Are you contemplating a major landscaping project for your home somewhere in Melbourne? You may be starting to ask yourself some questions like - who is responsible for coordinating all the various contractors in a landscaping project - you or the landscaper?
Or when you engage a pool company and a landscaping company, who takes priority on the site? And who does manage all those multiple tradespeople coming to the site, like a kitchen installer, louvre roof installer, pool fencer, shed installer, etc?
During the past 30 years, we've created more than 550 gardens of every kind for our clients all over Melbourne & the Mornington Peninsula. With all that experience under our belt, we can tell you there is one simple rule that governs everything in a landscaping project. And that is, if you don't have someone appointed to the role of project manager or site coordinator, then the person who will end up trying to perform that role is you!
(That's OK if that's what you already do professionally but for 99% of people trying to project manage a major landscaping project ends up becoming a nightmare that can cost them a great deal of stress, time and money.)
We hope that by the end of this article, you have a clear idea of WHO should be in charge of any landscaping project and why.
Depending on the size, complexity and actual elements going into the landscape design you could have a myriad of different contractors working on your project.
You might not realise it but here are just a few of the myriad of different contractors who might commonly end up being engaged to work on your project:
Pool installer
Kitchen installer
Pool fencer
Louvre roof specialist (for outdoor and alfresco kitchens)
Plumber, electrician, termite contractor,
Steel fabricator
Concreter, Bricklayer, Concrete Renderer
Gate installer
Intercom installer
Painter
Sauna, Hot tub or Cubby house installer
Tree loppers, Arborists
Asbestos removers, etc.
The Army! Yes, once we even found a live large bullet and the army had to send in an expert with a metal detector to see if there was any more live ammunition on site!
The answer to the question "Who is going to manage them all?" depends greatly on another question - "Who you are engaging to design and create your garden in the first place?"
The answer to this question starts with who you've chosen to design and create your garden for you.
If you've chosen a landscape designer who only designs gardens then you might find that they hand over the design to you and say "goodbye and good luck". This can leave you scrambling to find a landscaper and work out with them who'll be in charge. This can get messy and complex.
Some landscape designers may engage contractors for you in a tendering process but again, once those contractors have been appointed* the designer may not take any role in the actual construction of the garden, leaving it all in your hands.
(*Unfortunately contractors who are individually engaged to work on a project, while they may be very skilled at what they do, can often be terrible at coordinating with each other, leaving that role to fall back on you. For more understanding of how different designers and landscapers work please see this article What type of landscaper will I need for my new garden project?)
If you engage a company like us who both design and construct gardens you are more likely to have someone in that company who is appointed to the role of project manager or site coordinator who will take overall responsibility for managing all the various contractors on site. This will take all the stress and pressure off you.
It's a good idea to ask your landscape designer or landscaper right from the start who will be in charge of the project to make sure you don't end up in a role you may be very ill-suited to. You have enough to worry about with ensuring everyone has access to the site and gets paid on time etc so that the project runs smoothly without having to stress about taking on the role of project manager as well. Not to mention the mistakes and additional costs that could ensue.
If you've ever watched shows like Grand Designs you may have seen what happens to people who decide to project manage the building of their new home. The complications, frustration, extra costs, etc that ensue from them taking on that role can be considerable. The same is true for landscaping.
We do understand however that some people can see taking on this role as a 'challenge' and it will definitely be that! But we would warn you against it.
As a client recently said to us, "I thought by taking your design and project managing it myself I'd save money. For the couple of quid I saved, it just wasn't worth it" (you can read his Google review that states this on our website).
You might also find this article helpful too - Questions to ask a landscape designer before engaging them.
Here's an example of a simple pool and landscaping project and how it could go off the rails, depending on your decisions.
You begin your project by engaging a landscape designer who creates a plan for your new garden which includes a new pool. You approve the design and discuss your pool options with several pool companies. Eventually, you settle on one pool company who itemises all your pool inclusions. You sign a contract with the pool company.
Now depending on how your designer operates, this project can go one of two ways. One is relatively easy, the other is more complex.
If your designer is closely linked with a landscaper or is part of a company that both designs and landscapes, it's fairly simple. The landscaper or the landscaping division provides an estimate. You accept this and sign their contract.
Now if your designer ONLY designs and does not have any involvement with the construction of the project as described earlier, you will have the additional element of trying to find a landscaper to build and manage the project for you.
This can be the point where some people decide they are going to project manage the whole job themselves and they will find the landscaper and manage the pool installation project directly personally with the pool company. If you are tempted to do this, you do so at your own peril. This is where it can really get complex.
If the pool company and the landscaper do NOT coordinate together this is what can happen. The pool company gives you a date for the installation of your fibreglass pool and the landscaper simply says "OK, we'll work around that date". Except where the pool is sitting now blocks an excavator from properly accessing the site to dig the trenches around the pool. So now they need to be dug by hand taking several days at the clients' additional expense, when it could all have taken just a few hours. There are so many other complications that can occur if the pool installer and landscaper do not work very closely together in a well-coordinated manner and this is often the biggest source of problems and complications in a pool installation project.
The trouble is someone has to be proactive in coordinating the whole project overall. If the project isn't managed by someone you have two separate contractors - the pool company and the landscaper - each working in isolation. What you'll tend to hear in this scenario are things like, "But I thought you were doing the ..." or, "Wasn't the ... already arranged?"
It can all go horribly wrong.
