pool and landscaping costs

[dethman]

well i guess i have to start thinking about landscaping now 3 months after close so i thought i'd bring this thread back up and see if anyone had any recommendations regarding architects/landscapers.

still looking to put in a large bbq island, cover (pergola or extension to house), small pool/spa, planters around the back, and some stone/paver area for a lounge area.  no bbq pit nor water feature.  been reading through threads but have seen very few put the bigger stuff in.  total landscaped area is 31x50 in back and a small front yard.  if anyone has any good people who have built a pool or small california room please let me know. this prob should be in the owners issues forum.


i have been in talks to purchase a new construction home in irvine, finally may end up working out but still ironing a few details.

i was wondering if anyone has experience with landscaping costs for an approximately 30x50ft back yard.  i would be interested in putting in a small pool and spa, basic rectangular probably no bigger than 20x10 or so and not deep.  probably a concrete side area for chairs and a table or loungers and a decent built in BBQ island.  trees in the
back for privacy.

anyway just wondering if anyone had ideas of pool construction costs versus plastering grass, flagstone, and concrete over the backyard.  i know irvine does not have a lot of new homes with pools but i'm interested in my own.  just a ballpark, like 50k, 75k, 100k, 150k or such.  thanks for any info anyone has.

 

[lnc]

It will easily exceed over $100k for the entire project. 

If I remember correctly, NYT and TD have pool done in their backyard.  And in TD's project, he had to knock down the privacy wall between his home and his neighbors during the pool construction in order for the heavy equipment to move in then rebuild the wall after the pool is done. 

BTW, that's some decent size backyard you got there, nice. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

This is a lie, there is no new construction home in Irvine with a 30x50 back yard.

 

[dethman]

It will easily exceed over $100k for the entire project. 

If I remember correctly, NYT and TD have pool done in their backyard.  And in TD's project, he had to knock down the privacy wall between his home and his neighbors during the pool construction in order for the heavy equipment to move in then rebuild the wall after the pool is done. 

BTW, that's some decent size backyard you got there, nice. 

i was wondering how any equipment would get into the backyard with only 5 ft between the house and the wall.  that sounds like a huge pain in the ass.  i assume there would be a myriad of HOA and neighbor issues. 

100k i could probably think reasonable.  if it was over 125k then i guess my kids can go to the community pool hehe.

 

[Perspective]

I had a pool guy roughly estimate a few months ago, that a small (20' by 10') simple pool would minimally be $25K. That could easily double depending on style. If you're into the hideous rock look (think Playboy mansion, or any Coto pool  ), you'll be paying for all of that work.

Remember too, these are estimates for a small pool alone, with no other landscaping.

 

[Bullsback]

i have been in talks to purchase a new construction home in irvine, finally may end up working out but still ironing a few details.

i was wondering if anyone has experience with landscaping costs for an approximately 30x50ft back yard.  i would be interested in putting in a small pool and spa, basic rectangular probably no bigger than 20x10 or so and not deep.  probably a concrete side area for chairs and a table or loungers and a decent built in BBQ island.  trees in the back for privacy.

anyway just wondering if anyone had ideas of pool construction costs versus plastering grass, flagstone, and concrete over the backyard.  i know irvine does not have a lot of new homes with pools but i'm interested in my own.  just a ballpark, like 50k, 75k, 100k, 150k or such.  thanks for any info anyone has.

Presume BP? Juniper or Rosemont? 

 

[nyc to oc]

My guess is its going to be over 100K if you want a pool and a built in barbecue.


I have been given construction cost estimates from my landscape architect of about 100K,  and that's not including anything super fancy-- upgrade paving material at driveway, entry, california room, outdoor fireplace with seating wall, small water feature, some artificial turf. No built in barbecue or any other permanent structures like pergolas/trellis, etc.  This is for a yard  about 20 x 55.  Hardscape costs also vary widely depending on the type of materials you use, from basic builder concrete, up to 2-3x that if you use lots of natural stone. That's one way to keep in budget.

30 x 50 yard --NICE!

