Landscaping involves both gardening and hardscaping. When done right, landscaping not only enhances the aesthetic of the property but increases its overall value. The opposite is also true; a property with minimal landscaping tends to fetch a lower value. This makes proper landscaping an important driving factor in the overall price of your home.
However, the costs of landscaping can range from $3000 to $16000. Most homeowners in Canada don’t usually have that much money on hand for the purposes of landscaping installation. In this case, you might need to look into alternative ways of getting your financing. For example, getting approved for a home equity loan is the cheapest and fastest way of securing credit for any type of landscaping need.
But once you’ve acquired this loan, you’ll need to understand how to properly budget your funds to make the most effective use of it. This article will help you understand what to consider and how to set up a landscaping budget with ease. You can visit this page to learn about how budgeting for landscaping works and how you can get a home equity loan to finance your project.
What different landscaping designs cost?
Generally, you will be spending $12 per square foot, which is approximately $3,000 to $16,000.
Now you might wonder, why is this range so wide? The answer to this question is straightforward – you can hardly estimate exact landscaping costs. The landscaping costs vary greatly, depending upon the specific design and type of work you want. Moreover, material and labour costs fluctuate at every stage of landscaping.
Let us take a glance at the most common landscaping options and their costs:
Landscaping installation
Are you planning to install landscaping designs from scratch? Depending upon the size of your property, you may expect to pay $5-$12 per square foot or $200 every hour. This is roughly between $3000 to $16000 for you.
Take a look at what you will get for that much money:
Permits
Depending upon project complexity, seeking a municipal permit becomes vital for the landscape installation process. The costs of a landscaping permit vary greatly. This is about $580 for simpler things (awnings and canopies) to $2,500 for more complex ones (retaining walls).
Pond installation
A pond is a popular cheaper alternative to expensive pool installation. Still, this costs the highest at about $2,200 to $3,200.
Water fountain installation
This is another alternative to getting a water-based installation set up in your landscaping project. It will usually cost between $2,000 to $6,000.
Tree removal
It costs between $200 and $600 for tree removal, at a price that’s per tree for trees no taller than 30 feet. The same costs reach up to $1,500 per tree for exceptionally tall trees that are more than 75 ft tall.
Grading
Grading involves the removal of dirt to create slopes and other designs, and could cost around $125 per cubic yard of dirt.
Professional designs
The services of professional landscapers cost around $100 per hour or $15,000 for the entire landscaping project. Depending upon the complexity of the project, the costs of hiring professionals could reach up to $200 per hour.
Turf installation
Depending upon turf quality and the size of your yard, expect to pay between $3,000 and $10,000.
Lawn seeding
Most lawn care and landscaping professionals will charge approximately $500 to plant seeds on a standard sized lawn, though prices may vary depending on the scale of the project.
Mulching
Mulching is essential to proper landscaping and can’t be skipped, typically coming up to around $500 on average. In most cases, this cost covers both the price of materials as well as the installation of the mulch within your property.
Curbing
Depending on the material you choose and whether retaining walls are included or not, curbing typically costs between $800 and $1,500.
Irrigation system installation
Getting an irrigation system installed from scratch could cost around $2,500 to $5,000 for more complex projects.
Keep in mind that the features mentioned above are just the basics. If you plan to install a few high-end features (retaining walls, decks, gazebo, or electric fencing), your landscaping costs can increase considerably.
Additionally, these are only the upfront costs of setup – landscaping requires regular maintenance and care (weekly or monthly), which means an additional, continual cost over a period of time.
Budgeting for a landscaping project
The crucial part of planning for your landscaping project is creating a budget. As such, take a look at some of these essential tips when creating a landscaping budget.
Take an inventory
The first step is to make a list of required items you already have and won’t have to buy. For this, start with a site survey and look out for key features that you might be able to leverage. Some examples include:
- Plants that have been left unchecked and overgrown. With some relocation, pruning, thinning, weeding, or grouping, you might be able to keep them in place and retain their charm as part of your project.
- Hardscape materials like bricks and stones that might be repurposed to create walkways.
- Rusty railings and metal implements could be transformed to create a yard trellis.
Hire only professional landscapers
You should take care to ensure you’re hiring professional landscapers to get the most out of your landscape planning. Experienced professionals could prove helpful in several ways, including:
- Helping you visualize the possibilities of your landscaping space
- Assisting you in creating a full landscaping plan and budget
- Maps out the steps towards achieving your goals
- Confirming if certain installations are possible, which helps to avoid costly mistakes
Don’t be coy regarding costs
It’s important to understand the costs of specific materials and projects and what you want to spend, and accordingly discuss the budget with your landscapers. Plan to get at least three different estimates from the professionals.
As a rule of thumb, the ideal costs to start with landscaping should be somewhere around 5 to 10 percent of the home’s worth. Landscaping designs, when done right, adds up to 15 percent more value to your property, so keeping these in mind should always usually end up with a net gain for your investment.
Try to incorporate ‘maximum value’ features
While setting up a landscaping budget, focusing on the features that offer maximum value or enjoyment throughout the year is important. This might include:
- An outdoor kitchen
- Living room patio (extension of the indoor living room),
- A beautiful backyard vista; can be enjoyed year-round from inside your home.
Consider ROI
While setting up a landscaping budget, start with asking yourself three questions:
- How long will you live in the home?
- What are the different long-term maintenance costs?
- Is it financially sound to do everything at once or in phases over several years for you?
Endnote
By now, it is clear that well-planned landscaping is a worthwhile investment. Depending on the needs and budgets of homeowners, landscaping costs can range from $3000 to $16000 in Canada. Beyond budgetary requirements, sound planning is the key to a beautiful landscape.
