h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's like this:

I've done bits of garden design as favours for friends over the years, been pleased with the results, as have the friends, because I keep getting requests to do more.

I have three on the go at the moment, and as I've really, really resigned form my previous job, I can see that this may expand - if I allow it to.

But: As I've been doing this for friends, I've accepted no payment, although I've been given bottles of wine, gift vouchers, etc. But as it moves outside my immediate circle, the issue of financial payment keeps coming up.

I have ***no*** idea what 'prfessional' designers charge, so can't even begin to estimate the value of what I do.

Has anybody ever had a garden designed? What did you pay, and what did you get for the money? If you've never had this done, what *would* you pay?

I have no idea how much a garden designer would cost but a rough guide to office design costs follows:

Drafting (though a man who drafts is called a draughtsman) which is turning someones scribbles or words into a drawing is charged around the 15-25GBP ph mark.
Space planning is around 20-35GBP ph
Surveys & Site supervision 300GBP per day

But as it's local work for local people it'll be a little bit less than that and you're well away from the inflated prices of London, so really this post is worthless.

Liam.

All of which begs the question - how long does it take me to do a design? I've no idea, taking in to account constant baby interruptions, etc,... I wonder how long a real designer takes? How long in yuro business case, Liam?

A real designer?! I'll go and find one

Ok, I'll work out from the latest stuff.

17,000 sq ft, 1,600 sq m to draft from survey and record drawings took around a week, 45 man hours - this is a fully occupied floor drawn from scratch into AutoCAD.
To space plan for around a quarter (rough open plan office size) of that would take a day, maybe a day and a half.

Take an example garden and a stop watch and find out how long it takes. Stop the stop watch when you do something else but make a note of the overall time - this is the more realistic figure in most cases.

Liam.

My friend recently had her garden designed and landscaped. It's quite small and she described the total coast as being 'less than a family holiday'. Her designer has a sliding scale of fees depending on the size of the garden but I don't know how much he charged - so this reply's not much use to you.

We inherited a very neglected garden which we are trying to improve. I started a design course at one of the local colleges but was so bad at it I gave up! My current philosophy is just to let it 'evolve'. It can always be changed again if it doesn't work.

Teuchter - does your friend take her family on holiday to the Maldives or to a caravan in Bridlington?

Liam - - I'd get repetetive strain injury from the stopwatch button! I'm the type who gets up to walk aimlessly around the room every 90 seconds - or gos throught this type of scenario:
9.30 - Sit down at desk to start design
9.30.30 - realise drawing compass is missing. Hunt for compass...
9.35 - ...still hunting....
9.36 - Go to kitchen to raid cupboards of circular containers to draw around

How to i tally that?

You get _that_ much work done?! Welcome to the design world.
I daren't draw out (ha!) my normal day - anyone paying for design services would have a fit!

Do you know about drawing to scale? All good stationers will supply a scale rule - very useful. Try to keep your drawing stationary seperate at all costs from your every day stuff - lock it up from hubby and don't be tempted to take a pen from there to take a telephone message.

Liam.

Why don't you try asking a "real" designer??! Pretend you're doing your own garden and ask what kind of rates they charge...you could even ask about different sizes of garden by reference to your holiday home in Devon...!

Try googling it as well, if you haven't already. You may be able to get a wider scope of pricing, without having to have designers wanting to traipse all over your petunias whilst quoting for YOUR garden...

I really don't know how I would keep my face straight if I pretended with a 'real' designer - I'm not a very good liar! And my garden is rather patently not needing designed I wonder if I could borrow a friend's house?

Liam - I shall look into the scales rule thing - I've come at this through other art-type thins, mostly calligraphy, so while I'm a stickler with my millimetres, my 'plans' are usually more 'visions' than something you would use to locate a water pipe They seem to work in practice though, so I hope that's OK

The 'real' designers' stuff I've looked at is remarkably coy about prices up front - sneaky sods...