step journey that your team can use to easily identify a contact’s stage. For each step, ask yourself if it’s integral to the process and, if so, what information do you need to know. There are a lot of CRM platforms available today with varying degrees of complexity. Construction businesses need to pick a package that has the functions and features they need while avoiding anything too complicated or overly complex.

According to the US Census Bureau, the total value of construction in the United States was estimated to be around $2 trillion in 2020. This is a massive number and is indicative of the industry’s importance to the nation’s economy. In this post, we will look at the current state of the construction industry and calculate the number of companies in the country.

A material or equipment warranty states that the item being warrantied will be properly constructed, is functional, and is in accordance with the design intent of the project. Here are some questions that may arise during your construction proposal creation journey.

In the construction industry, the principle of fair compensation is intricately tied to the safety conditions under which workers operate. Particularly in regions with challenging environmental or weather factors, such as Texas’s harsh weather conditions, fair compensation becomes crucial to acknowledge workers’ risks. Aon and other Aon group companies will use your personal information to contact you from time to time about other products, services and events that we feel may be of interest to you.

How to Understand the Scope of the Construction Project

A construction proposal is used as a persuasive tool to showcase the construction company’s capabilities and convince the client that they are the right choice for the project. Expand your network and connect with general contractors, subcontractors, owners, architects, and suppliers – not to mention thousands of relevant projects at your fingertips. Unlike an office setting that might have a designated break room with a full refrigerator and microwave set-up, construction workers on jobsites tend to grab a bite when and where they can, if at all. Owners should ensure their interests are protected by requiring adequate proof of completed work before payment release. Construction contracts should offer stakeholders some leverage to protect their interests and outline the accepted payment process.

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The permitting process must be included in the construction plan for your project to run smoothly. To get the ball rolling, you must submit a site plan, structural drawings, floor plans and other necessary information to a clerk at the building department. Before work can begin, it is required that you obtain a building permit. A building permit is issued by the local building department of the municipality and authorizes the construction team to move forward with the project. Typically, a separate permit is required for each type of work (demolition, plumbing, electrical, mechanical work, etc.). Collect, monitor and track construction data from a high-level with a real-time project dashboard.

Home Office Certificate for Home based business or Certificate of Occupancy for business location

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It is essential to maintain open lines of communication between all parties involved in order to ensure everything goes according to plan and avoid misunderstandings or delays due to miscommunication. Setting deadlines and milestones for the project is also essential when working with a contractor. Having an agreed-upon timeline helps keep everyone accountable for meeting their obligations, while also providing structure for how tasks should be completed within a certain timeframe.