The process

In other firms, clients get passed from sales teams to designers to project managers. Problem is, communications can get lost or mistranslated along the way. So, at Lazar, our designers are your point of contact through the entire process.

Here’s a typical process for a mid-sized project.

the scope meeting

After a brief phone conversation, your designer will come out to your home for a free consultation. Then, she can learn more about the project: your budget, your likes and dislikes, and any constraints that might affect how we approach the project. If you decide to move forward, our team will come out and measure your site, create a base plan, and start sketching.

the concept meeting

This is the big idea phase. We’ll share an range of initial designs that show our design team’s creative take on your project. These are usually shown as renderings in plan view, with photos of plants and hardscape materials we might use. And, we’ll show you a range of costs associated with each design idea. Budget always shapes our design process, and we want you to be able to make choices with all the costs in front of you.

Most people choose a design, with minor modifications after this meeting.

the final meeting

The next time we meet, your designer will share the chosen design with any changes you requested. The final design set consists of hardscape, planting and lighting plans. Because the plans are detailed for construction by our crews, we are able to provide a fixed cost proposal. We don’t share cost overruns on bid items with you, so you can be confident that your project will move forward on time and on budget. (Surprises are only good for birthday parties.

construction kick off

At your pre-construction walk through, we’ll take you through the process and rough schedules. We know construction is disruptive and can be stressful, and communication is the key to ensuring your project runs efficiently. You’ll meet our construction manager, who will work hand-in-hand with you, your designer, and the crew to make sure things proceed smoothly.

ready, set, go.

A crew of skilled craftsmen a foreman, a keyman, and their small team will be on site each weekday from 7:30AM to 3:30PM until the project is complete. We never forget that our work site is your home. We want to leave your site clean and safe each day during construction. We also carry workers comp and liability insurance and can add you as additionally insured on our policy if requested. And of course, we’re bonded and licensed.

While it doesn’t happen often, if changes need to be made to your design, we do have a change order process. We don’t proceed with any work beyond the scope of our contract without your approval.

job complete!

Included in our construction contract are valuable warranties. 90 days after your installation is complete, your designer will visit the garden to check on the progress of the installation. At that time, we’ll replace any plants that did not survive. We’ll also recheck, and fine tune the irrigation system. We also provide a one year warranty on all hardscape, lighting, carpentry and irrigation.

how does your garden grow?

Patios are built, but gardens develop over time. The plants we install may seem like wee babes, but make sure you take photos of your garden when first completed, so you can compare the view in six months, a year, three years. It’s amazing how quickly things change in a new garden!