Landscape Costing

1. LANDSCAPE COSTING

2. Definition of Terms:
 Landscape - all the visible features of an area
of countryside or land, often considered in
terms of their aesthetic appeal.
 Cost - (of an object or an action) require the
payment of (a specified sum of money) before
it can be acquired or done.
 Landscape Design – Landscape design is an
independent profession and a design and art
tradition, practised by landscape designers,
combining nature and culture.

3.  Overhead Costs - those costs required to run
a business, but which cannot be directly
attributed to any specific business activity,
product, or service.
 Topography - the arrangement of the natural
and artificial physical features of an area.
 Mulch - a material (such as decaying leaves,
bark, or compost) spread around or over a
plant to enrich or insulate the soil.
Definition of Terms:

4.  Selling Cost – expenses incurred in the
marketing and distribution of a product.
 Labor – work, especially hard physical work.
 Bid Price – price offered by bidder
(contractor, supplier, vendor) for a specific
good, job, or service, and valid only for the
specified period.
Definition of Terms:

5. SCOPE OF LANDSCAPE
DESIGN SERVICES

6. In order to come up with a well-balanced design of
the environment, the (Landscape) Architect offers th
ff. services:
 Prepares the general ground modeling plan and planting
layout.
 Prepares drawings and specifications of utilities (such
as irrigation, drainage, lighting, etc.)
 Prepares schedule of shrubs, trees, and other plants.
 Prepares details of landscaping elements.
 Assists the client in conducting bids or negotiations with
landscape contractors
 checks and approves samples of materials.
 conducts final inspection and approval of landscaping
works.
 assists the client to evaluate the amount due to the

7.  For the item of fees, local landscape architects
follow a schedule of fees established by the
Philippine Association of Landscape Architects
(PALA), depending on the scale and type of
project covered. Typically landscape
design services range from 10-15% of the
total cost of work. The breakdown of
payments usually follows:

8.  30% for the submission of preliminary design,
 50% for the final design, and
 a retention of 20% payable upon completion of the
project.
 Professional fees cover expenses such as site
inspection, cost of attending project
meetings, overhead costs for production of
documents and staff salaries, and after all
expenses taken out, a small amount goes to profit
to finance future projects. (Taken from the UAP

9.  As for the fees for consultancy and design
services, members of the Philippine
Association of Landscape Architects follow a
predetermined fee scale depending on the
scope and scale of the project. This ensures
reasonable fees for the client and adequate
compensation for services rendered for the
professional.

10. For example, you are the client, what are
the things you need to know about a
landscape cost…
HOW MUCH DOES A LANDSCAPE
COST?

11. The cost of a landscape design has many
variables. A few of them are fairly obvious,
such as:
 the size of your property
 elements you want to include in the design
(patio, water feature, fire pit, arbor, outdoor
kitchen, landscape lighting, etc.)
 fees charged by the landscape designer or
landscape architect

12. Other, not so obvious factors, that determine
the cost of your landscape design may also
include:
 your existing space and the existing features
 the topography of your site
 your location
 if you have a site plan or other measurements
of your property
 the degree of detail that is needed on the plan
 the expertise of the landscape designer or
landscape architect

13.  Generally speaking, the more time
and expertise that goes into the planning
and design of a landscape, the more the
landscape design will cost. Understanding
how much time goes into the a
landscape design can be difficult for many
homeowners to understand.

14. The total time your landscape plan will take may
include time for the landscape designer or
landscape architect to:
 take measurements and complete a site
analysis of the property
 enter the property site measurements and
notes into CAD to create a base plan (for a
designer that does hand-drawings this would
be the time it takes to draw the base plan)
 research property codes, setbacks,
restrictions, etc.

15.  draft design concepts that cohesively integrate
all the features that you have requested to be
in your new landscape. We also create ‘idea
pages’ with photographs to use as visual aids
to convey the feel of the design
 meet with you to review design concepts
 draft design revisions from concepts plans to
create your master plan
The total time your landscape plan will take may
include time for the landscape designer or
landscape architect to:

16.  draft design details (for elements like arbors
and pergolas, screen structures, outdoor
kitchens, etc.)
 develop the planting plan, taking the time to
make sure the right plant is in the right place
(based on mature size, exposure and water
requirements, and type of soil preferences),
integrating your existing plant material and
redistributing existing plant material if needed
 meeting with you to review the final landscape
layout and planting plan
The total time your landscape plan will take may
include time for the landscape designer or
landscape architect to:

17. For example, you are now the architect.
Paano ka naman maniningil?
How To Price Landscaping
Jobs:

18. How To Price Landscaping
Jobs:
 Many home and business owners want to
enhance the appearance of their property with
landscaping. Small jobs may only be do-it-
yourself projects.
 However, for most major landscaping projects,
most owners rely on professional landscaping
companies. One very important aspect of
running a business of this sort is learning to
price landscaping jobs.

19. 1. Travel to a landscaping site to get a
view of the area and learn what potential
client wants.
 Take accurate measurements of the length
and width of the area to be landscaped.
 Make notes of areas that receive shade and
sunlight to determine the appropriate types
of plants needed for the job.

20. 2. Design the area with landscaping in
place.
 Make a rough sketch of the area to be
landscaped.
 Make labels for each type of plant used and
the dimensions of the area.

21. 3. Calculate the cost of the mulch for the
landscaping job.
 Use the measurements of the area and
multiply the length times the width either in feet
or meters.

22.  If you are
working in
feet, multiply
by 0.166
(giving you 2
inches depth
of mulch).
Multiply by
0.0508 if
using meters.
3. Calculate the cost of the mulch for the
landscaping job.

23.  Divide the answer in feet by 27 to convert
cubic feet to yards (the unit in which mulch is
sold).
 No division is required if using meters,
because mulch is typically sold in cubic
meters.
3. Calculate the cost of the mulch for the
landscaping job.

24.  Multiply your total by the cost of each cubic
yard or meter of mulch to determine how much
the mulch will cost
3. Calculate the cost of the mulch for the
landscaping job.

25.  http://www.landscapecalculator.com/calculators/mul
ch

26. 4. Determine the cost of plants.
 Tally the type and amount of each plant used
in the landscaping project.
 Multiply the cost of the plants by the number of
plants you'll need.

27. Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:
 Golden
Miagos –Php
200.00

28.  Eugenia Plant Oran
ge – Php300.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

29.  Thunbergia
Vine –
Php500.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

30.  Golden Chinese
bamboo plants –
Php1,000.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

31.  Philodendron
Selloum
"Selloum“ –
Php150.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

32.  Garlic Vine –
Php150.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

33.  Pink Angel –
Php100.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

34.  Sansevieria
"Bacularis" Pl
ant –
Php100.00
Some Landscape Plants with
Prices:

35. 5. Determine the price of extra
materials.

36. 6. Allow for selling cost.
 Once you know how
much the materials
will cost, you can
determine what you
need to charge the
client.
 In most cases,
multiply the
landscaper’s cost by
115% to determine
the selling cost.

37. 7. Add in the expense of labor.
 Determine your
time on the
landscaping job
comparing the
needs of this job
with previous jobs.
 Calculate the cost
of labor by
multiplying the
hourly wages by
the number of
man-hours.

38. 8. Add all expenses together for a bidding
price.

39. 9. Subtract the bidding price from the
company cost to determine profit.

40. Tips:
 Write an itemized bid for the potential clients
rather than one single total. Clients like to see
how their money will be spent.
 Give the potential clients sketches of the
landscaping project so they can make
changes before you begin.