What your landscapes cost (Total including Plants) for new Irvine homes?

[irvinebullhousing]

If you have a new house, undoubtedly, the next biggest heartaches is the front and backyard cost. How much did you spend for decking out your pad outside?

 

[lnc]

$24k for back yard only, 3500 sq.ft lot.  Mine,  like a lot of IP home, already came with front yard landscaping therefore not sure which box to check. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

As little as possible.

 

[AW]

Lol, I've seen some hardscape done for as little as possible.  Lacks imagination.

 

[irvinebullhousing]

Throw some rocks in the back and call it a stone feature and done...Two bucks or free if you go to Balboa pier and haul a couples away. 

 

[freedomcm]

how about lot >5000sf, spent less than $20k?

 

[Perspective]

We just received a $31K quote for backyard landscaping. The backyard is ~1,000 sq ft. The estimate includes pavers under the covered patio extending out doubling the size of the patio, paver paths on both sides of the house, gas fireplace with stone veneer, irrigation, lighting, and landscaping including three large trees.

I'm trying to get another estimate or two, but I can't get returned calls. I've called some twice! I'm now sending emails where I have an email address. If I can't hear back from contractors in the sale process, it doesn't provide much comfort once they have a deposit.

 

[Arman]

I think a good rule of thumb is to spend about 10% of home purchase price on landscaping. If you're too much under, you're doing a crappy job, and it'll show. I never understand why someone would spend $1,000,000+ on a home, but then go to Home Depot, buy some plants and put in their landscape for a few thousand. Your landscaping is the first thing people see when coming to your home, and it's a shame when it's not a good first impression for your million dollar home.

 

[OC troll]

I think a good rule of thumb is to spend about 10% of home purchase price on landscaping. If you're too much under, you're doing a crappy job, and it'll show. I never understand why someone would spend $1,000,000+ on a home, but then go to Home Depot, buy some plants and put in their landscape for a few thousand. Your landscaping is the first thing people see when coming to your home, and it's a shame when it's not a good first impression for your million dollar home.

whats your thoughts on IP homes? Since alot of them come with minimum landscape on $1M+ homes. I think it looks ok, but no wow factor, just cookie cutter.

 

[Perspective]

There's not much you can do with a postage stamp-sized front yard (~12' by 6'). Strada finishes the front "yards" nicely. The Monterey style houses have palms and other beachy-type plants. The Spanish homes use Agave and desert-type plants. The Italian and Tuscan houses have Italian Cypress trees flanking the front windows. Once the filler plants actually fill-in the space, these yards will look good.

10% is hard to reach in small backyards. We won't come close to 10%, even though we're doing a lot with the ~1,000 sq ft of space. Maybe if we installed a tiny pool and/or a fancy pergola structure we would get close to 10%.

 

[OC troll]

There's not much you can do with a postage stamp-sized front yard (~12' by 6'). Strada finishes the front "yards" nicely. The Monterey style houses have palms and other beachy-type plants. The Spanish homes use Agave and desert-type plants. The Italian and Tuscan houses have Italian Cypress trees flanking the front windows. Once the filler plants actually fill-in the space, these yards will look good.

10% is hard to reach in small backyards. We won't come close to 10%, even though we're doing a lot with the ~1,000 sq ft of space. Maybe if we installed a tiny pool and/or a fancy pergola structure we would get close to 10%.

I agree. If the space is small, the 10% rule would be hard.

 

[irvinebullhousing]

I think a good rule of thumb is to spend about 10% of home purchase price on landscaping. If you're too much under, you're doing a crappy job, and it'll show. I never understand why someone would spend $1,000,000+ on a home, but then go to Home Depot, buy some plants and put in their landscape for a few thousand. Your landscaping is the first thing people see when coming to your home, and it's a shame when it's not a good first impression for your million dollar home.

whats your thoughts on IP homes? Since alot of them come with minimum landscape on $1M+ homes. I think it looks ok, but no wow factor, just cookie cutter.

True, just drive around IP developments and where all the front are done. All look similar in the front since this is done by the builder. Also in Pavilion Park where homes are done Tyler Morrison or the Birch Trail tracks, all of the front are installed by builder and CAN NOT be modified per HOA rules. While this save alot of money, but also your house does not have a chance for you to modify and change to your liking or to your taste, hopefully tasteful change. The only place where you can be creative is in your backyard. Yet the backyard is also small in term of available space to build, I guess this could be a good thing for financial pocket.

