Landscaping rule of thumb? (how much, new house, neighborhood)

[ginacal]

One of the reasons I decided to move last year was I did not like my old yard -- it was definitely a 'landscapers challenge'. I'm excited about being at my new house in a new neighborhood. It is a small area (.18 acres). It has the "builder's special" plantings - 1 crape myrtle, 1 oak, 2 holly bushes, 10 smaller bushes. The 10'x12' concrete pad out back is not working for me. I also have a slightly sloped back yard with a neighbor's house sitting right up on top of me. I want to replace the concrete slab, put in a retaining wall/plant bed, and plant some trees and shrubs for privacy screening. (There's more, but you don't need to know the details.)

My question is: What is the rule of thumb for budget? When would I reach a point where I've spent more than I should? When do I look crazy? The neighborhood is in the $250-$290K range. Is 10% ($25,000) reasonable? 20%? I have a current estimate for $10K just for the patio/retaining wall. (I'm getting other estimates.) The other hardscaping is $2-4K. I imagine the plantings including bed prep would be another $10K (I'm just guessing.)

I don't plan on moving for a long, long time so I do realize that this is my home and I should be happy here -- now -- and worry about resale and property values later. I guess I'm just struggling with paying up to $25K for the outside of my home when I could put that $25K into retirement planning or a college fund for future children. Which is the better investment? My home (clearly the biggest asset that I own) or my retirement (what if I don't make it)? Ant or grasshopper?

I haven't been in the house for a year yet. But thinking back on the last 10 years at the old house I get putting off planting and 10 years later didn't have the creeping roses I've always wanted or the butterfly bushes. I was shortsighted in my planning last time and was unhappy with the yard -- I grew to hate taking care of it. Part of me is afraid if I don't do it now in 10 years I'll wish I had planted those trees and put in those flowers -- some of these things take years to mature.

Thanks for letting me talk it out. Your experience and perspectives would be appreciated.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

You say you plan on living there for a long time so to me that says do what you want. If however you are still concerned about whether or not you will recoup the cost when you sell, that is tougher to tackle. Curb appeal helps move a house but some people don't see the same value in landscaping as others so I wouldn;t expect a 1:1 return on your costs. Whatever you do, I would do it for your own personal enjoyment and not worry about it from an investment perspective. If you want to get a feel for whether or not you are over improving your place, take a look around your community. Are others improving their yards like you plan to? Maybe they aren’t doing it all at once like you plan to, but others may be doing it a year at a time. Outside of the big money items like a new patio and retaining wall I can't imagine spending more than 1% of a homes value on outdoor landscaping plants. My house is $164K and I could do wonders with $1,640.00 worth of trees and shrubs. I certainly wouldn't need to spend 10-20% of my homes value on plants.

I'm curious what you mean when you say, "I imagine the plantings including bed prep would be another $10K ".

I don't know what you have in mind but that sounds like A LOT of money for plants and bed prep. Unless you are talking about multiple large raised beds and plan on buying mature twenty foot trees that will involve the use of a tree-spade I can't imagine how you would spend that much money.

[MrsSteel]

I've heard that 10% of the home's value is the basic rule of thumb. I think $25K sounds like a lot of money for .18 of an acre, though, so you may be able to get away with less. Since you're talking about putting in an extensive deck, I can see how the money can add up quickly.

I think it would be best if you found a landscape architect. They can talk with you about what you want from your garden & then plot out a gardening plan to help you accomplish it. Your budget will definitely be taken into consideration, too. Once you have a plan you like, you can put everything in at once or you can add to it, year by year. You can do the work yourself or you can hire help. Having that plan really helps because you'll know exactly what you need to buy so you won't waste your money on buying plants that won't work in your garden. It's a great step towards getting a professional look.

[ginacal]

Thanks for the responses.

I am using a landscape designer. I'm not coming up with the plan on my own -- I want to be sure the plants will work in our local environment -- and to be sure about their mature height and to take into consideration the seasons. I want a plan for maintenance (the easier the better). (I just finished watching HGTV's Top 25 Landscaping Mistakes.)

I know my limitations so I will hire out the labor -- for all of it -- hardscaping, bed prep (including borders, weed barriers, soil amendment) and the planting of the trees and shrubs. I will plant my own flowers.

My ballpark estimate for the plants is probably too high (but I was also including labor in that $).

I think I need to work with the designer to pick less expensive materials for the hardscaping.

[cary_nc]

We've got a .16 acre corner lot with a house that was built in 2005. We undertook a multi-phased redesign of our landscaping, which included the following (all labor provided by landscaper):

1. October 2007 Installation of 4,000 sq. ft. Pennsylvania flagstone patio ($7,500), 14' x 20" high stacked flagstone seat wall along patio ($1,200), three steps with 1/5' high stacked flagstone planter wall along side of yard (facing street) running approximately 18' ($3,000), 7 - 10 stepping stones to connect the steps by the sidewalk to the patio ($300), installation of 5 Green Giant Arborvitae (10') in planter at street $1,250, installation of 4 Green Giant Arborvitae (10') behind seat wall at patio ($1,000) = TOTAL $14,250

2. June 2008 - Replacement of our tall fescue (if you can call it that) with Zeon Zoysia sod 3,000 sq. ft. for $2,700 in both the front and rear year as well as the devil strips along the two edges of the house between the street and the sidewalk. This included yanking up all the old grass/weeds, preparing the soil with a bunch of topsoil, grading, and sodding.

We spent just under $17K for fairly comprehensive hardscaping, installation of 10 10' arborvitae and replacement of entire grassy area with zoysia sod. This is approximately 4.5% of the purchase price of our new home.

I hope this is helpful.

[BrentwoodBoy]

We do many landscape designs and installs and the average landscape package runs about $3K, so I would say $10K is high. Our designer consults with our clients, taking into all factors such as color scheme, what will compliment and bring out the house, what will grow well and where(sun, no sun, etc) and of course budget. Often the work to planned over 3-12month period to accomodate budget. These are all things you should look for -and as far as re-sale we have worked with many clients who are selling and looking to increase curb appeal. We have found that their return on investment is almost always dollar for dollar, usually more....

[cary native]

I agree with the return on investment.

As far as design, we have seen/done installs for lots your size from $1,000 to $100,000. It all depends on your taste.
I would say to spend some time looking around to decide what type of stone/ pavers you like(down to color and size) for your hardscapes. This will impact the price significantly.
Next, if you're going to do the work in phases(which is not a bad thing) plant the trees/ anchor plants first. Alot of plants grow rapidly, they can be added later.
If you plan on being there awhile and want something to look really cool, 10% to 20% is not unreasonable, especially if you are doing alot of hardscaping.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by ginacal

My question is: What is the rule of thumb for budget?

Find out how much it will cost to get what you want and then call your realtor and ask them if you would get a return on your investment and how long it will take.

And, have you considered skim coating your concrete patio and having it stained and "stamped" to look like stone. This would probably save you money and would save a bit of concrete from going into a landfill.

[CAKD]

We live in a nice neighborhood with good resale. We have thus far done extensive work in our back yard. Terraced stone looking patios, stairways, walkways, built in grill and island, extensive lighting and extensive planting of bushes, trees, flowers. Thus far we have spent less than 10% of our home cost. Around 6-7%. We still have two things on our list we would like to do. Replace the sod in our front yard, and enclose the area under our screened in porch. This should not run us too much money though.

[CAKD]

Oh and I should add that our lost is .48 acres if that helps.