This is what a completely coordinated pool and landscaping project should look like (if it's managed by a project coordinator in the landscaping company who knows what they are doing.)
First, the landscaping team arrives and clear the site. They complete works that do not affect what the pool builder will be doing. The project coordinator has already liaised with the pool builder. They have the pool builder scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, so they make sure the landscaping team wrap up their work on Monday and go off to another site to work on another project. Over the next week or so, the project coordinator remains in touch with the pool builder and checks on their progress with the installation.
The project coordinator will have already discussed with the landscape designer, landscapers and the pool contractor some important points about the project. For example, they will have discussed that the plumbing for the pool needs a connection point for the drain that collects water run-off from the paved areas around the pool. They will also have talked about how and where the power for the pool filter and other pool equipment will be connected. They will have discussed where the gas connections are located to ensure they are not damaged during the pool installation or landscaping works. They may even have coordinated where the sink waste from the new outdoor kitchen will be connected to the whole plumbing set-up for the new pool.
These are just a few of the typical points of project management and coordination that need to take place in a well-managed landscaping project that involves installing a new pool.
Below are some images from one of our concrete pool construction projects. On the left photo note that the pool plumbing (white pipes) is already in place. The team are preparing the shell by positioning the steel fixers ready for the concrete pour. Then the next photo shows the concrete shell of the pool poured and all complete.
Now the pool company has to wait 6 weeks to allow the concrete to fully cure. So the pool builder leaves the site and the landscaping team returns. Again this is all managed by our project coordinator. In this particular project, you might notice the pool builder has also poured a tall wall on one side of the pool. This was allowed for by our landscape designer right from the start of the project because it would save having to have a separate concrete wall built on top of the pool wall. (An excellent example of well-thought-out design and good project coordination.)
This allows the landscape team to return to the site and start cladding the wall as shown below on the left. While there they also build the frame for the deck and complete other parts of the landscaping project that are independent of the pool. When they are finished, the project coordinator calls the pool builder back to the site so their pool tiler can complete the inside of the pool, (see image on right below.)
This is an example of what happens when a well-managed project is run with great coordination between the landscaper and the pool builder. Everything runs well, there is no wasted time on the project and no risk of the pool builder and landscaper getting in each other's way or holding each other up because one has not completed their part of the project that the other is relying on to be done so they can do their part.
When you have a good working relationship between the landscaper and the pool company, you get a good outcome that results in a project delivered on time with no drama. And a very happy client.
(We must thank Laguna Pools who worked with us on this project. They are always a delight to work with as our projects tend to be a seamless flow of well-planned activity that ends with a great result!)
Over the years we have worked with and continue to work with many excellent tradesmen and contractors. There are some excellent professionals out there who take great pride in their work and will naturally coordinate well with us and other landscapers.
But sadly there are the occasional tradespeople who tend to think only of themselves, without any due consideration for the other contractors working on a site. Without someone centrally coordinating all the work and managing the project with a strong overview of everything going on, very important things can get missed.
If you don't have a project manager and you rely solely on the tradespeople and contractors coordinating among themselves you will often find yourself being told one thing by one tradie and another thing by another tradie.
Worse still is when one tradie goes ahead with work without thinking about how their work may affect another tradesperson on site trying to do their job.
A classic example is when you have a concreter come in and pour a new driveway. Without a site coordinator thinking ahead, no one may think to ask "Does the concrete driveway need a conduit laid under it so that cables for lights or pipes for irrigation can be run through to the other side?"
Another important point to consider is that most landscape design projects rarely get built precisely as they were designed. A new garden tends to be something that can evolve as it is being built. Challenges or unforeseen problems may arise during the construction phase that need to be addressed. Or even sometimes a new idea comes to view as the garden is actually being created. If the client and landscaper discuss the idea and both are keen to accept it, then this may require revisions of the design or the construction methods. If your designer is no longer involved in the project or has not created working drawings for the project, then a far more complex solution may end up being implemented when a simpler one could have been found.
A great project coordinator can think on their feet and fix problems on the fly as they arise on-site. While keeping a great overview in mind of the whole project and all its critical timings.
It's not just important to have someone overseeing your new garden build so they can have a 'big picture' view of the entire project. It's also important for them to be regularly on-site checking how the work is progressing because they will tend to notice small but important things along the way.
For example, with a garden for a new home, they might notice that the builder hasn't rendered the side walls low enough for where the garden beds will go or that the stormwater drain pits aren't at the right level. If spotted early enough these issues can be fixed and/or allowed for by the landscaping team on-site if the project coordinator spots them in time.
During an on-site discussion with the client, the subject of solar panels may come up so the site coordinator recommends a good contractor and advises that now would be a good time to install them before the landscaping is finished.
While excavating, it's noticed that something about the stormwater drains isn't right, so the site manager can recommend a plumber come in and fix it before any further work is done and the opportunity is lost.
At Whyte Gardens we pride ourselves on always having someone on-site managing your project who cares enough to look beyond what is normally expected and be proactive to your needs. Someone who ensures good coordination amongst all the contractors and tradespeople on-site.
Because decades of experience have taught us that a well-managed project results in a garden that is not just on time and on budget and exactly what the client had wished for, but also that the project runs smoothly with minimal drama.
If you'd like to have a chat with us about any aspect of landscape design and landscaping and how we can better manage the project for you, please feel free to call or email us. Use the contact page Contact us