 

[capboba]

i know irvine does not have a lot of new homes with pools but i'm interested in my own.

you know you'll be surprised. it sounds like you're buying in BP. take a look at PP homes on google map and you'll see quite a number with their own small size pool.

just from this thread - it seems some of us are spoiled here in PP. most of the bigger lots are 2.5k sq ft backyard or more. I think the most ridiculous one I saw was at least 6.5k sqft backyard (so the entire lot must have been 8-9k sq ft).

this thread with all of us exclaiming over your generous size yard makes me realize how ridiculous irvine is sometimes. reminds me of when I volunteered to mow wife's old home in ann arbor with a push mower (cuz never really got to use one extensively growing up in OC) - only to realize its a 0.3 acre lot...

 

[Arman]

i have been in talks to purchase a new construction home in irvine, finally may end up working out but still ironing a few details.

i was wondering if anyone has experience with landscaping costs for an approximately 30x50ft back yard.  i would be interested in putting in a small pool and spa, basic rectangular probably no bigger than 20x10 or so and not deep.  probably a concrete side area for chairs and a table or loungers and a decent built in BBQ island.  trees in the back for privacy.

anyway just wondering if anyone had ideas of pool construction costs versus plastering grass, flagstone, and concrete over the backyard.  i know irvine does not have a lot of new homes with pools but i'm interested in my own.  just a ballpark, like 50k, 75k, 100k, 150k or such.  thanks for any info anyone has.

Assuming you're also landscaping front, and assuming you do it properly with a landscape architect (which I highly highly highly recommend) you're looking at 150K, at least. We planned for 120K and it went above 150K. As a general rule, plan for about 10% of the cost of the home as your landscape budget. If you're not spending 10%, you're not doing a landscape that's worthy of your home.

 

[usctrojancpa]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

 

[dethman]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

 

[irvinebullhousing]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

Right, you really want to do your due diligence of interview and see their past projects. Because, as much as many TIers on here have their landscaping done, few will comes out and say my Landscapers was the best and I will recommend. Because, from few of my own experiences is that no matter what, you will always find something wrong along the way with your project and I certainly would not want my referal to be point fingers back at me and say "you were the one that recommend them"

Having said that, right now would be not the best of time to start a project simply because you can wait vs. folks who moved into a new construction have 12 months to complete a bare lot. They have to commence their landscaping as soon as they sign their loan docs almost. They have no choice. In addition, labor is somewhat scarce for this type of back breaking work. Because of these facts, many landscapers do taking advantage of homeowners in new constructed community. They know the rules of engagement well, and some really stick it to the owners. Some even gone to say, well, you have 12 months or else you gonna get fined with special assessments. So do alot of price comparison and the quality of work as well as materials.

All those items you listed seem like big ticket items. One thing to think about is BBQ island prefabricated that already included appliances. A high end grill will set you back 12 to 15 K and that is just for the grill. You can get a prefabricated island with the grill and counter top and refrigerator of at least 1/2 of the price  if you were to built it the contractor, go out and get your grill & appliances and table top. You have to find the right configuration layout that fit your space and that take a bit of time. I would recommend natural gas for BBQ and off course you gotta dig for gas line and electrical. You really want at least three gas connectors and place it strategically in your yard for future use since you already have them dig and tear up the backyard, might as well have them place the gas snubs incase later on you want to hook up a overhead heater or something else. You want to really plan for future usage even if you don't use them.

 

[daedalus]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

I'm pretty sure he was glad someone started a thread so he could get feedback for himself, and not mocking  you in any way. 

 

[usctrojancpa]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

I'm pretty sure he was glad someone started a thread so he could get feedback for himself, and not mocking  you in any way. 

Yeah, exactly....I've never done any kind of landscaping so I don't know where to start (interior renovations yes, outside no) and would love to get ideas and input just like you Dethman.  I genuinely wanted to know if I start with the process with a landscape architect. 

 

[usctrojancpa]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

Right, you really want to do your due diligence of interview and see their past projects. Because, as much as many TIers on here have their landscaping done, few will comes out and say my Landscapers was the best and I will recommend. Because, from few of my own experiences is that no matter what, you will always find something wrong along the way with your project and I certainly would not want my referal to be point fingers back at me and say "you were the one that recommend them"

Having said that, right now would be not the best of time to start a project simply because you can wait vs. folks who moved into a new construction have 12 months to complete a bare lot. They have to commence their landscaping as soon as they sign their loan docs almost. They have no choice. In addition, labor is somewhat scarce for this type of back breaking work. Because of these facts, many landscapers do taking advantage of homeowners in new constructed community. They know the rules of engagement well, and some really stick it to the owners. Some even gone to say, well, you have 12 months or else you gonna get fined with special assessments. So do alot of price comparison and the quality of work as well as materials.

