When I meet with a new client looking to tackle a landscaping project in Knoxville and surrounding areas, I’m often asked what’s involved in the landscape construction process? The answer is that it’ll be messy and you’ll be waiting more than you want to, but you’ll be happy in the end.

Landscape Construction Is Messy

Although the end result of a landscape construction project is beautiful, the truth is: it’s a messy process. You’ll see dirt being moved and trenches being dug. Often you’ll see gravel being slung as base material for patios and retaining walls, which causes a lot of dust and debris. Plus, landscaping crews often create a mess of your lawn by simply moving equipment.

Because this process can be anxiety-inducing for some, I like to prepare my clients for this often unexpected part of the landscape construction process. If you’re preparing for a new landscape construction project and you’re worried about the mess, talk with your landscape architect about what the construction company will do to keep things as tidy as possible. Here are a few best practices at Carex Design Group:

• Keep the mud to a minimum by avoiding driveways and walkways
• Put tarps on open dirt to avoid making a mud pit
• Stage materials in specific areas for the best convenience and cleanliness
• Clean up at the end of each day and periodically pressure wash driveways and walkways during lengthy projects
• Deep clean at the end of a project to make the final space picture-worthy

These practices are often overlooked, so be sure to ask your landscape architect or landscaping contractor about their processes if making a mess during the landscape construction process is a worry for you.

Landscape Construction Often Means Waiting

Whether it’s weather delays, inspection delays or literally watching paint dry, there are many things that can slow down a landscape construction project. For some clients, it can feel as though these delays aren’t necessary, but in truth, it’s always part of the process. To set expectations appropriately, here are the common delays that could slow things down:

• Anything electrical or plumbing-related will be inspected and oftentimes, landscaping contractors are at the mercy of local municipalities for these inspections. For example, in East Tennessee, I’ve experienced inspectors that won’t come to projects on a Friday, which can cause delays while we await approval to move forward.
• Weather is often a delay and can be confusing for homeowners. For example, a heavy rain is an obvious delay but it can take a day or more after a heavy rain to dry things out enough to work again. In these cases, the sun may be shining but work can’t get done, which puts a damper on progress.
• Quality construction comes with wait time. Because most projects include materials like concrete, pavers with bonding joint sand or paint, there’s a natural wait because of drying times.

If you have a quality landscape architect or project manager navigating the construction process for you, there are ways to minimize these delays. With our understanding of the construction process, we’re able to anticipate when and where we’ll need subcontractors working on site. At Carex Design Group, we schedule sub contractors accordingly (sometimes as many as 8-10 for a single project) so that while we’re waiting for concrete to dry on deck footers, for example, we’re also installing electrical. When we can’t control the waiting (like in the case of a recent weather delay caused by a grinder tank filling with water during a summer storm), we communicate daily with clients to ensure they know when people will be on the property and perhaps more importantly when they won’t be and why.

With good time management and open communication, your landscape construction delays can be managed.

Call Us for Help

To get guidance on your next landscaping project in Knoxville, fill out our contact form or call me at 865-765-5550, and to see our work (the pretty parts), check out our photo gallery.