The rule of thumps of 10 % is a general guideline. If you willing to pick up some of the labor such as paint the lumbers or drive to the stones yard help save some money. Material cost do add up very quickly. Labor is expensive. I remember remodel my kitchen in 2010, during the worst down turn for construction and my 30K kitchen cost then would be like at least 85K or 90K nowadays with the same materials and labor. As a matter of facts, the labor was only 20 percent of the total cost then because, there were plenty of shops just wanting to get some works. And when they see a project they almost give the labor away.

With all the projected constructions in the pipeline for Irvine those days are gone. Construction jobs and the worker are hot commodity. They will not bend too far.

 

[Perspective]

Irvine Pacific's Strada CC&Rs allow for submission of changes to the front yard, subject to approval of course. The space is so small, you're not able to get too creative. I don't like palm-like shrubs/trees. If our elevation were Monterey, I'd submit requests to replace these.

I'm also not a big fan of junipers and Italian Cypress trees, which we'll have in our front yard. They're nice at first, 10' tall and very thin; but they'll soon be twice as tall and thick. Maybe you just replace them every few years with two new young trees?

 

[aquabliss]

Switch them out for the tiny towers.  They only get about 6ft tall and grow very slow.

You can buy mature ones but they will cost you more.

 

[Perspective]

Switch them out for the tiny towers.  They only get about 6ft tall and grow very slow.

You can buy mature ones but they will cost you more.

They are tiny tower Italian cypress trees. They're well over 6' today. They look good because they're extremely thin. If they grow slowly, they'll look good for a long time.

 

[WTTCHMN]

Switch them out for the tiny towers.  They only get about 6ft tall and grow very slow.

You can buy mature ones but they will cost you more.

They are tiny tower Italian cypress trees. They're well over 6' today. They look good because they're extremely thin. If they grow slowly, they'll look good for a long time.

According to Monrovia, not so tiny:

Very slow growth to just 8-10 ft. tall, 2 ft. wide in 10 years, eventually to 25-30 ft. tall, 3 ft. wide.

 

[Perspective]

Switch them out for the tiny towers.  They only get about 6ft tall and grow very slow.

You can buy mature ones but they will cost you more.

They are tiny tower Italian cypress trees. They're well over 6' today. They look good because they're extremely thin. If they grow slowly, they'll look good for a long time.

According to Monrovia, not so tiny:

Very slow growth to just 8-10 ft. tall, 2 ft. wide in 10 years, eventually to 25-30 ft. tall, 3 ft. wide.

My info, directly from Irvine Pacific's Planting Plan, is wrong apparently. I asked a landscape designer I met with today, and he said they're not tiny towers - just regular Italian Cypress trees.

 

[OC troll]

Switch them out for the tiny towers.  They only get about 6ft tall and grow very slow.

You can buy mature ones but they will cost you more.

They are tiny tower Italian cypress trees. They're well over 6' today. They look good because they're extremely thin. If they grow slowly, they'll look good for a long time.

According to Monrovia, not so tiny:

Very slow growth to just 8-10 ft. tall, 2 ft. wide in 10 years, eventually to 25-30 ft. tall, 3 ft. wide.

My info, directly from Irvine Pacific's Planting Plan, is wrong apparently. I asked a landscape designer I met with today, and he said they're not tiny towers - just regular Italian Cypress trees.

@ Perspective - How's the landscape project going? Curious to know what are you getting for bids? Do they seem outrageous? I know some contractors increase the price as soon as they step into the OH area. They think everyone there is made of money.

 

[Perspective]

I have one estimate so far, for a ~1,000 sq ft backyard, that includes paver paths on the sides, paver patio extending out to a fireplace, irrigation, lights, and landscaping. The price is $31K. I should have two more estimates within a week. We'll see how widely they vary.

 

[Perspective]

I have one estimate so far, for a ~1,000 sq ft backyard, that includes paver paths on the sides, paver patio extending out to a fireplace, irrigation, lights, and landscaping. The price is $31K. I should have two more estimates within a week. We'll see how widely they vary.

We have a second quote at $35K. The difference is mostly related to a much larger fireplace with an extended hearth that wraps the patio a bit.