pool and landscaping costs

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i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.

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Do you mind asking which neighborhood you are about to sign your life away? 30x50 is a good size=).  I was very hesitant to spend on Architect at first, but I decided to hire an Landscape Architect.

 
Once you get the plans from an architect, you can send it to contractors to get bids.  It is way easier to get quotes when you have the plans all drawn up.  You can send your plans to multiple builders.

I've used brownco in the past with good results.  I'm not sure if they'll do residential.  They are building Disneyland.http://browncoinc.com/

For my project, the architectural plans included structural sign offs, and was around $3,000.
 
Goriot said:
Do you mind asking which neighborhood you are about to sign your life away? 30x50 is a good size=).  I was very hesitant to spend on Architect at first, but I decided to hire an Landscape Architect.
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Would you mind disclosing the name of your architect.  I'm really interested in getting an architect out to look at the backyard, but my Google-fu is lacking and other than Studio H, I haven't had any success.
 
As you interview landscape architects, make sure you hire someone who has similar vision to you and also a track record of successful projects in the style that you like.

I made the mistake of hiring a landscape architecture firm due to glowing recommendations from both talk Irvine and Houzz, even though the past projects they showed me all tended to be a certain look, which is not the style we wanted. They assured me they have experience doing all  styles, and their portfolio being so heavily weighted to one style is due to client preferences. Despite my misgivings I signed the contract anyway, because so many other people said they were awesome.

Well, its been two months of back and forth. Their team of designers keeps on trying to make it into what they want, no matter how many times I give feedback that this is not the style I'm looking for.  I realize, this one style is just their thing. They have a team of designers and midway through the process someone that I've never even met or spoken to is the one who is leading the design of my project. he's never even seen my property in person. Its been so frustrating trying to work with them, I'm dropping them and going with another architect. I will  just consider it a loss of nearly $5000 for the first half of the design fee. I'm not going to name any names publicly on this forum. But PM if you're interested.

A caveat that even multiple glowing recs may not mean that it is the right fit for you if your project doesn't fit with "their style".
 
nyc to oc said:
As you interview landscape architects, make sure you hire someone who has similar vision to you and also a track record of successful projects in the style that you like.

I made the mistake of hiring a landscape architecture firm due to glowing recommendations from both talk Irvine and Houzz, even though the past projects they showed me all tended to be a certain look, which is not the style we wanted. They assured me they have experience doing all  styles, and their portfolio being so heavily weighted to one style is due to client preferences. Despite my misgivings I signed the contract anyway, because so many other people said they were awesome.

Well, its been two months of back and forth. Their team of designers keeps on trying to make it into what they want, no matter how many times I give feedback that this is not the style I'm looking for.  I realize, this one style is just their thing. They have a team of designers and midway through the process someone that I've never even met or spoken to is the one who is leading the design of my project. he's never even seen my property in person. Its been so frustrating trying to work with them, I'm dropping them and going with another architect. I will  just consider it a loss of nearly $5000 for the first half of the design fee. I'm not going to name any names publicly on this forum. But PM if you're interested.

A caveat that even multiple glowing recs may not mean that it is the right fit for you if your project doesn't fit with "their style".
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Thanks for the advice.  My wife and I have already had to deal with a contractor from hell, so we've been really wary of just glowing reviews online.  Definitely have to feel comfortable with the workers and the company itself.  As an aside, nobody should ever use Creation Builders for their general contracting needs.
 
We have a back yard that is approx. 25 x 50 and we hired Studio H and are very happy with the results.  They ask you for your budget, for what you want in the backyard, and for pictures of any backyard landscape you have seen and liked.  Studio H managed to fit in everything we wanted in the backyard and make it look nice.  We've received nothing but compliments from visitors, including those in a similar trade.

There were a couple times where Warwick Hunt himself would suggest a particular color or item that was not my first choice, but the ultimate decision was always mine.  I would ask him why he chose what he did and he would explain why.  We ended up going with his choices and in hindsight, I think it looks much better than what I would have selected myself.  Someone on this forum had mentioned that you can tell which homes have professionally designed landscaping and I totally agree with that statement.

You can PM me if you want more details.

 
irvinehomeowner said:
I wouldn't install a pool considering you can always use the HOA one (but you may like swimming and cleaning a pool more).

