By Jeremy Ruben, Founder of LANDOVA Design & Planning · October 18, 2026
A backyard design starts long before the finished pictures. It starts with understanding the house, the ground, the existing features and what you want to do with the space.
LANDOVA brings several capture and measuring tools into one design process. Each contributes a different part of the property record. The value comes from checking those parts together, interpreting what they mean and using them to define your project.
That connected approach also helps make professional planning more accessible. Less time spent repeatedly measuring, rebuilding drawings and correcting avoidable assumptions leaves more time for the design decisions you are paying us to help you make.
Different tools. One complete picture.
An aerial view can show where a patio might fit. Ground readings can reveal the height change across it. A measured house outline can show why the route from the back door needs more room. Together, those observations create a more useful foundation than any one view provides.
We select the methods that suit the property and approved scope. Every project does not need every tool. Access, tree cover, available records and the decisions ahead all help determine what to capture.
The overall site: drone mapping and photogrammetry
Our DJI Matrice 4E helps document visible relationships across the property. Photogrammetry processes overlapping photographs into mapped imagery and three-dimensional information, making it easier to consider the house, lawn and existing features together.
The homeowner benefit is context: you can see how moving one feature affects nearby spaces. Ground observations still matter, especially where foliage hides the terrain. Esri explains both the process and that visibility limit.
The ground: elevations and measured references
The Emlid Reach RX2 helps us collect positioned ground measurements, including height information. Its RTK positioning uses corrections to improve satellite-based measurements; Emlid describes how those corrections work.
For your design, the practical questions are how selected ground points relate to the house, patio and proposed spaces. Consistent references and checks help us discuss steps, transitions and areas that need closer drainage evaluation.
The outdoor shapes: curves and changes in level
Moasure 2 PRO helps record irregular outlines and elevation changes as we move between points. Moasure's guide describes this measurement method.
A curved bed edge or an awkward side passage can then become useful digital geometry. That helps preserve details you like and test how much space a proposed change actually occupies.
The connection to home: measured house geometry
Moasure LX1 supports our documentation of relevant building geometry. Its measurement guide covers wall geometry and openings such as doors and windows.
Those relationships help us connect outdoor spaces to daily life: leaving the back door, walking past a projecting wall or keeping a view open from inside.
What happens when the information meets
Consider a hypothetical patio project. From above, a lawn beside the house appears large enough for dining and a lounge area. It is a promising starting point.
Ground measurements reveal that the lawn falls away from the existing patio. Recording the bed edge shows where a sweeping curve narrows the available space. The house geometry adds a projecting wall beside the door everyone uses.
Viewed together, those findings suggest a different arrangement: dining nearer the doorway, a clear walking route around the wall and a smaller lounge area positioned to cross less of the slope.
They also sharpen the scope. The project may need a transition between levels, adjustments to planting and further drainage review. We can identify those questions while discussing the layout, before treating the original patio outline as settled.
The person connecting the information matters
I hold an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. That supports the drone side of the work; bringing the results into a useful design also calls for capture planning, photogrammetry processing, measurement technique and review.
When I collect the information, I also see the conditions behind it. A dimension has more meaning when I remember the doorway beside it and your concern about getting furniture through that space.
I compare the records, investigate mismatched dimensions and identify gaps before relying on them. Checked site information supports design; it does not replace a boundary survey, engineering or other qualified work required for the project.
Better information supports a clearer scope
Our initial consultation introduces your goals and the possible next steps. Technical property capture begins after you approve the paid Site + Scope engagement.
The resulting information helps define what we will develop, what still needs investigation and which choices belong in the layout review. You approve the layout before detailed design advances. The coordinated record then supports estimating and clearer conversations with the trades.
How the connected process helps keep planning accessible
Repeated measuring and manual redrawing consume skilled time. Digital records and connected workflows help reduce that extra handling and avoidable revisions. That efficiency is part of how LANDOVA works to keep professional planning fees accessible to more homeowners.
AI belongs later in this process, enhancing presentation after the measured foundation and professional design are established. It does not supply missing site facts. The benefit comes from combining responsible technology with design judgment throughout the work.