All those items you listed seem like big ticket items. One thing to think about is BBQ island prefabricated that already included appliances. A high end grill will set you back 12 to 15 K and that is just for the grill. You can get a prefabricated island with the grill and counter top and refrigerator of at least 1/2 of the price  if you were to built it the contractor, go out and get your grill & appliances and table top. You have to find the right configuration layout that fit your space and that take a bit of time. I would recommend natural gas for BBQ and off course you gotta dig for gas line and electrical. You really want at least three gas connectors and place it strategically in your yard for future use since you already have them dig and tear up the backyard, might as well have them place the gas snubs incase later on you want to hook up a overhead heater or something else. You want to really plan for future usage even if you don't use them.

That is some great advice...where would I be able to look at pre-fabbed BBQ islands?

 

[capboba]

That is some great advice...where would I be able to look at pre-fabbed BBQ islands?

I believe Barbeques Galore (Irvine/Tustin Marketplace) has some prefab last I looked.

We ended up buying our built-in grill at OC Barbecues Plus (via the store in Laguna Niguel). Service was decent, they came to do a liquid propane conversion to gas for our burner (which we also bought there) and I had them check on the contractor's work as it didn't look right to me (eg the gas flexible connector they used didn't seem to be the right BTU rating for our grill) - and they redid the hookup.

FYI: You can also have the gas company coming out for free to check on these things too.

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?

FWIW, almost every sales office had produced a lot map for us upon request (when they see that we're serious buyers anyways) - you can bring that to some potential landscapers you have in mind and kinda get a feel of a ballpark. though i agree most would want a scheduled visit at the actual lot in order to come up with design elements and what not.

still the lot map is a helpful tool to get some early estimates in. just so they have sq ft to work with.

 

[Arman]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

I'm pretty sure he was glad someone started a thread so he could get feedback for himself, and not mocking  you in any way. 

Yeah, exactly....I've never done any kind of landscaping so I don't know where to start (interior renovations yes, outside no) and would love to get ideas and input just like you Dethman.  I genuinely wanted to know if I start with the process with a landscape architect.

Most architects will meet with you, you can bounce ideas off them or they can give you ideas what you can do with the space, and give you a very rough estimate at how much you'd be looking to spend before you agree to hire them and have them draw up detailed plans.

Again, I'm a big fan of going the architect route rather than the contractor route. I can go through my community and pretty much pick out which lots were done with an architect and which were done with a contractor-design. It's that much of a difference, and well-worth the price. In my future home purchases, two things I will definitely pay for are an interior designer and a landscape architect.

 

[dethman]

Interesting thread.  I want to re-do part of my backyard and add a jacuzzi to my pool, re-plast my pool, convert it to salt water, and put in a built-in BBQ.  First steps are probably to talk to some landscape architects, right?

i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

I'm pretty sure he was glad someone started a thread so he could get feedback for himself, and not mocking  you in any way. 

Yeah, exactly....I've never done any kind of landscaping so I don't know where to start (interior renovations yes, outside no) and would love to get ideas and input just like you Dethman.  I genuinely wanted to know if I start with the process with a landscape architect. 

apologies if misinterpreted will give you the benefit of the doubt.

contract will be signed within a day or two.  still a little scared to mortgage my life away.

anyway if anyone has any other advice or experiences, would appreciate it.  thanks.

 

[LongIrvine]

another strategy which may or not be for most. 

we move into bp in jan.  Have a 1 year old, so we wanted it to be kid friendly, so basically did fake grass for 80% of the yard with the thought being that as the kids get older, play in the backyard less, we can change the yard as their usage evolves.  we will also have 7-8 years of figuring out how we use the space. . .

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I wouldn't install a pool considering you can always use the HOA one (but you may like swimming and cleaning a pool more).

I would put in a concrete pad that I could multipurpose into basketball/tennis/volleyball/street hockey/outdoor mahjong tournament space.

I'm serious. Had one of those in my old family home, I miss it.

But if you are serious about a pool, Google says the average cost just for the in-ground pool is $20-25k. HomeAdvisor.com says it's around $19k:
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/swimming-pools-hot-tubs-and-saunas/build-a-swimming-pool/

Good luck on getting that unicorn yard!