Investing in a design allows the client and designer to collaborate on thinking through every detail of the

future project before any construction begins. This allows for significantly more accuracy in budgeting &

estimating. Ultimately this creates a smooth path for a considerably more efficient construction process once

the project begins. In the long term the initial investment made in the design has huge returns. 

The length of the design process varies per project, depending on the scope of work. The range of time in

our experience working with clients has been as quickly as 2 weeks to over 1 year. Because of the value we

place on the design process, one thing is for sure- we are extremely thorough & generous in dedicating

the time necessary to ensure you get the best results.

Just like the time involved in the design process varies, based on the scope of work, so does the investment.

We work with a lump sum price based on an hourly rate aligned with the projected time. Once the projected

time has been met, we then begin with strictly an hourly rate with more in-depth revisions or changes.

We have rarely seen an overage on our projected time because we have a thorough process in determining

the length we anticipate each project will take. While each project will have a different cost associated

with it, our hourly rate that we work off of is $125/hr

Having a general idea of a budget for your project is always helpful. However, this is often difficult to

pin down. One thing we definitely discuss and walk through together during the design process is budgeting.

Once we begin to get ideas on paper and concepts to review we can then begin to associate more accurate

costing with those ideas. This is a huge part of the revision process to ensure what we design meets your

goals within the financial investment you are willing to make. 

Each property has its individual value along with comparable homes nearby. Having a fairly accurate

appraisal of your home & property value is a good start. There are standard percentages of home and

property value that have historically brought some form of a financial return when the project investment

stays within that range. 10%-20% of your home and property value is a standard amount to safely invest.

However there are other factors that come into play. How long do you plan to own this property? What

other values other than a financial return are you looking for- lifestyle, family, entertainment etc. While

starting with strictly a financial return in mind is a good place to begin, there are many other ways to see a

ROI in property improvement

During our initial in-person consultation we allow for 1 full hour to help understand your goals and the best

possible way that South House Co. can accomplish them for you. There is no fee for this time. If we begin to

significantly surpass that allotted time we have a $75 fee. This allows us to generously stay attentive and

present with all we need to hear and learn in order to best serve you. 

The initial design consultation sets the tone for our design process. Our goal is to learn as much as possible

about who- the client & what- the land we will be designing and working with. The more we know the closer

we will get to the exact results you were hoping for- even if you weren't exactly sure what those results

were to be when you started. All that to say- we will do a lot of listening on the front end and a lot of

questions on the back end. Any detail about you, your family, the history of the land, your hopeful use of the

space and so much more- we hope to learn. Any visual communication such as images of things you like can

also be helpful. If you have time and are interested we have an initial consultation form that can be helpful

in giving you some things to fill out that will help us gain insightful information. We will also have this form on

hand for the initial consultation.

In some ways there really is not a "best time" of year for us. The real question might be something more

like- when are you hoping to break ground on your potential project. Based on this information and the

scope of work we can guide you on what to expect from a scheduling stand point from the design process first

and even a loosely for a potential construction project. This question can actually be a good opening, leading

to other questions that really help all of understand each other better. Feel free to ask it when we meet!

This really depends on two things- budget and scope of work. You will see in a future FAQ below that people

often wonder about phasing projects out. This is very common for a few reasons. The main one is budget.

Depending on what phase and what the scope of work is on that phase we might suggests starting at certain

times of year and we will definitely set some expectations for what to expect when doing certain types of

work in one season verses another. Another thing you might be considering when asking about the best

time of year questions is, when is the best time to plant a landscape. We plant all year round and with our

strategic seasonally based warranty for our plants this can give you a peace of mind. Horticulturally speaking

though- we believe the best time to plant most things is in the fall. Please see our blog entry regarding this

detail if you care to know more.

As you can a imagine a gunite pool is going to vary in cost depending on several factors- size, location,

number of features etc. In our experience though, an average pool with a standard equipment packagefilter pump, filter, sanitation device & (3) LED lights on an automated system will be in the range of 80K to

100k. This price would include the gunite shell/tile/plaster, plumbing & equipment pad install & set up. 

Similar to the answer about pricing it really depends on the size of the project, including other work being

done outside of the pool. In general though, a gunite pool built during a drier season should be

approximately 2 months worth of work including from the dig until equipment is set. Because this work

is not linear in nature and we are typically working on other components of the garden- there could be

a longer actual time before plaster & water is added. Construction during the rainier, colder months would

create a longer construction period.