Working With Ugrow

Knowing how to hire and work with a landscaper can be a mystery for how_we_work1many homeowners. Here are eight steps which explain your role and what to expect from U Grow’s design and installation process.

- Step 1: Determining Your Needs
- Step 2:  Set Your Budget
- Step 3: Call For An Appointment
- Step 4: Review Our Proposed Work Estimate & Build Dates
- Step 5: Booking The Work
- Step 6: On Site Building Responsibilities
- Step 7: Workflow And Client Communication
- Step 8: Approving The Completed Work

Step 1: Determining Your Needs

Please view our portfolio and combine with other sources of inspiration like magazine clippings, photos, or even an address of something you have seen. Next, let us know what style of architecture/ landscape you have so we can bring appropriate ideas.  Knowing what you want makes it easier to talk about design options and expedite the quote.

Step 2: Set Your Budget

Decide upon your budget level (basic vs. custom, or high-end) and identify an ideal spending amount. Review our services. Our online pricing information should give you a good feel for your options and the costs involved. Knowing your budget helps when we start talking about design possibilities and allows us to make sure the design always stays within your reach.

Step 3: Call For An Appointment

The best time to reach us is mid- morning or evening  — which is when we answer and return calls. We are typically working during the day.(During the busy building season, it may take a few days to return all the calls we get — so please be patient.) If you you’ve missed us please leave a message with the best number and time to reach you.
During our first conversation we like to learn about your project size, budget, timeline, and style preference to make sure we are right for you. If you are looking for a basic mow and blow gardening service then we may not be right fit for you.
If we do meet your needs then we can schedule an appointment to meet at your location, discuss your project in detail, and come up with a final design.
Since we spend the workdays doing the actual landscaping, we usually schedule appointments on Saturday (9am, 11 am and 2pm). If your Saturdays are busy, we can also meet before or after our weekday work.
Appointments generally last 30 minutes to an hour — unless consulting on water conservation, which can take up to 2 hours. During that time we need to get all the information to develop a design concept that fits your needs and budget. This includes …
•    touring the location to get a sense of the size and style you are interested in
•    looking at the sources of inspiration you have collected
•    developing a menu of edibles– if you have an example of exactly what you want or photos of something close — that will make it easier to discuss options and visualize   the final design.
•    taking measurements
•    talking about design and building material options, hardware and custom details
•    discussing your budget and ideal number so we can appropriately create a design that fits your needs and stays within your budget. Since our estimates are based on    number of build days and the cost of materials — it is easy for us to develop a design based on your idea cost.

Once we know all of your requirements, we like to use the rest of the appointment describing options and finalizing a design concept. Because we usually only have time for one appointment per client, our goal is to develop a final design concept you are delighted with by the end of the appointment.
Once we have the final design, we can render the project and work up an accurate written estimate reflecting the current material costs. If architectural rendering are needed, we charge hourly subject to a design deposit(30% of estimated cost) toward total cost of plans prior to beginning. The prices for materials are usually good for 30 days — if the lumber yard or nursery raises their prices, we can give you an update.
During the busy building season (May to Nov) it can take a week for us to fax or e-mail you an estimate.

Step 4: Reviewing The Design, Estimate & Build Dates

It’s important to be certain the design is exactly what you want before booking because there’s little time to make changes once work begins. Upon receiving the estimate, please take a moment to review the design, construction, and price to ensure it meets your needs and budget. If you would like to modify the design concept or explore more options, we can work up a revised estimate. When we deliver the estimate, we will also determine a start-date and estimate how long it will take to install your project. If your project takes 5 days, it is usually done 5 work days after the start date. Most mid-sized jobs are completed in 2 weeks or less.

Step 5: Booking The Work

If you want us to build your project, give us a call so we can formally book your work and add you to our schedule. We book projects on a “first come, first served basis.” Please let us know if you have any special scheduling issues that would impact the building dates so we can schedule around them, examples are…
•    vacations, business travel, intense work periods or other planned events that impact when we can be onsite
•    a required completion date for a special event.
•    coordinating with landscape architect or other building contractors

… And if something comes up between the time you book and we start building, please call.
We usually know your actual start date when we are close to completing the project just ahead of yours and will give you a call about a week before we expect to start to discuss final details and confirm the start and building days. If there are any major schedule changes, we will let you know. (About half of our clients expand their project or need further repair to their existing irrigation system once on site — so your project start date can roll back a few days to a week if there are several projects ahead of you.)