I would put in a concrete pad that I could multipurpose into basketball/tennis/volleyball/street hockey/outdoor mahjong tournament space.

I'm serious. Had one of those in my old family home, I miss it.

But if you are serious about a pool, Google says the average cost just for the in-ground pool is $20-25k. HomeAdvisor.com says it's around $19k:
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/swimming-pools-hot-tubs-and-saunas/build-a-swimming-pool/

Good luck on getting that unicorn yard!
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basketball court?  tennis court?  i think you are overestimating how large a 30 ft x 50 ft backyard is.  it's really not that large.  50 feet wide an 30.7 feet setback.  it won't be a unicorn, fancy nor awesome when it's all done.  i just want it functional enough where my kids can play in the pool without me having to lug them to the HOA and i can grill in my backyard and eat, maybe entertain every once in a while.  i'm hoping it won't be too much.
 
Goriot said:
i would certainly talk to an architect, but i havent even signed papers on a home.  just want to be prepared and get an idea of what i'm in store for.  isn't getting information what a public forum full of people interested in homes and real estate are for?

i'm not even sure a landscaper would talk to me if i didn't even have a homesite to talk to him/her about, but i don't know, and isn't that the point?  i think we all have to start somewhere and people here have provided some very useful information.

anyway, thanks for letting me know about one realtor i would not use to sell my current home.
Click to expand...

Do you mind asking which neighborhood you are about to sign your life away? 30x50 is a good size=).  I was very hesitant to spend on Architect at first, but I decided to hire an Landscape Architect.


[/quote]

i will be purchasing at vicenza at the groves in orchard hills.  they have some decent sized lots and setbacks.  i did not like PP nor BP due to the super high mello roos and my wife had concerns about the old base.
 
irvine buyer said:
We have a back yard that is approx. 25 x 50 and we hired Studio H and are very happy with the results.  They ask you for your budget, for what you want in the backyard, and for pictures of any backyard landscape you have seen and liked.  Studio H managed to fit in everything we wanted in the backyard and make it look nice.  We've received nothing but compliments from visitors, including those in a similar trade.

There were a couple times where Warwick Hunt himself would suggest a particular color or item that was not my first choice, but the ultimate decision was always mine.  I would ask him why he chose what he did and he would explain why.  We ended up going with his choices and in hindsight, I think it looks much better than what I would have selected myself.  Someone on this forum had mentioned that you can tell which homes have professionally designed landscaping and I totally agree with that statement.

You can PM me if you want more details.
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thanks for the recommendation.  if i end up buying, and closing (which is a long ways away) i will look you up.
 
LongIrvine said:
another strategy which may or not be for most. 

we move into bp in jan.  Have a 1 year old, so we wanted it to be kid friendly, so basically did fake grass for 80% of the yard with the thought being that as the kids get older, play in the backyard less, we can change the yard as their usage evolves.  we will also have 7-8 years of figuring out how we use the space. . .
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maybe i'll just concete that whole sucker up until i save up enough money for a tiny resort.  haha.  seriously.  why is landscape so dang expensive.
 
Nelso said:
As an aside, nobody should ever use Creation Builders for their general contracting needs.
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Whoa, did you actually use these guys for your landscaping?  I had them give me a bid and the guy drove up in a new 5 series and was really sleezy/salesman like.  He started with a quote of $75k and seemed like he would literally not leave my house until I signed with him.  I told him I needed time to think about it and discuss with my wife, then he kept dropping the price.  Went down to $70k, then $60k, then $50k, then he said his rock bottom was $42k but I had to sign immediately!  At this point there was no way I was going to hire the guy, being as he just dropped his price nearly $30k in 10 minutes.  I nicely told him I will discuss with my wife and get back to him.  Then he starts playing the card like "Oh so you're not the man of the house and can't make these kind of decisions yourself?"  There's sly ways sales guys can subconsciously work this into your psyche but he kinda just said it straight up like that.  I kindly asked him to leave and finally he reluctantly did.

