“What am I actually paying for?”
Review the proposed work, what you will receive and the fee before you approve and pay. If upcoming work changes, we review the scope and price with you first.
LANDOVA / YOUR PROJECT. YOUR PACE.
Explore backyard design fees.
Choose your next step.
See how LANDOVA service fees fit together, then choose the help your project needs. Your actual scope, deliverables and fee are agreed before each stage begins.
Try the journey ↓No signup. No payment. Just room to explore.
CLARITY BEFORE COMMITMENT
A fee that fits your project. A clear price before you commit.
Your design area, site conditions and requested detail affect the work involved. We scope your services around those needs, so you can see what you are paying for and leave optional work for later.
“Do I need the whole package?”
A layout may answer your first questions. Choose detailed design and visuals when they help you make the next decision.
“What if I’m not ready?”
Pause between stages. Return for more design, estimating, or bidding as your project develops.
Illustrative coastal design concept
BUILD AN EXAMPLE, NOT AN ESTIMATE
How much help would you like?
Start with a path below, then make it your own. Choose project elements by trade inside Bidding to see how that service fee changes. Selecting a later service includes the site and layout work it needs. Finished design visuals are optional.
Example total $820Payment stages ↓
Use my saved project ideas in this example
Review the elements suggested from your Landscape & Hardscape and Budget & Phasing choices. This remains the quarter-acre service-fee example, not a quote for your property.
Applying replaces the Bidding elements in this example. Your other service choices stay as selected. Review separate utility and site-work scopes in Bidding.
Switching starting paths resets your choices. Download a summary first if you want to keep this example.
A clear starting example. Backyard base services: Site & brief $80 · Layout $200 · Design & renderings $280 · Estimating $160. Bidding starts at $100 for up to two trades, then adds $40, $38, $36, $34, $32 and $30 for each further trade. The same trade counts once across both yard areas. Front-yard scope adds 25% to selected base services and bidding fees; Design add-ons keep their listed prices. Deferred services are excluded from your total.
See how your selected total is divided into stage payments—and what happens before each stage begins.
See Your Price Breakdown & How Payments Work
Illustrative freeform pool concept
SIX STAGES. ONE DECISION AT A TIME.
What you pay, and when.
Your selected total is spread across the stages below. Pay for each stage before it begins, when you are ready to move forward.
You approve. You pay. We begin.
Work on the next stage does not start until you approve the completed current stage and pay for the next stage. You review and approve the next stage’s scope and price before paying.
Backyard-only example. These stage amounts match your selections in the tool above.
- STAGE 01
Consultation
FreeInitial consultationPrepare for your first consultation.
How it startsNo paid service commitment. Initial virtual consultations are always free. In-home visits are free within our four-county service area; any travel fee outside that area is agreed in advance.
- STAGE 02
Site & Scope
$80Selected example paymentProcessed site imagery and a reviewed project brief establish the starting point.
Backyard base $80
When you payAfter consultation, approve the proposed scope and fee, then pay before site assessment and brief work begins.
- STAGE 03
Layout
$200Selected example paymentReview a layout showing where the elements belong, using basic house geometry. Included design-review video updates explain the layout and help you give feedback.
Backyard base $200
When you payApprove Site & Scope, confirm the layout scope and fee, then pay before layout work begins.
- STAGE 04
Design & Visualization
$280Selected example paymentExplore the detailed design process, with included design-review video updates. Receive 12 daytime backyard images; front-yard scope adds 6 more. The optional $35 cinematic video is a separate 60–90 second presentation of the finished design.
Backyard base $280
When you payApprove the layout, confirm your design details and optional add-ons, then pay before design work begins. If you choose a material selection visit, it happens during Design so your choices can inform Estimating.
- STAGE 05
Estimating
$160Selected example paymentReceive organized trade-partner estimates, a consolidated total and scope notes.
Backyard base $160
When you payApprove the completed design—or the agreed layout if finished visuals are deferred—then pay before estimating begins.
- STAGE 06
Controlled Bidding
$100Selected example paymentLearn how controlled bidding uses one agreed scope. The example fee follows the separate trade scopes selected above, with up to three active contractor invitations per paid trade. Replacements reuse those slots. Access lasts 90 days from when bidding opens; confirm scope, fee and opening date before payment.
$100 minimum covers up to two trade scopes
When you payApprove the estimating packet, confirm your bidding scope and fee, then pay before bidding access begins.
Selected example total$820
Paid one stage at a time. This total is not an upfront payment.
Approval, payment & scope details
Pause after any completed stage. When you are ready, confirm what you want next. If your plans change, we review the upcoming scope and price with you before you approve and pay. Selecting a stage here does not authorize work or charge you.
Illustrative LANDOVA service fees only. Your actual stage fees are agreed after consultation. Construction costs and any agreed out-of-area consultation travel fee are separate.
Illustrative coastal design concept
THE VALUE BEYOND THE DESIGN
Good planning can pay for itself.
