Garden design fees : UK garden designer Alice Bowe explains how fees relate to the cost of the new garden and gives a few tips on how to estimate the cost of a new landscape design.
One of the first questions I always get asked is 'How much will my new garden cost me?'. That's a difficult question to answer as the cost depends on so many factors - the size of the garden, the complexity of the works, access to the site and so on.
The design fee varies with the size of the garden, starting from a few hundred pounds for a simple sketch design or planting plan. We work in much the same way as a building architect and our fee scale is based on a percentage of the contract costs and range from 5-22% depending on the size of the project.
As a rule of thumb you should consider that building a garden requires at least as much work as adding an extension to your house – 4-10% of the property value is a realistic investment figure.
We can discuss rough figures over the phone, but it's only at the initial consultation that we can really start to understand the project. If you already have a budget in mind we can discuss whether that's suitable for the work you envisage and tailor things as needed.
At the start of the project we will provide a written fee offer to cover one or more of the stages of work. Smaller jobs may well be quoted as a lump sum whereas larger, more complex projects will be broken down with a detailed quote at each stage.
The landscape design fee excludes items such as planning fees, arboriculturalist reports, structural engineers, architects and so on. Naturally we will identify any such requirements in advance and ensure you are fully aware of the associated costs.