Step 6:  On Site Building Responsibilities

Prior to starting the work, we needs to designate the following area on your property …
•    tool and materials storage
•    best place to park and access work vehicles
•    optimum area for material delivery and a demolition bin (if needed)

We also need access to power, water and a bathroom. Let us know if you have any special needs or concerns about safety, as well as requirements for child and dog proofing the work site.
We usually work Monday through Friday and start between 8:00 to 10:00 am and end anywhere from 3:30 to 7:00 pm, depending on when the light goes and if we are purchasing materials. However, during the peak building season we sometimes prefer to work longer hours to make good use of daylight and work during the cooler parts of the day.
Since we try to purchase materials first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, let us know if we need to set a time to meet to look at plants or materials. If you have any time constraints or strong preferences about start and end times, just tell us.
•    On Site Responsibilities ~ we check that all doors and gates are locked before leaving at the end of the day and keep an eye out for expected deliveries as well as unwanted visitors. However, we can not be responsible for watching children or pets. Because we use power tools and working with long ,lengths of timber, any treasured items should be removed from the work area before we start working. At the end of the day, the site will be left in broom clean condition.
•    Coordinating Landscapers ~ Since we have a limited number of consecutive work days scheduled to complete your project, we need the site ready when we arrive and unhampered access to our power tools and the work area each work day. We can install in phases but it is most cost-effective to complete from start-to-finish as equipment, mobilization and disposal fees are incurred at the time of initiating each project. Because we don’t do a lot of juggling on projects, if the site is not ready we can’t work and we have to charge you for the time waiting while other contractors complete their work. Basically a lose-lose situation. To avoid this, we like everyone to meet so we can create a master schedule and plan out where and when other improvements are going to occur.

Step 7: Workflow And Client Communication

We like to keep our clients informed on the progress of their project. Please let us know when is the best time to contact you and your phone number preferences. If you need to contact us, we are either on site or purchasing materials during the work day. We usually work up estimates and return phone calls during the evening between 6-8 pm and voice mail is always functioning. In your message, please let us know if the matter is urgent or if it will impact the next day’s work.
•    Add On Tasks ~ Since about half our clients want to expand their project while we are already working there, we try to accommodate these requests. However, large projects may have to be separately scheduled.
•    Change Orders ~ If you want to change something once project has started, we do it by making a change order. Changes that do not require more time or different materials are done at no charge. If a change will impact the cost of materials or labor, we handle them by giving you a “ballpark” figure. To implement a verbal or written change order, we need your formal approval before we start so that options we discuss but are unwanted do not get implemented. Note: it is most cost effective to make changes before work has to be disassembled or removed.

•    Payments ~ The first check covers the initial purchase of materials and is due upon beginning the first day of work.  We request additional payments in phases as needed to cover large material purchases and labor, the number of which depends on the job and will be determined at the time of the estimate. Final payment is due upon completion and your approval of the project. We usually bill the last day of the project and like to deposit the final check within 2 days. For multiple week projects, We may bill every Friday for the materials and labor to date.•    Client Supplied Items ~ For the smoothest job, all materials should be ordered, received, inspected and approved before the job starts.

•    In Progress Design Reviews ~ If you want to make minor design decisions as the design takes on physical form, please let me know so we can pre-plan design reviews at the appropriate building stages. However, if you prefer to design -add each day, the estimate will need to reflect several additional days of building time to cover building stoppages and trips to purchase design-as-you-go materials.

•    Client Postpones & Holds ~ On rare occasions you may need to postpone or halt the project, usually due to a family or business emergency. If this occurs, let us know how we can best accommodate you. If we have already started the project, we will bill you for the materials and work completed to date, start the next project and reschedule your project when you are ready.

Step 8: Approving The Completed Work

As the project nears completion, we like to have you start looking over the work so that we can make any adjustments while finishing up.  Once completely installed, we make a final inspection to ensure the work is complete and functioning properly, and that you are satisfied. Finally, we will set up a follow up appointments to make sure everything is working and growing properly. At the time of completion, we usually have the final bill ready and would appreciate the final check at that time.