Landscaping Prep Steps

There's not too much prep work that goes into landscaping projects. More to the point, there's not too much that you, as the homeowner, need to do in preparation. The landscapers, designers, and architects may have plenty of preparation work, but that is their concern. This article is just to help you to think of what you should do before the landscapers ever set foot on your property.

Mark Utility, Cable, and Water Lines
A few days before your landscaping project is set to begin, you need to have some of the underground lines and wires identified. All you need to do is call the each company and have them send someone out to mark exactly where these lines are laid. These companies include: cable, gas, electrical, water, and sewer.

These technicians will usually use a certain color of spray paint to mark exactly where these lines occur under your property. This might only need to be used if you are having a sprinkler system installed or planting a tree, but it is always helpful to have this information for your landscaping professionals before they start. This will keep your project timeline in order, and it will allow your landscapers to spend their time doing the landscaping work instead of the little preparation tasks.

Remove Clutter from the Yard
This is a big one. If you are having sod laid or some other large task, this is almost a no-brainer, but you would be surprised to learn how many people have toys and tool all over their yard even on the day the landscapers arrive. This is a simple task and it doesn't have to be neat. If you don't have a good place to store these things, then pile them on your porch or in your driveway. Your neighbors will understand that you are having some landscaping work done and you need some space.

There also might be some other items that are either unmovable, like sheds, or too heavy to move, like jungle gyms and other types of play areas. Not much you can do here. If you want to be a great client, get a few people together and get these trampolines and jungle gyms out of the way, but don't kill yourself.

Trees, Sod, and Plants
If you are having trees planted or resodding your yard or installing a bunch of hedges, then you need to be considerate of the distance your landscapers will have to park from your yard. They might have to walk rolls over sod a long distance, or even small flowers and plants. If there is a way that you could shorten this distance, by parking your vehicles on the street, for example, that will be a huge help to your landscapers.

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