The goal is bigger than a design fee: less time chasing answers, fewer avoidable mistakes, and a project contractors can price more competitively.
Get your time back.
Repeated meetings, explaining the same ideas and untangling different proposals can add up to dozens of hours on a complex project. LANDOVA brings the planning and information together so you can spend more time making decisions and less time chasing them.
Compare the same project.
Controlled Bidding gives contractors the agreed project information to price. Comparing the same layout, quantities and responsibilities makes exclusions and differences easier to spot. Clear preparation and our free contractor tools can reduce repeated sales work and support more competitive proposals.
Catch expensive gaps earlier.
Coordinate the pool, patio, utilities, lighting and yard restoration before work begins. Clear trade responsibilities and earlier decisions can reduce duplicated work, missed items and costly changes that could otherwise add thousands to a project.
START WITH WHAT MATTERS NOW
A plan you can
grow into.
Begin with the pool and patio. Plan for later additions such as planting or an outdoor kitchen, and return for fresh estimates. New work is scoped and priced before it starts, with existing usable project work accounted for.
Keeping the house simple doesn’t make the plan less useful. Your layout establishes the geometry. Full house detail, evening views and cinematic video are choices—not admission requirements.
Planning your construction budget? Use the free Budget & Phasing Planner to organize your target budgets, priorities and build phases. It helps you prepare for pricing conversations; it does not provide contractor quotes or verified local construction-cost estimates.
Open the Budget & Phasing Planner ↗
Explore what happens in each stage ↗
Illustrative coastal design concept
A FEW HELPFUL DISTINCTIONS
Know what you’re choosing.
Why is my service fee scoped to my project?
A backyard layout and a detailed whole-property design involve different work. The design area, site complexity, features and visualization choices help define your scope. You receive a proposed scope, deliverables and fee before authorizing each stage. Custom scope does not mean an open-ended bill.
LANDOVA provides design and planning. Construction, permits and any required engineering or other specialist services are separate unless expressly included in your written proposal.
Are these starting prices or typical project ranges?
These are illustrative prices for the quarter-acre backyard example shown here: $280 through layout, $560 through design and $820 for the full base journey. They are not minimum fees, historical averages or a quote for your property. A consultation helps establish the actual work and service fees before you commit.
Can I stop after the layout?
Yes. You can pause after the paid work you approved. Continue to design, estimates or bidding when you’re ready. The example also lets you explore estimating from a layout without finished visuals; the detail needed for real trade pricing depends on the actual project.
How is the front yard priced?
Add the front yard for 25% of the backyard base prices of the services you select. With the starting Pool and Patio selections, the full backyard-only journey is $820; adding the front yard makes it $1,025 before optional add-ons. Material selections, house detail, image sets and the cinematic video keep their listed add-on prices.
Are renderings included in design?
Yes. The standard backyard design example includes 12 daytime images. Adding the front yard includes six more, for 18 total. Four extra daytime views, golden-hour sets, nighttime sets and a 60–90 second cinematic video of your design ($35) are optional. Nighttime images are $40 per set of four, with landscape lighting included.
Are review videos the same as the cinematic video?
No. Design-review video updates are included with layout and design work. They explain the work in progress so you can give feedback and approve decisions. The optional $35 cinematic video is a 60–90 second presentation of your finished design to enjoy and share. You do not need to buy it to receive design-review updates.
Is this what my project will cost?
No. This is an educational service-pricing example for a quarter-acre lot, a standard-size home, and a backyard pool/spa and patio, with optional front-yard scope. Your property, requested work and complexity affect your actual service proposal. Construction and contractor charges are not included. Example prices may change as beta testing helps refine the service.
Does each project element add another bidding charge?
No. The fee follows distinct trade scopes. A patio and walkway both belong to Patios & hardscapes, so they count as one trade. Adding an outdoor kitchen adds a separate scope. A contractor may handle several scopes, but we keep the pricing and responsibilities separate so you can compare them clearly. These groups are planning categories; the final scope and any required professionals are confirmed for your project.
What do estimating and bidding provide?
Estimating brings trade-partner estimates into one organized project packet for your review and, if needed, a financing application. Financing decisions belong to independent providers. Bidding gives you access to invite contractors against the defined project. In this calculator, backyard Bidding starts at $100 for one or two trade scopes. Trade 3 adds $40, trade 4 adds $38, trade 5 adds $36, trade 6 adds $34, trade 7 adds $32, and each trade from 8 onward adds $30. Each added trade keeps its own step rate. Front-yard scope adds 25% to the minimum and additional-trade fees. Related elements within one group count once, even when one company handles several groups. Each paid trade includes up to three active contractor invitations at a time. Replacements reuse those slots; they do not increase the active limit. The 90-day period starts when bidding access opens. Your proposal confirms the scope, fee, opening date and any extension terms before payment. Invitations do not guarantee proposals or contractor responses.