He then called me multiple times in the following days.  I finally picked up and he said he talked to the owner and they could drop the price down to $35k but I had to sign right away!  What a joke.  I actually have no idea what quality of work they would have done but I'm glad I didn't have to find out.
 
dethman said:
basketball court?  tennis court?  i think you are overestimating how large a 30 ft x 50 ft backyard is.  it's really not that large.  50 feet wide an 30.7 feet setback.  it won't be a unicorn, fancy nor awesome when it's all done.  i just want it functional enough where my kids can play in the pool without me having to lug them to the HOA and i can grill in my backyard and eat, maybe entertain every once in a while.  i'm hoping it won't be too much.
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I'm not saying a fullsize basketball court or tennis court. You can do a halfcourt in 50x30 and a mini tennis court (36') in that same space. The basketball court we had was on a concrete pad that was about 20x30, so it was longer than wide but was good enough to play 3 on 3 games.

Now that I think about it, that was only in the sideyard, man... my parents had a huge backyard.
 
dethman said:
i will be purchasing at vicenza at the groves in orchard hills.  they have some decent sized lots and setbacks.  i did not like PP nor BP due to the super high mello roos and my wife had concerns about the old base.
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Damn, I thought you were turned off by the toll road, living next to courtyard homes, and being looked down on by Trevi and Capella.  Plus it's TUSD.  :o
 
aquabliss said:
Nelso said:
As an aside, nobody should ever use Creation Builders for their general contracting needs.
Click to expand...

Whoa, did you actually use these guys for your landscaping?  I had them give me a bid and the guy drove up in a new 5 series and was really sleezy/salesman like.  He started with a quote of $75k and seemed like he would literally not leave my house until I signed with him.  I told him I needed time to think about it and discuss with my wife, then he kept dropping the price.  Went down to $70k, then $60k, then $50k, then he said his rock bottom was $42k but I had to sign immediately!  At this point there was no way I was going to hire the guy, being as he just dropped his price nearly $30k in 10 minutes.  I nicely told him I will discuss with my wife and get back to him.  Then he starts playing the card like "Oh so you're not the man of the house and can't make these kind of decisions yourself?"  There's sly ways sales guys can subconsciously work this into your psyche but he kinda just said it straight up like that.  I kindly asked him to leave and finally he reluctantly did.

He then called me multiple times in the following days.  I finally picked up and he said he talked to the owner and they could drop the price down to $35k but I had to sign right away!  What a joke.  I actually have no idea what quality of work they would have done but I'm glad I didn't have to find out.
Click to expand...

We used them for some remodeling work, and it was quite a ride.  Promised the moon, and then didn't live up to any of it, including not using sub-contractors.

Turns out, the work was completely subcontracted out to guys from Simi Valley who would drive to Irvine.  They didn't want to make the drive, so would make up any excuse not to work.  Work and craftmanship was shoddy, materials used was shoddy. 

We chose them because we thought they had an Irvine location, turns out it is a sham location, my wife works at a building across the street and went and checked it out afterwards and that address doesn't exist.  Yelp reviews were faked, done by employees and friends/family and Yelp of course denied filtering their reviews.  We ended up going to the Contractor State License Board which took forever, got some of the money back after the San Diego DA got involved and a month before a court date.  They dragged us through the coals for 2 years, but there is no ding on their license from our problems.  We have contacts with other people who have been scammed by this company as well.

Super high pressure, but we were on a tight deadline so we didn't do our due diligence.
 
WTTCHMN said:
dethman said:
i will be purchasing at vicenza at the groves in orchard hills.  they have some decent sized lots and setbacks.  i did not like PP nor BP due to the super high mello roos and my wife had concerns about the old base.
Click to expand...

Damn, I thought you were turned off by the toll road, living next to courtyard homes, and being looked down on by Trevi and Capella.  Plus it's TUSD.  :o
Click to expand...

It's true we had all those concerns.  We were able to get an inner lot further away from the toll.  Messina is next to the courtyard homes not vicenza.  We still do not like being below trevi and capella but in the end we made compromises to get the floorplan and lot size we like.  I think there are issues with tusd but we did not like any IUSD new developments or resales in our price range.  After looking for 2 years we found there wasnt a perfect home with no compromises, so we prioritized what was most important.  We wanted to hold out for bella vista, but im guessing that will start at 2.2 to 2.4 and thats too much of a stretch at this point in time after upgrades.
 
back to top to see if any one else has any good recommendations, have to start thinking about landscaping now (ugh)
 
I really like the Basketball Ball court idea better than building a pool.

I noticed in most of get togethers kids play Basketball more than anything else.

Thanks for suggesting!!
 
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